Reviews

Shark Cryoglow: One minute review

Whether you have fine lines, rosacea, acne or puffy under-eyes, Shark’s CryoGlow can address a wide range of skincare concerns. It combines LED face mask technology with Peltier-effect cooling pads that could replace your weekly trips to the salon.

CryoGlow is my first foray into light therapy technology. While I’m eager to see further studies into the long-term benefits (and potential risks), I must say, I’ve been impressed with Shark’s first skincare device.

Of course, it’s not fully effortless. I spent over seven hours strapped into the CryoGlow in my two months of testing, using one of its three settings almost every night to put it through its paces.

It’s not been without its drawbacks. I travel a fair amount, spending half my time at my partner’s home and half at mine, plus going on press trips, and, unfortunately, CryoGlow is bulky and inflexible. The device isn’t built for effective packing, and can’t be put in a checked bag owing to its lithium-ion battery. Battery life might prove to be irritating, too, especially over time and if you’re following the advised daily-use routine.

(Image credit: Future)

That being said, it’s still a whole lot more convenient and cost-effective in the long run than weekly trips to your salon to receive the same treatment. If, like me, you’re a regular under-eye mask wearer, this is a much more sustainable way to minimize your puffy eyes.

The biggest question, of course, is whether or not CryoGlow delivers results. For me, the answer is a tentative yes; after over two months of consistent testing, my acne has noticeably reduced outside of hormonal outbreaks, my fine lines seem reduced and, in defiance of my terrible sleep schedule, my under-eye puffiness has lessened. Best of all, the routine of it all encourages me to moisturize daily (the mask itself is quite drying) and means I have to use fewer pimple patches and eye masks.

Is it the sea-change I was hoping for? No, and the results aren’t long-lasting unless you continue to regularly use the mask after the initial eight-week regimen. Still, I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve seen, and it’s the best alternative I’ve found to regular, professional skincare treatments.

Shark Cryoglow review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Announced and released in late 2024
• Costs $349 / £299
• Comfortably mid-range among LED face masks, plus with added benefits.

The Shark CryoGlow is available for $349 / £299 (as of writing, it’s not available in Australia) and can be purchased directly from Shark as well as a number of third-party retailers such as Amazon. In the UK, that marks a small increase in price in the few months since its launch, when it cost £249.

Out of the box, the CryoGlow comes with a travel bag, an extra set of InstaChill Peltier-effect plates and the mask itself with the attached remote. You can also buy a charging stand for the mask for $49.99 / £49.99, which gives the mask a tidy home.

In terms of value for money, the CryoGlow may be pricey, but it stands to benefit your beauty budget in the long run. Its biggest competition in home treatment comes from the likes of Currentbody, which costs $469 / £399 for its latest Series 2 model. While regular salon treatments can range from $25-200 / £25-200 each trip, which adds up quickly if you want to sustain the results.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Shark Cryoglow review: Design

Yes, that's an earbuds case, not a reading glasses case…  (Image credit: Future)

• Solid and inflexible mask
• Attached remote
• Features Peltier-effect under-eye cooling plates

Unlike many of its competitors, Shark’s CryoGlow is a rigid, hard-shelled light therapy mask with added cushioning for comfort around the eyes and on the forehead. While it’s a little heavy and inflexible (675g) for my liking when it comes to travel, it’s still pretty comfortable in use, owing to the adjustable straps across the top and sides of the head that spread the mask’s weight, and its holes for the eyes, mouth and nose.

While these cutouts are sufficiently comfortable, I’d argue against using this mask while doing anything other than relaxing or maybe some light doomscrolling. The eye cushions adequately block out most of the light from behind the mask, but I found that after a few weeks of testing, I started to suffer eye strain and headaches, which I attributed to using screens in a dimly lit room while wearing the CryoGlow every evening. The contrast between the LED light bleeding into my periphery against the light on my TV or phone didn’t quite agree with my eyes, it seems. For wellness’ sake, I suppose it’s better to treat your skin routine more meditatively.

The remote is wired into the mask itself and features a small LCD screen, which lets you track and select your skincare routines and the time remaining during a treatment, and a dial for selecting options. The mask charges via a USB-C connector in the remote.

Under the hood, CryoGlow features 160 tri-wick LEDs, which translates to 480 light sources across the three light therapy programs (red, blue, and deep infrared light). Beneath the eye holes are the InstaChill cooling pads, which use the Peltier effect, a thermoelectric phenomenon that creates a cooling effect on the skin side of the cooling pads when powered, and fan technology to deliver under-eye bag-busting cooling. Clever stuff. By default, the mask features just one set of these cooling pads, but if you find it more comfortable, you can add the included second pair to bring the cooling closer to your face.

It’s worth highlighting that a vast majority of competitor products feature a more flexible form factor, which may be more accommodating for different face shapes and sizes. However, from what I’ve found so far in my own testing, consumer reviews and the opinions of my friends and family who’ve tried Shark’s mask, the hard shell, one-size-fits-all approach seems to be fairly universal. Plus, you benefit from the under-mask fans, which keep everything cool and refreshing in use.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Shark Cryoglow review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Various treatments for different skin needs
• Three controllable coolness settings for the under-eye
• Battery life unimpressive

How it works

Shark’s CryoGlow has three light therapy routines that address different skincare goals: Better Aging, Blemish Repair and Skin Sustain Treatment. Each mode uses different LEDs to penetrate the skin.

Better Aging uses Red LEDs and Infrared over a six-minute cycle to reduce fine lines and firm skin, with a recommended eight-week course.

Blemish Repair adds Blue LEDs to the mix across an eight-minute routine to reduce blemishes, smooth skin and improve the appearance of pores after a four-week course.

Once you’ve completed a full treatment cycle, Skin Sustain combines all three light treatments into one, four-minute cycle designed to maintain the results.

Using the remote, you can add under-eye cooling with one of three intensity settings, or use the fourth treatment option, Under-Eye Revive, to de-puff your eyes for up to 15 minutes without LEDs.

I tried the Blemish Repair and Better Aging treatments in my time with the mask, starting with Blemish Repair for the full four weeks. Though my quest for a fully effective, adult acne-blasting solution continues, I did at least notice a reduction in my symptoms. With consistent, daily use, my pimples reduced in size, severity and redness. I have very large pores that were at least somewhat tightened and smoothed by the treatment, and, overall, my acne was quicker to heal, drying out much more readily than I’m used to.

For me, that’s worth it; I have found few solutions that are at all effective in making my acne easier to live with. However, it’s still a big investment for moderate results, and I can only anecdotally say it had a slightly noticeable effect on my skin. I’ll be using CryoGlow for as long as I can to see if the improvements continue, but as the search for my acne’s silver bullet continues, so might yours.

Following Blemish Repair mode, I took a two-week break to test how lasting the results are, and found my skin slowly returning to form towards the end of the break, when I picked up the mask once more to try Better Aging mode. As of writing, I’m just over halfway through the treatment, and I’ve seen some positive early results when it comes to fine line reduction - however, it’s worth noting these aren’t (yet!) too much of a problem for me. That being said, I do struggle with skin puffiness, especially when I’m run down, and the red light therapy proved effective in soothing my inflammation.

For me, easily the most effective part has been the InstaChill under-eye cooling. No longer do my puffy eyelids and under-eye bags betray my terrible sleep schedule, thanks to daily cooling treatments that leave me feeling refreshed and relaxed. I’ve been using single-use eye masks for a few months, and CryoGlow is both more effective and less wasteful; a double-whammy of cosmetic coolness.

The cycles of all of the CryoGlow treatments are relatively short, meaning it doesn’t feel too large of a commitment, but the short battery life only sees three or four treatments through, and if you’re regularly on the move you might find toting it around frustrating in the long term.

Overall, I’ve been really impressed with the Shark CryoGlow, but as with all beauty tech I’ll hazard that results may vary; mine were noticeable, yes, but it’s a big, daily commitment to ongoing skincare at a fairly high cost. That being said, it’s encouraged better skincare from me all-round, and is more affordable in the long-term than salon treatments, single-use eye masks and a whole lot of pimple patches.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Shark Cryoglow review: scorecard Shark Cryoglow: Should I buy it? @techradar

♬ original sound - TechRadar Buy it if...

You’re looking for a salon alternative

Up-front, it’s a pricey investment, but if you’re really into your light therapy, it might be more cost-effective in the long run.

You suffer from under-eye puffiness

Anecdotally, this is the most noticeably effective treatment offered by the CryoGlow, even though it’s really just an added benefit for the product.

Don't buy it if...

You’re on a budget

It’s not cheap, and you might be able to get away with a cheaper, LED-only mask.

You travel often

Its size, bulk and battery life make the CryoGlow a slightly annoying travel companion.

How I tested

I've been using Cryoglow for months by the time I sat down to write my review, running a full course of its blemish-busting treatment and making it most of the way through its Better Aging Treatment.

In addition to the Treatments, I tried using the under-eye cooling pads at various temperature settings, testing from day-to-day to see how much (or little!) they reduced the dark circles under my eyes, as well as key specs like the battery life. I tried using the mask at different times of the day to see if it had much of an impact on the immediacy of the results, and even tried using it on a plane!

I've been writing for TechRadar for almost four years now, reviewing everything from beauty tech to smart home and wellness devices. I've tried different LED face masks, as well as various high-tech skin treatments, to build an idea of what good looks like, always factoring in important factors like price, comfort and longevity.

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Apps help businesses engage and connect with customers in a more personalized way. However, building apps can be complex and expensive, creating a huge blocker for many businesses. This is where app builder platforms can help.

Wix, best known as one of the best website builders on the planet, also offers a great app building platform. Wix App Builder is the company's DIY mobile app creation platform. It allows users to build native apps for iOS and Android, without coding.

In June 2024, Wix upgraded the platform by adding an AI-powered chatbot. You simply describe your app goals and the AI generates a customized app with all features and layouts included. The platform manages everything from design to deployment, including submitting the app to Apple's App Store and Google Play.

Users can create apps with logos and design elements, as long as they have a paid subscription. The premium Branded App Plan starts at $99 per month. However, you may be able to get this cheaper with one of our Wix promo codes. There are also separate registration fees for publishing the app: $99 annually for Apple's App Store and a one-time $25 fee for Google Play. What makes Wix App Builder unique is its smooth integration with Wix websites. It allows real-time syncing between website and app content, with automated updates to avoid confusion.

(Image credit: Wix) Wix App Builder: Pricing & plans

Starting in 2025, the Wix App Builder is a part of the premium Branded App Plan, which starts at $99/month. This plan gives you access to essential tools to create, launch, and maintain a native mobile app. It includes AI-driven design tools, customization features, and deployment help. You can create apps for both iOS and Android. The plan also offers features for stores, bookings, forums, and more business solutions. If you already use a Wix website builder plan (ranging from $17 to $159 per month when billed annually), App Builder can be an added investment for mobile growth.

But keep in mind that there are extra costs for app publication beyond the Wix fee. You’ll need to pay Apple’s App Store registration fee of about $99 per year. Google Play also has a one-time developer fee of $25. These fees go directly to Apple and Google, not Wix, and you must pay them to publish any app, no matter how it was created. Plus, your app must meet Apple and Google’s approval requirements, which can be another challenge.

Wix App Builder: Features

Wix App Builder has always been easy to use, but the newly-added AI-powered features from 2024 take this even further. Users can create custom mobile apps simply by chatting with an AI. You describe your goals and vision. The chatbot then asks about business needs, desired features, and branding. Based on this, it generates a complete mobile app, which you can tweak via the visual editor.

Wix offers many customization options for branding and design. Users can create a unique app icon and tailor the layout to fit their vision. Beyond looks, Wix App Builder integrates with hundreds of business solutions. This includes ecommerce, booking systems, forums, membership areas, and notifications.

A key feature is automatic synchronization between the website and app. This means any updates made on a Wix website show up instantly in the mobile app. It removes the hassle of managing content on multiple platforms. Plus the system also takes care of updates, ensuring compatibility with the latest iOS and Android versions. All of this greatly reduces the technical work usually needed to keep mobile apps running smoothly.

(Image credit: Wix) Wix App Builder: Setup

Setting up a mobile app with Wix App Builder is simple and user-friendly. You begin by entering your app title and choosing a color scheme.

Alternatively, with the AI chatbot introduced in 2024, you start by chatting about your business and app goals. First, share your goals for the app. Once the AI confirms the layout, it asks about desired features. No need to use technical terms; just explain the app's purpose. The bot understands and suggests relevant features. You can also upload a logo before the final design is created.

After choosing a template or letting the AI generate the initial app design, you can edit it if you want. The platform has a built-in previewer, allowing users to check the app's user experience before submitting it to app stores. Wix also guides users through the complex submission process for both the App Store and Google Play. Once the app is published, Wix continues to add value by supporting automatic updates and new features.

Wix App Builder: Support

Wix uses the same solid support system for App Builder that helps its website builder customers. The key resource is Wix's Help Center. It has detailed articles, video tutorials, and guides on app creation, submission, and maintenance. These resources are organized into clear sections, which help users find what they need.

For more personal help, Wix offers 24/7 customer support on all paid plans. This includes chat, callback requests, and ticket-based support in multiple languages. Users can reach support through the Wix app or website. Response times vary based on the subscription level.

The support team helps with technical issues, design questions, and app store submission problems. Wix also has video tutorials in its Help Center that guides users through the app creation process. While there is no separate support channel for the App Builder tool, its simple process means most users won't need much technical help.

Wix App Builder review: Final verdict

Wix App Builder is a strong choice for businesses wanting to reach mobile users. It helps them do this without high costs or needing technical skills. The 2024 update adds AI features, making app creation as easy as having a conversation. Users can share their ideas and the system creates a professional app. For those already using Wix, the easy integration and automatic syncing of website and app content save time and avoid duplicate content issues.

However, you should think about the ongoing costs and limits of the platform too. The $99 monthly fee, plus extra app store registration costs, can be a lot for small businesses or startups that aren't already invested in mobile. While the App Builder offers good flexibility, it doesn't allow the same level of customization as custom-developed apps, or even other advanced no-code platforms. It also ties businesses to the Wix ecosystem, so users without an existing Wix website won't find much use here.

In the end, Wix App Builder is a great option that sits between simple app makers and costly custom development. It balances customization, professional features, and ease of use, appealing to small and medium businesses wanting to create simple apps for iOS and Android. For those with Wix websites who want to invest in a dedicated mobile experience, the value is strong despite the higher price.

(Image credit: Wix)

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441: Two-minute review

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

The best way to think of the Dell Inspron 14 Plus 7441 is as a Windows version of a MacBook Air. Not as superpowered as a Dell XPS (or a MacBook Pro), but snappy performance, a thin and light chassis, and long battery life are all features you can expect here.

For the right person, namely someone who wished there was a Windows MacBook Air, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 might be the best laptop for them. Its performance, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, is snappy while being power efficient. The battery life is very, very impressive, even if it doesn’t reach its advertised heights. And as one of the many laptops built in the mold of the clamshell MacBook, it’s thin, light, and encased in an all-aluminum chassis.

It’s also at a similar price point, though it doesn’t get much more expensive at its maxed out configuration. Of course, since it is a tinier bit cheaper, there are elements that feel a little lower quality than I would expect. Namely, the keyboard, touchpad, and audio quality are a bit underwhelming considering the price. They’re all fine, but feel like they belong on a computer a couple hundred dollars cheaper.

Still, the pros vastly outweigh the cons. The quality of the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441’s performance and battery life bode well for future Qualcomm-equipped laptops, and offer a solid alternative to the MacBook Air and other $1,000 Ultrabooks.

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• How much does it cost? Starting at $949.99 (about £760 / AU$1,470)
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

Since it’s a solid mid-range option utilizing Snapdragon ARM CPUs, it’s no surprise that the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 is available just about everywhere. While it leans more mid-range than a premium Ultrabook, its starting price of $949.99 (about £760 / AU$1,470) feels a little high. I would expect it to be closer to around an $800 / £600 price point.

At the very least, going up in price is not hugely significant. Going from a 256GB to 512GB SSD adds just about $50 to the price. It should be noted that this configuration with the slightly larger drive is the base configuration in the UK and Australia with a price point of $999.99 / £749.99 / AU$1,597.20. Going up to the max configuration with the slightly more powerful Snapdragon X Plus X1E-80-100 CPU and 1 TB SSD goes for $1,099.99 / £899.99 / AU$1,897.50.

For around the same price, you can get the base configuration of the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which has better battery life and at least equal performance. However, upgrading the RAM or SSD adds quite a bit to its cost – the configuration with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is pricier at $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,099.

If you want more performance in a similarly slim form factor and are okay sacrificing battery life, the slightly older version of the Acer Swift X14 starts at the same price point (the new 2024 version got a bit of a price bump).

• Value: 4 / 5

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441: Specs

When it comes to different configurations, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 only allows a small amount of customization. Not including software upgrades (Windows 11 Home vs Windows 11 Pro primarily), you can choose between just two CPUs: the 10-core 3.4GHz Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100 and the 12-core 3.4GHz Snapdragon X Plus X1E-80-100 that can be boosted to 4.0 GHz. There are also three SSD options: 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The faster CPU and the 1TB SSD are tied together, so if you upgrade one, you have to upgrade the other.

It’s also worth noting that there’s an additional M.2 slot if you want to expand the memory at a later date.

The display that comes with the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 is a 14-inch 1600p screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 400 nits of brightness. It’s also a touch screen. Only the one screen is available - no luck if you were hoping to upgrade a mid-tier performance laptop to have an OLED screen.

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441: Design

• Utilitarian Ultrabook form factor
• Light and thin
• Keyboard and touchpad are nothing special

The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 follows in Dell’s Inspiron line insofar that it’s a bit utilitarian in its design. Well, that’s certainly the case here. It fits that Ultrabook mold of trying to compete with Apple’s more entry level laptops, with a focus on non-power users who want a competent, portable, and attractive device. So, then this laptop is thin, light, and comes in an attractive if discreet silver aluminum chassis.

I’ll cover its competence in the next section, but it’s certainly thin at just over a half-inch thick and light at a little over three pounds. You don’t have to worry about portability with this version of the Dell Inspiron. And the aluminum chassis feels sturdy as well if you tend to throw your laptops in a backpack with a case.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

As far as the display goes, it’s a sharp 1600p touchscreen with up to 400 nits of brightness. While HDR is not on hand, the color accuracy is good enough for photo editing with a 97.6% sRGB, though its DCI-P3 color coverage is 69% so video editing, especially with HDR is not a good idea here.

The keyboard is responsive and attractive with its white backlighting, but is a little stiff to touch. I do wish the individual keys had a little more of a concave shape to them as well. Essentially, it’s good enough, but a little below what I would expect for a laptop like this.

The touchpad is likewise good enough. It’s not the smoothest feeling I've used, but it does the job and is as responsive as it should be.

Lastly, the port selection is about par for this form factor. There are two USB-C 4 ports (one of which is taken up by the charger when plugged in), one regular USB port, an audio jack, and a microSD reader. The last one is something you won’t find on a MacBook Air, by the way.

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(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441: Performance

• Speedy performance for day-to-day tasks
• Has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 for speedy connectivity
• Audio and webcam are adequate

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100 and integrated Adreno Graphics are plenty powerful for everyday users. It’s not powerful enough for any real gaming as is to be expected and video editing is going to be an exercise in patience. But, if you need enough power to have 15 tabs open without suffering a slowdown even while streaming, then this laptop can do it.

I was even able to do some light gaming, so if you like to blow off some steam with less demanding titles like Counter-Strike, you shouldn’t have any issues. For most people, the performance on tap is enough.

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441: Benchmarks

3DMark: Fire Strike: 5965; Time Spy: 1903; Wild Life: 16797

GeekBench 6.3 2436 (single-core); 13281 (multi-core)Handbrake 1.8.1: 7:02

CrossMark: Overall: 1234 Productivity: 1145 Creativity: 1383 Responsiveness: 1098

PC Mark 10 Battery Test (Office): 9:55

PC Mark 10 Battery Test (Video): 18:19:44

It’s also pretty quick when it comes to connectivity as it comes with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. That also helps with having those 15-20 tabs open, not to mention that connecting devices should be speedy as well.

The audio and webcam are similar to the keyboard and touchpad in that they’re serviceable, but just that. Again, I would expect slightly better. Starting with the audio, it gets plenty loud, but also gets a bit boomy as the volume goes up.

The webcam is sharp enough at 1080p. The 30 fps it’s capable of is okay, but isn’t the smoothest. Plus, there’s some graininess to it as well. At least, there’s a physical privacy shutter.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441: Battery life

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• Lasts over 18 hours on a single charge
• Takes awhile to charge back up

The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441’s battery life both fails to meet its advertised benchmark, though it's still utterly impressive. When a laptop is supposed to last 21 hours and gets pretty close, it’s quite the feat.

In test, this laptop made it to almost 18 hours and 20 minutes on a single charge. During use, that means I’ve been able to cart this laptop around and use it when needed for three days without plugging it in and still have 50% battery life.

Since the battery life is so long, it does take some time to get back to full. It took me about 35 minutes to back up to 99%. While that’s not bad at all, you’ll want to give it some time to juice back if you get it down to nothing.

Another bright spot with the battery life is the fact that, like MacBooks and unlike many other Windows laptops, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 doesn’t use a whole lot of battery when inactive, but not off. There have been plenty of laptops that I’ve used where the battery life would still drain from when the lid is closed to when the laptop is woken back up.

• Battery life: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441?  Buy it if…

You want a very, very long battery life

Partially because of the efficiency of the Qualcomm CPU, the battery life on this laptop is ridiculously long. Even if it doesn’t quite hit the advertised 21 hours, almost 18 and a half hours is very impressive.

You wish you could get a MacBook Air with Windows

If you ever wanted the appointments of a MacBook Air, specifically long battery life and quick performance in a slim package, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 does a very good job of filling that niche.

You want to try an ARM-equipped laptop

If you want something outside of the usual Intel or AMD offerings, the Qualcomm CPU on here provides very good day-to-day performance.

Don't buy it if...

You want premium throughout

There are a few areas, notably the keyboard, touchpad, audio, and webcam, that don’t feel as premium as the rest of the laptop (or its price tag). If you want something without any cut corners, spend a little more on a Dell XPS.

You want the most value possible

The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 is a lot of things, but a value proposition it’s not. The price isn’t bad, but it feels just slightly overpriced, not to mention that it’s more for those that want a competent laptop, not a cheap one.

Also Consider

If our Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 review has you considering other options, here are two laptops to consider...

Acer Swift X14

For around the same price, the Acer Swift X14 offers an interesting alternative. Instead of a more power-efficient and snappier ARM CPU, it comes with a solid one from Intel. But, you also get discrete graphics that can handle gaming and more demanding editing while still retaining the slim form factor. The Acer does have a much shorter battery life.

Read our full Acer Swift X14 review

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3)

The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) offers excellent performance with a long battery life thanks to Apple’s own M3 system-on-a-chip, is incredibly lightweight, not to mention attractive, and provides an intuitive user experience. Of course, its base configuration comes with just 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, upgrading either adds quite a bit to the price tag.

Read our full Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) review

How I tested the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441

• Tested for a couple weeks
• Used it for work, gaming, and streaming
• Tested the hybrid features

I used the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 for a couple weeks, doing some light gaming, watching some online content, and working on it. I also used it on the go and tested its various features like the webcam and audio.

The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 takes advantage of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon ARM CPUs to offer snappy and efficient performance in an Ultrabook form factor. It’s slightly pricey for what it is, but is ideal for those that want something utilitarian, yet attractive and powerful enough for extended day-to-day work on the go.

I’ve spent the last few years reviewing tech gear for gaming and otherwise, where I’ve gotten a feel for what to look for and how to put a piece of kit through its paces to see whether it’s worth the recommendation.

ZoneAlarm is one of the cybersecurity pioneers, offering its firewall protection not just to businesses but also to consumers back in the 1990s, when consumer firewall wasn’t really a thing. What’s more, it instituted the concept of hardening a device’s firewall against direct attacks, today featuring an inbound intrusion detection system and the ability to control outbound connections by apps.

In 2004, ZoneAlarm, which was developed by Zone Labs, was acquired by Check Point Software Technologies, a major software and combined hardware provider for network, endpoint, mobile, cloud, and data security, as well as security management.

Over the years, ZoneAlarm has changed and adapted its offering (as well as its interface) to be more in line with the times. Nowadays, ZoneAlarm offers three main tiers of its antivirus product, courtesy of Check Point’s powerful cybersecurity platform.

These include ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus, ZoneAlarm Pro Antivirus + Firewall, and ZoneAlarm Extreme Security NextGen, all of which offer different levels of protection and features. The company offers other standalone products, such as ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware.

As it happens, the free version comes equipped with the usual antivirus and anti-spyware function, an advanced firewall (monitoring apps, stopping new and so far unknown attacks), and a two-way firewall (making your PC invisible to hackers) application control, anti-bot, and 24/7 online support - for one PC.

That said, real-time cloud security, anti-phishing, threat extraction, safe browsing, and threat emulation for up to five PCs is reserved for the paid upper tier, Pro Antivirus + Firewall, whereas the top-of-the-line Extreme Security NextGen throws in content filtering, anti-keylogger, anti-ransomware, and mobile security, while supporting up to 50 PCs at the same time.

The ZoneAlarm Pro for one device costs $24.95 for the first year, renewing at $39.95. If you need coverage for three PCs, you can get it at $32.95 per year initially, renewing at $49.95. A five-device service starts at $35.95, renewing at $54.95, 10 devices are covered by a $64.95 payment renewing at $99.95, while the coverage for as many as 50 PCs would cost you just $259.95 for the year one, renewing at $259.95. Do note that Pro Antivirus only supports Windows PC devices, making it a bit of a limited option.

Meanwhile, ZoneAlarm Extreme Security NextGen charges $34.95 for one device during the initial year, increasing it to $59.95 for each subsequent 12-month period of use. For three devices, it charges $42.95 (renewing at $64.95), five devices would cost you $44.95 for the first year ($69.95 for each subsequent year), while 10 devices would set you back by $89.95 during the first year (renewing at $139.95).

You may also get coverage for 25 devices, with this plan at $189.95 initially, after which you’ll pay $289.95 per year, while coverage for 50 devices comes with a price tag of $357.95 for the first year, renewing at $549.95. Extreme Security supports Windows, Android, and iOS devices.

It is also important to note that both carry certain discounts if you take a 2-year subscription. For instance, protecting five devices for the duration of two years will cost you only $61.95 for the first year, which would otherwise cost you $90.90 if you took it on a year-by-year basis. In other words, you’re getting an impressive 68.17% discount.

For the Extreme Security package, the discounts are very similar. In this case, a 2-year subscription package covering five devices goes for $72.95, which is a 63.51% reduction compared to the $114.9 you would pay if you signed up for the package to renew each year.

Finally, both Pro and Extreme Security NextGen have a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, giving you enough time to test the service out before making the final decision.

However, the free trial doesn’t give all that much and actually doesn’t differ in any way from the free tier, considering you need to activate it to access more than just its firewall and antivirus features. A pity, as someone might be attracted to actually buying the platform if they had the opportunity to check it out in more depth for free.

(Image credit: ZoneAlarm) Setup

Downloading ZoneAlarm Free takes an unusual amount of time. At first, the downloader told us we would have to wait for two hours, changing the time to anywhere between 20 minutes and 20 hours, making our system very sluggish while it was doing this.

As it turns out, we waited for about 30 minutes, which is a lot longer than any other antivirus we had installed before. Still, installing the platform went a lot faster than this (although not nearly as fast compared to the competition).

(Image credit: ZoneAlarm) Features

ZoneAlarm has gotten its name thanks to its method of controlling program access - by dividing all network connections into so-called ‘zones.’ Hence there are several such zones in ZoneAlarm’s vocabulary: the ‘trusted zone’ which typically includes the user’s local area network and can share resources like files and printers.

Then, there’s the ‘public zone’ that includes everything outside the trusted zone, and in which the user can grant permissions to apps before they try connecting to the Internet (such as before the initial launch) or ZoneAlarm will ask the user to grant these permissions.

Finally, the ‘blocked zone’ is where all the devices, networks, and/or apps that you decided you don’t trust with making traffic to or from end up. The firewall is on by default as soon as you install your ZoneAlarm software, and you don’t need to do anything unless you really want to change the default configuration or temporarily turn off the firewall for any reason.

Having said that, ZoneAlarm’s firewall currently allows access to every program by default, without letting you know when it finds something suspicious. If you want to modify an app’s permissions, you’ll have to go manually digging for it in the Application Control and change the settings yourself for each of the programs.

Open your ZoneAlarm app, and you’ll see a sleek green-white window that provides you with your protection status, a ‘Scan’ button, the time and date of the next automatic scan, as well as four icons - Firewall, Antivirus, Web Secure, and Hacking Protection.

The Firewall itself opens a set of features, including managing the rules for your ‘zones’ or networks (public or trusted), setting up the public and trusted zone sensitivity, as well as observing the previous firewall events, with a button to add a new entry (IP address, IP range, or subnet) as a zone rule. Its above-mentioned ‘Application Permissions’ section lists all the apps on your device and allows you to set the default action to ‘Allow Connection,’ ‘Block Connection,’ or ‘Terminate Process.’ Finally, you can turn on/off the anti-bot service.

Next is the Antivirus section, where you can view the quarantine, add exceptions, start a full scan, scan a particular folder, or schedule a critical (quick scan to identify threats) or full scan (deep scan of the entire system), on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

The Web Secure dashboard features Anti-Phishing, Safe Downloads, and Content Filtering options, whereas the Hacking Protection area contains Anti-Ransomware, Advanced File Protection, and Anti-Keylogger capabilities (none of which is accessible with the free version).

Previously, the ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus offered an entire year of simple identity protection by its partner Identity Guard, with a feature known as Identity Lock to prevent anyone from stealing your sensitive personal data from your device. However, these now seem to be gone.

On top of that, it seems to have also dropped the free Chrome extension, which was a phishing-oriented version of its Web Secure for free users to protect their credentials against phishing attempts and malicious document downloads.

(Image credit: ZoneAlarm) Protection

Once ZoneAlarm is up and running, its protection begins, automatically updating the virus definitions and running occasional scans, which you’ll only find out from the notifications triggered by these events. Starting a full scan takes about 50 minutes, which is a bit long, but we’ve seen longer.

That said, it doesn’t get any faster with the subsequent scans, which also took about 52 minutes. This means that ZoneAlarm doesn’t use its first full scan to optimize for future procedures, as opposed to some of its competitors.

Upon testing with a recommended malware testing file, ZoneAlarm sprang into action immediately, recognizing the threat and moving it to the quarantine, letting us know what happened with a full-sized popup message that doesn’t go away until you dismiss it. You can reveal further details about the file and click again to access the list of all quarantined files.

The Web Secure mechanism is nothing to write home about, only working in Chrome, and not at all successful against malware-hosting websites - blocking only phishing sites. In other words, ZoneAlarm has no efficient ways to protect us from accessing a dangerous site, something that even the built-in Microsoft Defender can do without much effort.

Meanwhile, the personal firewall that comes equipped with even the free version might be a bit unnecessary, but it’s a nice addition considering it doesn’t cost a thing. ZoneAlarm also has its firewall available as a standalone, free product.

SE Labs hasn’t tested ZoneAlarm since Q4 2019, when it scored 85% in total accuracy rating, 87% in protection rating, 100% in legitimate accuracy rating (how well it tuned its detection engine to classify legitimate applications and URLs), a protection score of 97 points, and receiving a high AAA award.

Similarly, AV-Test did its last test of ZoneAlarm in December 2019, when it tested the paid Pro Antivirus + Firewall product, giving it a 6/6 for protection, a 6/6 for usability, and 4.5/6 for performance, as it underperformed in area of installing frequently used applications.

The same testing firm also analyzed the business version of ZoneAlarm, called Check Point, which lends its virus-defending platform to consumer products, for the period of July - August 2024, awarding it a 6/6 in all three observed areas - protection, performance, and usability, albeit also noting a slightly poorer performance in terms of installation of frequently-used applications.

A bit more recently, MRG-Effitas analyzed ZoneAlarm Mobile Security in Q2 2023, observing 82.30% accuracy in overall non-PUA (‘potentially unwanted applications’) detection, 100% accuracy in PUA detection, 86.76% in detecting trojans, 81.13% in accurately identifying spyware, but missing 100% simulator samples.

(Image credit: MRG-Effitas)

Meanwhile, the most recent test comes from AV-Comparatives, which tested ZoneAlarm Extreme Security NextGen as a non-dedicated fake-shop detecting solution in its Q4 2024 Fake Shops Detection Test, in which its detection rates in November were between 21% and 30%, with no false positives.

(Image credit: AV-Comparatives) Final verdict

ZoneAlarm used to have a stellar reputation as the security industry’s pioneer looking out for the consumer back when no one really cared and business data safety was the primary concern. However, it has since degraded and today lags behind its competitors, many of which have much more advanced, faster, and richer platforms in terms of their antivirus and anti-malware capabilities, speed and performance, built-in features, extras, and configuration options. This is perhaps best illustrated by the lack of interest demonstrated by the leading antivirus testing labs, which haven’t been actively reporting on ZoneAlarm’s performance for years. Other than that, it’s a solid firewall solution for the price and ease of use.

• We've also featured the best antivirus

Email marketing is a long established method for effective communication with existing and potential customers. Luckily, long gone are the days of complex and time consuming processes needed to send great marketing emails to your lists - this is where email marketing platforms now come in.

Wix is best known for being one of the best website builders on the market. This is mostly thanks to it's super easy to use drag-and-drop website building tools. However, it also offers users a host of other business tools to help them engage customers and grow their businesses - including a helpful email marketing tool.

Wix Email Marketing is the company’s email marketing platform. It lets users create, send, and track email campaigns right from their website dashboard. Originally launched as Wix ShoutOut in 2014, it became part of Wix Ascend before becoming a standalone platform in 2023. This change came when Wix discontinued the Ascend Business Suite. The service starts with a free plan that allows 200 emails per month, offering basic tracking and customer segmentation. Paid plans begin at $10 per month for the Essentials tier (or cheaper with one of our Wix promo codes)

What makes Wix Email Marketing special is its seamless integration with Wix websites. It automatically collects contacts from your site and makes it easy to add website content to emails. This creates a unified marketing approach that is especially useful for small businesses using the Wix ecosystem.

(Image credit: Wix) Wix Email Marketing: Pricing & plans

As of 2025, Wix Email Marketing offers a free plan and three paid tiers that are separate from Wix website builder plans. The free plan allows up to 200 emails per month. It includes a drag-and-drop editor, templates, basic automation, segmentation, and custom reports. However, all emails will carry Wix branding.

The Essentials plan costs $10 per month. It raises the limit to 500 emails and adds premium features. These features include AI content creation for subject lines and email copy, along with scheduling for optimal send times.

The Core plan is priced at $24 per month. It lets you send up to 5,000 emails monthly and removes Wix branding, which helps in creating a more professional image. You can also share emails on the web using a custom domain, boosting your marketing reach.

For larger businesses, the Advanced plan costs $49 per month. It supports up to 1,000,000 emails each month, making it ideal for companies with big contact lists. This tiered pricing shows Wix's shift after discontinuing the Ascend Business Suite in 2023. It creates a more focused platform for email marketing while integrating other Ascend features into standard website plans.

Wix Email Marketing: Features

Wix Email Marketing features an easy-to-use drag-and-drop email editor, much like its website builder. Users can pick from about 20 ready-made templates for different needs or start fresh. They can customize colors, fonts, and backgrounds to fit their brand. The platform includes AI tools to create catchy email text quickly. It also supports multimedia like videos, images, buttons, and product listings linked to your ecommerce site. All templates work well on both desktop and mobile, ensuring a consistent look.

The service allows for basic automation of triggered emails based on customer actions. Wix sets up relevant automations automatically based on your website features. For example, store owners get payment confirmation emails, while bloggers receive notifications about new posts. Analytics tools track delivery rates, open rates, and clicks in real time. This helps users see what content works best and improve future campaigns. The platform allows customer segmentation for focused messaging. However, advanced options are limited compared to specialized email marketing services. Business users can add company details, taglines, and logos to their emails for consistent branding.

(Image credit: Wix) Wix Email Marketing: Setup

Setting up Wix Email Marketing is easy, especially for existing users. You can find the tool in the Email Marketing section of the dashboard under Marketing & SEO. Start by choosing a pre-designed template or creating a campaign from scratch. The template library has options for promoting products, sending newsletters, or announcing special offers. The system guides you step-by-step with clear instructions and visuals, making it user-friendly for beginners.

The creation process is simple: first, design the email using the drag-and-drop editor. Then, select recipients either individually or by segments. You can preview and test the email if you want. Finally, publish and send or schedule the campaign.

A key feature for Wix owners is automatic contact collection. The system gathers contacts from your website, including ecommerce customers and form submissions, making it easier to build your email list. But the platform also suggests filtering out inactive contacts before sending campaigns to maintain good deliverability rates.

Wix Email Marketing: Support

Wix Email Marketing uses the same customer support system as Wix. There is no dedicated support for the email tool. All users can access the Help Center, which has detailed articles on using email features, from creating campaigns to maintaining lists. The Email Marketing page also has a thorough FAQ section. This section answers common questions about file types, sharing options, and usage rights.

For direct help, Wix provides 24/7 customer support for all paid plans. Users can submit tickets, request callbacks, or use chat support in over ten languages. Subscribers to the higher-tier Business Elite plan ($159/month) get priority support, faster response times, and a direct phone service hotline.

Wix Email Marketing: Final verdict

Wix Email Marketing is an easy-to-use tool, helping cement Wix's position as one of the best small business website builders. Its biggest strengths include a simple interface, smooth integration with websites, and fair pricing.

Even free users can start email marketing campaigns with ease. AI content creation helps those who struggle to write engaging copy. Plus, automated setup processes make it friendly for marketing newbies. For existing site owners, it’s a great way to begin email marketing without a steep learning curve. The platform has enough features for basic promotional needs.

However, Wix Email Marketing has some drawbacks compared to dedicated services like Mailchimp or AWeber. Advanced users may find its automation options limited. Creating complex customer journeys or triggered campaigns can be a challenge. While customization meets basic needs, it lacks the depth seen in specialized platforms. The free plan is good for testing, but email limits on lower-tier paid plans could hinder growth. The jump from 500 emails on the Essentials plan to 5,000 on the Core plan is a big price jump for scaling.

All in all, Wix Email Marketing is best for small to medium-sized businesses already using Wix. It’s great for those who value ease of use and integration over advanced features. It works well for businesses starting their email marketing journey. However, companies with more complex needs or larger subscriber lists might find it lacking.

(Image credit: Wix)

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Two-minute review

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

Lenovo’s Yoga series has long stood out in the ultra-portable laptop space, thanks to its sleek design and lightweight build—and the new Slim 7i Aura Edition continues that tradition. Weighing just 3.33 lbs (1.53kg) and measuring under an inch thick when closed, it’s designed for those who value portability without sacrificing style.

Under the hood, the Slim 7i Aura Edition features an Intel Ultra 7 256V processor, Intel Arc 140V GPU with 8GB of VRAM, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD. While this setup isn’t geared for heavy-duty tasks like high-end gaming or intensive creative work, it’s more than capable for everyday use. Whether you’re writing papers, doing light photo or video editing, streaming content, playing some less visually intensive games or multitasking across browser tabs, it gets the job done smoothly.

One of the standout features is the vibrant 2K IPS touchscreen, which offers a buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. While the hardware won’t always take full advantage of that refresh rate in more demanding scenarios, it still delivers a fluid and visually engaging experience. Adding to the entertainment value are the quad 2W speakers with Dolby Atmos support, providing surprisingly rich and immersive sound. Topping those impressive specs is a 4-cell 70Wh battery that lasts a pretty long time and doesn’t take long to charge.

There are some design features that may turn away potential buyers. Despite the serviceable portability, other aspects of the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition don't work well. This starts with the design that’s lacking in several places from the protruding webcam lip to missing some ports alongside a power button placement that is just weird.

Speaking of the webcam, it’s not the best compared to other laptops and isn’t really good in most lighting conditions outside of broad daylight. There aren’t even any sort of AI tools or anything to make image quality better either which is disappointing. Then there’s the reality that the laptop doesn’t have a fingerprint reader for log-in which means that the only biometric measure is the camera which can be inconsistent.

Priced between $1,049 and $1,399, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is an attractive buy if users can get past some caveats. This laptop should definitely work for students or casual users in need of a stylish, capable machine with just enough power for office work, light creative work and entertainment.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition starts at $1,049 and can reach as high as $1,399
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? It is available now in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia

Available now, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition can be purchased in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Though the ultra-portable laptop can be bought through Lenovo’s online store, there are other ways to get it depending on the territory you live in.

When it comes to cost, be prepared to pay somewhere between $1,049 and $1,399 within the United States on the Lenovo online store. Our review configuration featuring the specs mentioned above comes out to $1,049.

Right now, the users who want an option with less RAM at 16GB, base-level Intel integrated graphics and 512GB SSD storage are going to pay around $1,280 at the moment. Potential buyers looking for 32GB of RAM to review configuration are currently going to pay $1,399. Regardless of the choices, this is definitely an affordable lightweight laptop for general computing tasks.

There are a few options for the UK buyers through Lenovo’s online retailer. Both feature 32GB of RAM, integrated Intel graphics, 1TB SSD and 14.5-inch 3000 X 1872 OLED display with touch capabilities. Setting them apart starts with the £1,300 configuration that has an Intel Core Ultra 7 255 Processor with Windows 11 Home 64. Meanwhile, at £1,690, purchasers can get an Intel Core Ultra 7 285H Processor and Windows 11 Pro 64.

Citizens of Australia on the Lenovo store have one option available at the moment. At $2,999, potential buyers can get an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, Arc 140 V, 32GB RAM 1TB SSD and the lovely 15.3-inch 2.8K IPS display with touch capabilities.

Value: 4.5 / 5

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Specs

Here are the specs for the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition at a glance.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Design

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

• Light, thin and made up of premium feeling aluminum
• Lacks SD Card and only has one USB-A
• Webcam lip and power button placement buttons problematic

The Luna Grey colorway of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition sets the right tones against the Lenovo logo top panel when closed. It’s a great way to appreciate all of the rounded lines that accentuate the sleekness and light weight. Made up of a mix of raw and recycled aluminum, the laptop has a special coating that prevents smudging and fingerprints. That includes the chassis, keyboard and touchpad as well. From the looks alongside feel, the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition comes off as a premium product that has a bit of environmental consciousness to it.

There aren’t a lot of ports on the laptop but enough for someone who relies on simpler computing tasks for sure. On the right side includes a single USB-A and USB-C sitting above the power button and webcam shutter switch. The opposite side will provide users a HDMI port, USB-C port and 3.5 combo audio/microphone headphone jack.

Compared to others within its tier of ultra portable laptops, the lack of additional USB-A ports or even a SD Card slot could bring issues for the creative sect of users that Lenovo is trying to court with this laptop. Even the power button placement comes with its own set of problems as picking up the laptop in the wrong way can put the laptop to sleep. Adding to that is the lack of a fingerprint scanner which makes the webcam the only biometric option for unlocking the laptop.

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

Before opening the display, half of the laptop protrudes out a bit thanks to the webcam which looks a bit awkward. Once opened, the top half reveals the lovely 2880x1800 IPS touch screen surrounded by bezels that can be laid flat at a 90 degree angle. The bottom half features a nice feeling keyboard that’s pretty quiet alongside a pretty smooth touchpad. Between the keyboard are two speakers with the remaining ones on the bottom panel.

Overall, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition strikes a balance between elegant design and functional performance, though a few layout quirks and limited port options may leave many users wanting more.

Design: 3.5 / 5

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Performance

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

• General computing tasks run briskly
• The 15-inch 2K IPS touch screen is wonderful in motion
• Intel Arc 140V GPU doesn’t help much when it comes to gaming and heavy creative work

During my week and some change with the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition, most of my time was split between using Google Chrome and Adobe Suite. This was the best way to get an understanding of how general computing tasks work on the laptop.

The Intel Ultra 7 256V and 16GB LPDD5X RAM do a great job of ensuring applications run smoothly and open quickly regardless of how many Google Chrome tabs I had open. Despite having five browser windows open with dozens of tabs open, there wasn’t a hint of slowdown. Meanwhile, fan noise remained quiet and the bottom became slightly warm on the lap.

Keeping expectations in check, creative tasks worked pretty fine as well. Using Photoshop, editing 1080p images wasn't a problem regardless of how many layers were in a file. Rendering times were a bit on the slow side for the same resolution when attempting to add video content to the Photoshop file with a two minute video taking around three or so minutes to do so.

The time on encoding on Premiere Pro was a lot quicker though at around 30 seconds for a minute of HD video. Attempting to go higher in the resolution does lead to a less performance especially when rendering which can stretch pretty long.

Intel may be the king of CPUs but the same can’t be said in terms of their more recent ambitions into discrete GPUs. The included Intel Arc 140V GPU has 8GB of VRAM but it seems to help more in creative tasks than gaming.

On desktops, the GPU has compatibility issues compared to rivals Nvidia and AMD so expect similar situations here. During our benchmark test for games this was more than obvious as Borderlands 3 could only hit 25 frames per second at 1080p resolution while Shadows of The Tomb Raider couldn’t even run at all at the same resolution. This means that more CPU intensive games that require a lot of visual processing like Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm and Total War: Warhammer III fared fairly better.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Benchmarks

Here's how the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition performed in our suite of benchmark tests:

25GB File Copy: 1,613.44 Transfer Rate (in MBps)

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test: Write - 3297.3, Read - 3825.2

Geekbench 6.3: Single-Core - 2531, Multicore - 10711

HandBrake: 6:23

CrossMark: Overall - 1652

PugetBench for Adobe CC: Photoshop - 5935, Premiere Pro - 3276

3DMark: Fire Strike - 8214, Time Spy - 3982

Borderlands 3: 1080p 25.20fps, 2880x1800 13.30

Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm: 1080p 52.284fps, 2880x1800 37.345

Web Surfing (Battery Informant): 14:10:07

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Battery life

4-cell (70Wh) battery

If drained, can get 3 hours of battery life with a 15-minute charge

A shame considering that more casual or serious PC gamers won’t be able to make the most of the beautiful 15-inch 2K IPS touch screen that also has a 120Hz refresh rate. Delta E<1 helps maintain color accuracy while also supporting 100% P3 and 100% sRGB color gamuts.

During general computing tasks, text is crisp and easily readable while images are bold and lush. The 500 nits of brightness are used to great effect as well alongside watching video content means lush colors and blacks are deep regardless of settings. For more sensitive eyes, the display is also TÜV Low Blue Light and Eyesafe certified.

The same can be said for the 4 2W speakers that come with Dolby Atmos compatibility. From watching or creating videos to listening to music on Tidal, audio quality is fine regardless of loudness levels which can get pretty high. Bass can get really deep without any distortion and mid-tones are identifiable which is surprising considering how small they are.

Performance: 4 / 5

Battery life on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is on par with some of the best ultra light laptops in its class thanks to the 4-cell 70Wh battery. During our Web Surfing Battery Informant test, I was able to get 14 hours and some change out of the device. This allowed me to make it throughout an entire day through a single charge of moderate usage.

I realized this while working my hybrid Digital Editor position as I worked in an office three times a week. During those times on a full charge, the end of the day would leave me at around half of battery life.

Charging is through one of the USB-C ports and the adapter supports Rapid Charge Express which gives around three hours of runtime with just a 15-minute charge. I was able to get around full in close to an hour.

Battery life: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition? Buy it if...

You want an affordable, lightweight laptop with reputable performance for everyday computing and light creative tasks

Weighing in the ballpark of three pounds while being less than an inch thick when closed makes this a great laptop to throw in an average-sized backpack despite having some good components that make running various general computing and easier creative tasks a breeze.

You need a beautiful screen and audio experience

The lovely 15-inch 2880x1800 IPS touch screen is elevated with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Add four 2W speakers into the mix and this laptop provides a serious audio/visual experience.

Don't buy it if... 

You require a long-lasting battery

We squeezed around 14 hours of juice during benchmark testing but daily use gave us somewhere between 8 to 10 hours on one charge. That doesn’t even count the quick charging capabilities as well.

Don't buy it if...

You need an industry leading design that matches functionality

The overall shape and size is wonderfully portable but there are some flaws in the design. This includes a webcam lip that pokes out when closed, lack of SD card slot, only one USB-A port and the sensitive power placement on the right side is problematic.

You want something that provides better gaming and creative performance

A shame that users won’t be able to make the most out of the 120Hz display, considering the specs don’t allow for much high end gaming or hyper intensive creative work.

You require a good webcam

The FHD webcam doesn’t work well in low light and there isn’t any type of software to improve functionality in that sense.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Also consider

If our Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition review has you considering other options, here are two laptops to consider...

Macbook Air 15-inch (M4)

Creatives looking for a lightweight and affordable laptop may find the Macbook Air 15-inch a great option if fine with losing an inch in display real estate and lack of Wi-Fi 7.

Read the full review here

MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo B1MG

Though the MSI Prestige may be a bit more expensive, it performs nearly similarly while having a better webcam, power button layout and SD Card slot.

How I tested the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition

• Tested this laptop over the span of a week and some days
• Used for Google Chrome, Tidal and Adobe Creative Suite

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition was tested over a one-week period. General computing tasks were conducted using Google Chrome, including the use of Google Docs and YouTube. Creative software such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop was used to assess performance in content creation. Instagram was used to evaluate webcam and microphone functionality.

The 15-inch IPS touchscreen display was assessed by streaming multiple 4K YouTube videos to examine visual output and speaker function. Additional audio performance was tested using music playback on Tidal.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed April 2025

Polaroid Flip: Two-minute review

Like many tech journalists and photographers of a certain vintage (aka born in the early 90s), I always remember there being a Polaroid at family parties when growing up. Later in my teenage years, when studying photography at university and trying my hardest to be cool, I bought a secondhand Polaroid Sun 600 on eBay, but finding decent film then was harder than it is now. Eventually, the cost superceded the cool, and I gave up.

Polaroid has come a long way since then, and has been revisiting its heritage with the aesthetic of newer releases. We had the Polaroid Go 2 in late 2023, similar in looks to the Polaroid 1000 Land Camera. In March this year, the brand refreshed its Now instant series with the Now 3 and Now 3+, cameras that I think share the character of the original OneStep SX-70.

I'm a Polaroid nerd, so I was excited to test the new Polaroid Flip before its official release. But given that the last camera I used was the flagship Polaroid I-2, in all its sharp lens, manual control glory, I was apprehensive about how a more affordable model could compete with the best instant camera for pros.

Polaroid's tagline for the Flip is that it's the camera for an analog life. For "instant photography over instant gratification." Presumably it means for people who appreciate physical prints over looking back through their phone camera roll. The Flip keeps things simple and easy-to-use; there are no filters or effects, and the main talking points include common instant camera features like double exposures and self-timers.

Despite lacking manual controls like the Polaroid I-2, the Flip feels like a camera that more advanced instant shooters can still appreciate and enjoy. A clever four-lens system is brilliantly effective at adapting to varying subject distances, meaning you get mostly sharp shots, even at dark parties.

And there are subtle but clever ways the camera uses 'scene analysis' to guide your images. A red viewfinder warning light alerts you to a shot being over- or underexposed, and an alert appears on the lid display when you get too close to a subject. Selfies are a tad tricky, though, and macro isn't a viable option given the camera's restricted minimum focusing distance.

Polaroid's signature tones shine with the Flip, though colors in my experience sometimes leaned unexpectedly toward green. Also, while the B&W i-Type film showed strong contrast on occasion, I found that highlights could easily blow out with Polaroid's most powerful adaptive flash yet.

It's always difficult to review Polaroid performance, because the expectations are so different from most other cameras. Part of the joy of analog lies in experimentation, and yet with Polaroid film being so expensive, you want to know that most of your shots will at least come out intended. Despite minor disappointments with the Flip, I loved the results overall. I think those willing to practice, learn and refine their shooting approach over time will too.

Polaroid Flip: price and availability

• Costs $199.99 / £199.99 (Australia pricing TBC)
• Early purchase for Polaroid members starts April 15
• On sale at Polaroid.com from April 29, retailers May 13

The Polaroid Flip is available from a few different dates depending on who you are. Polaroid members can purchase the camera on the official website starting April 15, and general access follows from April 29. It's destined for general camera retailers from May 13.

The Flip's price at release is $199.99 / £199.99. A year ago I would have thought this quite steep, but recent US tariffs and spiralling tech costs have made me reassess. Still, the Flip is at the serious end of instant cameras, at more than twice the price of the entry-level Instax Mini 12. It's more expensive than the Fujifilm Instax Wide 400 model ($149.99 / £129.99 / AU$229.99) and the older, square-format Instax SQ40.

But then it sits below the Polaroid I-2 ($599 / £599 / AU$1,099) with its super-sharp lens and the hybrid Instax Wide Evo ($349.95.99 / £319.99 / AU$599) which has 20 film and lens effects and allows you to select what you print to save on film.

You're tied into using either Polaroid 600 or I-Type film with the Flip, and realistically this is more expensive per exposure than Instax. Prices vary a lot depending on what country you're in, and bundle packs can help to bring the cost down, but an 8-pack of I-Type costs roughly the same amount as 20 photos of Instax (Wide or Mini).

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(Image credit: Lauren Scott) Polaroid Flip: specs Polaroid Flip: design

• Heavier than the Polaroid I-2
• Flippable lid for lens protection
• Viewfinder LED and ‘lid’ display

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The Polaroid Flip is a boxy, chunky camera. That much is obvious when you get it out of the box. It weighs 200g more than the Polaroid Now+ and 85g more than the Polaroid I-2, as well as being deeper and taller. But that’s because the design is so different from anything else in the current lineup.

Rather than having a lens cap to cover a protruding lens or the front face exposed, Flip has a (you guessed it) flip-up lid. This lid pulls up smoothly and clicks into position at the top when you want to take a photo. When the lid is down, the camera automatically turns off, and the most important parts of the camera are well-protected.

I really like the design, which gives the camera a clean, modern silhouette and means you can pop it in a bag without fretting about dust getting in the lens grooves. And I still felt it was distinctly Polaroid. The Flip comes in a subtle matte black colorway or white with a pop of orange for more daring users.

I found the exterior of the white model prone to marks, but the plastic casing is easily wipable. And twice when I was out shooting, two people stopped to tell me that I had “a really cool-looking camera”. Street credibility points to me.

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According to the specs sheet, the Flip is made from four types of plastic, including acrylic and polycarbonate. These have all been chosen for properties that would make sense in a take-anywhere camera, and they keep the body as lightweight as possible but also strong and impact-resistant.

The build quality doesn’t feel brittle or cheap, the buttons are solid to press and flipping up the lid is super satisfying. That said, the handling is a bit awkward and I had to turn the camera around to get a good hold of the lid every time. It’s a two-hand job. You also get a strong rope strap in the box so you can wear the camera – comfortably, I might add – around your neck.

Controls are pared back, as is usual with Polaroid and most instant cameras. Two buttons at the back right let you toggle through settings such as flash, double exposure, self-timer, and exposure compensation. These show up as icons on the nifty LCD screen on top of the camera, and they’re easy to see even in bright sunshine. It took me a while to work out what button combo activated each mode, but the fold-out paper guide in the box – in itself another well-thought-out analog nod – gives you pointers.

There’s a USB-C power input on the right side of the camera for recharging, and an eject button on the left to open up the film door and pop in a pack. The big orange shutter button on the front is easy to find with your fingers and can be depressed slightly to focus and pressed fully to fire. The viewfinder itself is basic but easy to use, and I found that what you see through it matches closely with what’s printed, helping with composition.

(Image credit: Lauren Scott) Polaroid Flip: performance

• 4-lens system for different distances
• Sonar autofocus detects subject distance
• Adaptive flash for up to 4.5 meters away

(Image credit: Lauren Scott)

Despite there being no option to focus manually as with the Polaroid I-2, I found almost all of my shots with the Flip were critically sharp. The camera uses sonar waves to detect your subject distance, then selects the best lens from its four-lens system (0.65m, 0.85m, 1.2m, 2.5m). It’s very clever, and even in a party marquee, portraits came out crisp.

When half-pressing the shutter button to focus, you hear a noise when one of the four lenses has been selected. What’s clever is that an alert on the lid display will flash if you’re trying to shoot a subject that’s too close and out of the camera range.

Still, it’s worth noting that the Flip’s minimum focusing distance is around 0.4m, which isn’t quite far enough to get a sharp, frame-filling selfie. I could just about hold the camera far enough away at arm’s length to trial it but ended up with unwanted empty space around my head and shoulders. If you’re into your flora and fauna, there isn’t yet a macro filter or attachment for Polaroid to make true close-ups work.

Exposure was a mixed bag. Polaroids like light, and it's recommended that you keep the flash on for all shots except bright sunshine. This is meant to be the brightest flash of any Polaroid, and the strength adapts based on the subject distance for anything up to 4.5m away. I experienced this power, but not always in a good way, and often my outdoor shots were overexposed to the point of losing details, even on a cloudy day. As with the Polaroid Go 2, the flash gets activated by default when you flip up the lid, and a few times I forgot this.

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The tones you get from Polaroids have always felt distinctive, yet anecdotally the hues from my Flip shots felt a little richer and bolder than those from the I-2. On a warm spring day in the UK, the exposure of a pink blossom tree felt warm and well-saturated, while the vibe of a cooler sunset party was also captured effectively, if not tending towards more of a green hue than I’d have liked.

Of course, there’s no way to change the white balance in-camera. What you get is dictated by the film and the shooting environment. The B&W i-Type film I used showed great contrast, and I loved the amount of depth I could capture down a long, narrow street in my home city of Bath, UK. But again, it was easy to overexpose the bright Cotswold stone and lose that detail with the flash.

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You can’t control the Flip’s exposure settings manually. For inexperienced users or people who just want to point and shoot, this is probably a good thing. The Flip does the hard work of choosing the aperture and shutter for you, meaning fewer wasted shots if someone decides to grab the camera at a party. But if you’re a more advanced photographer, as I am, you may find Flip’s setting choices creatively limiting.

As far as battery duration and charging times go, I couldn’t find any official specs from Polaroid. When I first got the camera I left it plugged in overnight to ensure it was full of juice for the start of testing, and it still hadn’t passed the halfway mark when I’d finished three packs. I tended to shut the lid after every shot, though, so each user’s mileage may vary.

During testing, I loaded up my second pack of color I-Type film only to find it wasn’t ejecting from the camera after each exposure. Polaroid makes loading film into the Flip so quick and simple, and it's something I've done with other Polaroids hundreds of times. I want to suggest it was a camera and not a user error, but either way, it does highlight how much film and money you can waste should things not quite go to plan. That’s the same with many instant and film cameras and not a unique flaw to the Flip, of course.

The prints aren't quite as instant as Instax, and need a while (I found at least ten minutes) to settle away from the light to develop properly. For me, this is a great metaphor for Polaroid in general. Despite being designed for ease of use in terms of operation, the Flip still requires a bit of time to learn its ways, exposure tendencies and to hone your craft. Do that, and you'll be rewarded with sharp retro results more times than the Polaroids of the past.

Should I buy the Polaroid Flip? Buy it if...

You're after a cool-looking throwback
The Flip is reminiscent of popular vintage Polaroid cameras, including the One Step Flash. I'm not suggesting that you should pick style over substance, but I found this bright and chunky camera a great conversation starter.

You want to point and shoot, and that's it
In a busy world, it's nice not to have to think for a while. I found the Polaroid Flip enjoyable because of its ease of use. There are no gimmicks or filters, and I like that all you really have to decide is whether the flash is on or off.

Don't buy it if...

You want a small and subtle camera
Polaroid Flip's design is decidedly retro and bulky. Although it's not heavy to wear around your neck, it's equally not a camera that you can slip into a small bag or clutch. I'd look at the Polaroid Go or the Instax Mini if you're after proper portability.

You don't like square prints
You'll be limited by the roughly 8 x 8cm exposed area that Polaroid film gives you. If you want more options for composition with landscape and portrait framing, you might be better off with an option like the Instax Wide or Evo.

Also consider

Polaroid I-2
When I tested the I-2 I was so impressed with the image and build quality that I saved and bought my own. It costs more than double the Flip but offers an advanced experience with manual exposure control and sharper autofocus. Taking the same square, I-Type film, it gives instant photography for connoisseurs.

Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo
If you're not fussed about the Polaroid brand or square prints but still want a retro vibe, I'd recommend the gorgeous-looking Mini Evo. It's a hybrid model, meaning it snaps digital prints and lets you choose whether to print them on instant film. That means less waste and cost, and the Mini Evo is more pocketable, too.

How I tested the Polaroid Flip

(Image credit: Lauren Scott)

• Over a week, I took photos indoors and outdoors, day and night
• I tested based on decades of Polaroid experience
• I shot a double pack of colour I-Type and 8 exposures of B&W film

I tried my first Polaroid camera back in the nineties, and since then I've reviewed many instant cameras including the Polaroid I-2 in 2023. I had one of the first review samples of the Polaroid Flip and tested it for over a week before its official launch date. Needless to say, it was always in my bag or around my neck during that time.

I took it out on countryside dog walks in the sunny British springtime, on day trips in the Cotswolds, to an evening festival for my company's 40th anniversary and to brunch in the city. The idea was to try it in as many lighting conditions and real-life scenarios as possible.

I went through a double pack of Polaroid I-Type color film (16 exposures) and a pack of B&W Film, taking shots with and without the flash, using the self-timer and the exposure compensation option. The Polaroid app wasn't available for use with the Flip for most of my testing period (as the camera was under embargo) but I had a day to try the functionality and add notes to this review once it was.

First reviewed April 2025

Ultim8 by Supermouth: One minute review

The Ultim8 by Supermouth toothbrush makes a lot of bold claims. For example, it says it’s the “first reinvention of the toothbrush in nearly a century”, with its unique ‘8’ shape and patented bristles designed to conform to the contours of your teeth.

The SmartHub, which is sold separately, is designed to house, charge and clean the brush with UV light, drying the bristles, and preventing bacteria from adhering to it by keeping it in a sealed environment. A travel case is also sold separately.

It all sounds very innovative, and the brush itself is inordinately pretty and well-designed. The battery lasts ages, the unit itself looks a lot better than most electric toothbrushes, with its swooping curves reminiscent of a spacecraft, and the magnetic charger is a really neat touch, although it’s USB-A rather than USB-C.

However, redesigned brush heads, SmartHubs, and Supermouth’s bold claims aside, what we have here is essentially a sonic toothbrush with two modes, a pressure sensor, and a two-minute timer, priced at $99.99 (around £75 / AU$160) It’s perfectly functional, but it’s hardly breaking the mold when it comes to toothbrush design.

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Perhaps my expectations are too high; after all, how much more advanced can toothbrushes get? At least this one isn’t trying to foist an AI app on me. It cleans well, and while I could stand to have the motor a bit stronger, the pressure sensor is nicely designed, flashing from blue to green to red depending on how hard you’re pressing, and the brush is comfortable to use day-to-day. Battery life isn’t given, but it still held charge after a full week of testing.

One of the issues I do have with the brush is that all the accessories don’t come as standard. To buy the SmartHub with the brush from Supermouth costs an extra $70 (around £55 / AU$110), and once you buy the toothbrush, you’re then locked into the proprietary 8-shape brush heads, costing $19.99 (around £15 / AU$30) for a pack of two.

The Ultim8 is also missing a few features we’re used to, such as more than two intensities, but as a standalone $100 sonic brush, I’d be more than happy with it. In the grand scheme of overpriced toothbrushes, $170 for a brush with a cool-looking cleaning and housing case also isn’t too bad, although it’s far from budget, and what initially looks like a good mid-range offering ends up feeling rather premium. Get the travel case and spare brush heads too, and you're pushing top-end prices.

However, during my testing, the brush cleaned well, held its charge and was extremely comfortable to use.

Ultim8 by Supermouth: Specifications Ultim8 by Supermouth: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• $99.99 (around £75 / AU$160)
• Extras drive up cost
• Available from third-party sellers for inflated cost

The Ultim8 by Supermouth brush costs $99.99 (around £75 / AU$160) from the Ultim8 website, which is a perfectly reasonable price for a decent sonic brush. However, as previously mentioned above, the brush is part of the overall Supermouth ecosystem, which will loop you into buying the hub and proprietary brush heads for an additional premium.

Supermouth does ship internationally, but unlike many toothbrushes which can be found at third-party retailers for discounted prices, the system is the same price on Amazon US, and inflated to a hefty £345 on Amazon UK, at the time of writing.

• Value score: 3/5

Scorecard Ultim8 by Supermouth: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future) Buy it if...

You want a clean toothbrush

The SmartHub prevents bacteria collecting on the bristles with its UV cleaning and drying function.

You want a nice design

Both the toothbrush and the SmartHub look sleek and stylish.

You have sensitive teeth

The Ultim8’s eight-way soft bristles mean the brush is ideal for sensitive molars.

Don't buy it if...

You want power

Want a toothbrush that offers a more intense clean? You’re better off with a high-powered Philips Sonicare.

You’re on a budget

If you’re looking for a simple sonic brush with cheap replacement heads, look elsewhere.

Ultim8 by Supermouth: Also consider

Philips Sonicare 7100

The high-powered brush with a convenient charging case that takes up much less space than a hub.

Read our review

Mode Electric Toothbrush

The Ultim8 looks cool, but this wall-mounted sonic rocket looks cooler for our money.

Read our review

How I tested the Ultim8 by Supermouth

I used the Ultim8 Supermouth brush for a week of testing, stress-testing the pressure sensor and two-minute timer functions, and using the SmartHub for storage and cleaning.

Roborock Qrevo Edge: Two-minute review

Roborock has been making excellent robot vacuums for a while now, with the Qrevo series stepping it up over the Q and S series bots. With more suction power and a wider feature set compared to older models, the Roborock Qrevo Slim and Roborock Qrevo Curv performed really well in our tests. The Roborock Qrevo Edge joined its siblings in January 2025 and is quite effective at autonomous cleaning… provided you use it for the daily (or regular) cleaning tasks.

It’s essentially the love child of the Curv and the Slim: it uses the exact same technology as the former with an identical bot, but inherits the self-cleaning dock design from the latter. So instead of a curvy dock, it’s a more traditional design that’s simple to set up and use.

It’s a nice-looking dock, but I question its lack of proper sealing. The lid of the dirty-water tank in the unit sent to me for this review had tiny gaps even after being clipped closed and I found that if I didn't clean it out soon after a mopping run, it would begin to smell.

It’s similar with the dust bag too, wherein I found that it can emit a slight odor when the bin in the bot is being cleaned out automatically. That means you might have to replace the dust bag sooner than necessary which, in turn, will increase the ongoing costs of running the Qrevo Edge.

There’s not a lot to complain about when it comes to the robot vacuum’s cleaning prowess as long as it’s not expected to handle tough spills. There’s 18,500Pa of suction power, which I found to be good enough to clean up a carpet with hair or fur tangled in the fibers, although a few strands always get left behind as robot vacuums are meant as ongoing maintenance cleaners rather than being the primary cleaning appliance.

It’s also quite good at picking up fine powders and slightly larger debris like oats, but it regularly misses room edges. That’s not unique to the Qrevo Edge but, given its name, I was expecting slightly better edge-cleaning performance.

Mopping, too, is also good when it comes to day-to-day cleaning on hard floors and I found it was excellent at sensing the change in floor type to raise its mop pads when necessary. However, despite the extending mop pads, it often missed about an inch along the edges of a room during my testing, and it can spread tough wet spills (like ketchup or milk) across a floor if you aren’t careful with setting up the correct cleaning routine.

Roborock claims that the Qrevo Edge can handle thresholds of up to 4cm, which is true, but it's worth noting that it takes time to cross over, trying to determine the best angle for it and the amount of power it needs to push itself over.

While it excels at being an effective autonomous cleaner for the daily or regular cleaning tasks – and its SmartPlan feature is a game changer in those circumstances – its inability to tackle tough spills when doing a zone clean and get to room edges consistently makes it hard to recommend at its premium price point.

The Roborock Qrevo Edge is a good bot, but it belies its name when it comes to edge cleaning (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Roborock Qrevo Edge review: price & availability

• List price: $1,599.99 / AU$2,799 (“coming soon” to the UK)
• Launched: January 2025
• Available: In select markets, with wider availability later in the year

The Qrevo Edge was released a few days before the Roborock Saros 10 series was announced at CES 2025 in January. In fact, the Edge is now part of a duo, with the Qrevo EdgeC joining it in March at a lower price point and with some missing features.

The Roborock Qrevo Edge will set you back $1,599.99 / AU$2,799 in the US and Australia at full price, but it’s already discounted down to $1,299.99 / AU$2,499 when purchased directly from the Roborock online store. Some authorized retailers are also offering the same or a better discount in most markets where it’s already available.

UK pricing and availability is yet to be confirmed, but it’s definitely being added to the Roborock catalogue as it’s listed as “coming soon” on the British website.

Despite the discount, the Qrevo Edge is still an expensive robot vacuum cleaner. That’s exacerbated when you consider that the more powerful Roborock Saros 10 (22,000 Pa suction compared to 18,500 Pa in the Edge) is the same price in the US and AU$200 more in Australia. It costs £1,499.99 in the UK. In fact, the Saros 10 has a retractable LiDAR puck that allows it to go under furniture to clean, potentially making it a better investment.

You will need to consider ongoing costs as well. The dust bag will be the most frequent purchase you make but, at some point, you will need to replace the mop pads too due to wear and tear. These aren’t too expensive as you won’t need to replace them too often (the dust bag has a 2.7L capacity that could last you 2-3 months, depending on use), but if you take into consideration the Roborock detergent for mopping, that will quickly add up.

If you’re after good value, something like the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni (or the T30 Pro Omni) would be ideal. It cleans just as well as the Qrevo Edge, if not better, although it lacks some of the features you’ll find on the Roborock. Still, the bang for buck you get from similar models to the Deebot is a lot more.

• Value score: 3.5 out of 5

The front of the robot has a camera and a light, alongside navigation sensors (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Roborock Qrevo Edge review: specs Roborock Qrevo Edge review: design

• Sleek, modern dock
• Easy to set up, but may require frequent cleaning
• Extending side mop and brush, anti-tangle split main roller

The Roborock Qrevo Edge’s design isn’t particularly standout – it’s nothing we haven’t seen before – however, its white body (dock and robot) makes it look sleeker than its actual footprint would suggest.

The robot is of a similar size to other models, and the dock’s tray – where it sits to get cleaned and recharge – barely extends out beyond its radius, giving the impression of not taking up too much space.

It’s quite a tall dock though, so you may not be able to tuck it under a countertop or kitchen island, like you can with the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni, and you’ll need a good amount of clearance to lift the two tanks out of the dock. So it’s going to need a little open space around it.

The dock is nice looking, but just doesn't exude 'premium-ness' (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Robot design

The bot in particular will be very familiar to anyone who’s ever seen a robovac before, let alone used one. The most obvious feature on the circular robot is the puck-like LiDAR housing on the top. The puck has the Roborock logo in a silver-grey color that adds a touch of class.

Also on top is a magnetic cover to keep the 325ml onboard dustbin out of sight, with cutouts for the LiDAR puck and two buttons. You won’t need to access the dustbin much – only to clean the filter every once in a while or if the self-empty function fails. Even the buttons need to be used sparingly.

On the front there's a camera and additional navigation elements. You can use the camera to run security checks while you’re away or look in on your pets remotely. There’s also a light on the front that comes on automatically if the robot is cleaning in a dark area or room.

A semicircular bumper protects the front, and it’s got just enough give to absorb bumps into furniture and larger obstacles.

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The side brush is attached to a flexible arm for better edge cleaning... (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 2

..and the bristle angle helps too (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The undercarriage has a lot going on. Two large wheels catch your attention first and these help the Qrevo Edge traverse thresholds of up to 4cm high. Roborock calls this AdaptiLift, which has been inherited from the Curv and found its way into the newer Saros 10 as well. There’s also a smaller wheel towards the front of the robot for better maneuverability.

The main roller brush is quite unlike any other I’ve seen before. Instead of being a single bar, it’s made up of two pieces and split in the middle. Both halves have bristles and fins and, to avoid getting hair and fur tangled in said bristles, Roborock says the split design helps strands get pushed to the middle from where they’re sucked into the bin.

There’s also a spinning side brush and, again, it’s designed differently to what’s commonly seen on other brands. The brush has only two sets of long bristles (compared to the usual three), both curved to avoid hair entanglements and push dirt and debris towards the main roller.

The arm that the brush is affixed to can extend outward to give the bristles a longer reach. Roborock calls this FlexiArm technology and it’s also used to extend the mop pads as well.

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The central brush is designed to push hair or fur towards the middle... (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 2

..which means the roller is essentially two pieces (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Again, it’s a familiar design for the mops – two circular pads attached to the plates via some seriously strong Velcro. During my testing I found that the pads extend out individually, never both at the same time as I’ve seen on other brands, and both can be raised 10mm to avoid medium and high-pile carpets from getting wet.

Unlike other premium models like the Dreame X40 Ultra, the mops don’t detach if you want a vacuum-only run.

There is, of course, a small water reservoir tucked away somewhere inside the robot, but the design is such that you can’t see it at all. It gets filled automatically from the clean-water tank in the dock every time the bot needs to do a mopping session.

A magnetic lid covers the onboard dustbin, but has cutouts for the LiDAR puck and the control buttons (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Dock design

Like many other premium all-in-one robot vacuums, the Qrevo Edge’s self-cleaning dock is a do-it-all pit stop.

It houses two water tanks inside which can be pulled up from the top. They’re both marked by different silver drops on a corner of their lids to differentiate them – one for clean water, the other collects dirty mop water.

Both look identical, but closer inspection reveals a small difference in shape, which allows the clean-water tank to have a larger capacity of 4L compared to 3.5L of dirty water. That’s quite a bit and should allow for two mopping runs of an average two-bedroom home, if not more.

The tanks close via a hinged lid that clips into place, but the seal isn’t as good as I’ve seen in other all-in-one robovac models. This allowed a bit of nasty odor to escape when I forgot to clean out the dirty water after one cleaning session, meaning you might want to ensure the left-hand tank is washed out as soon as possible.

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The internals of the dock are well designed, allowed it to be as low maintenance as possible (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 4

The lid of the dirty-water tank doesn't close properly, which could lead to you smelling nasty odors (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 3 of 4

Each tank is denoted by a droplet icon – one for clean... (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 4 of 4

..and the other for dirty mop water (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Below the water tanks is a covered nook for the dust bag. The cover comes off very easily and replacing the bag is also just as easy.

As with other all-in-ones, the base tray that the robot sits on has ridged sides, which allows the mop pads to be scrubbed when they’re being washed. Not only can the dock refill the bot’s onboard water reservoir, empty the bin, wash the mop pads with hot water (167ºF / 75ºC), then dry them with warm air (113ºF / 45ºC), but it can also self-clean that tray.

Overall build quality isn’t too bad, but the lids on the water tanks not closing properly takes away from the premium-ness of the whole design. Moreover, the plastic dock – which isn’t uncommon at all – just doesn’t quite exude oomph despite the silver details. It’s not that it looks cheap, it just doesn’t look… well, premium.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

Access to the dust bag is easy, as it changing it out. It's the same bag as used in the S-series Roborock robovacs (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Roborock Qrevo Edge review: performance

• Excellent vacuuming on higher settings; can handle tangled hair in carpet fibers
• Mopping also very good on higher settings, but regularly misses edges
• SmartPlan is efficient in terms of navigation and battery life, but the automated cleaning may not suffice

If there’s one thing Roborock does well, it’s providing an easy setup for its robot vacuums. My colleagues have said previously that they’ve not faced any setup issues with other models from the brand and it was the same here. In fact, you don’t even need the manual to get you started, it’s all quite intuitive.

As soon as the robovac was connected to my Wi-Fi network, I checked how much battery it had and immediately sent it off on its initial mapping run. This took just six minutes to complete in a test space measuring approximately 40sqm and containing a carpeted bedroom and tiles in the rest of the apartment.

The initial map was quite accurate in the layout of the test space, and I was then able to edit the rooms: adding furniture and dividing up open-plan spaces into their correct assigned names.

The test space was single-storey, so I wasn’t able to see how well the cliff sensors function. It also had no pets, so I can’t comment on how well the Qrevo Edge’s pet avoidance features work, but I conducted all the other standard TechRadar tests to see how it held up.

The Qrevo Edge is very good at identifying changing floor types (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Vacuuming

The Qrevo Edge’s 18,500 Pa suction power shows itself off quite well when it comes to its vacuuming prowess. I found it very hard to fault it, even when on lower suction settings – albeit on hard floors that aren’t too dirty. The higher suction options are very effective on carpets, even those with entangled hair within the fibers.

As with other Qrevo machines, there are five power levels to choose from: Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, Max and Max+. Importantly, the app allows you to choose from just a single vacuum-only run or two, meaning it can take on some tough jobs.

As good as the Qrevo Edge is at vacuuming, I do have to note that you shouldn’t expect perfection. I found that hair on carpets are mostly sucked up – say about 98% of the strands – but some will remain. This is more so if you happen to have hair, fur or dirt along the edges of a carpeted room as the side brush just doesn’t have the force to gather these up and pull them towards the central roller.

The proof is usually in the pudding and when I looked at how much dirt the Qrevo Edge collected after its first vacuum-only run (done at the Max+ setting) in a single carpeted room, I was impressed that its higher suction did a far superior job than the 11,000 Pa Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni that it replaced in my home.

Even the Turbo and Max modes do a good job on carpets, provided you don’t have pets shedding on them copiously – they’re effective for the usual dust-sucking chores. And I had no issues with tangled hair on the main roller brush.

To test how well the Qrevo Edge can handle other kinds of dirt and debris, I conducted TechRadar’s standard tests by sprinkling some oats, tea dust (from a teabag) and tea leaves onto a mid-pile carpet.

I first set the Qrevo Edge to do just a Zone clean for the carpet only, which defaults to the SmartPlan setting wherein the bot chooses its own suction mode depending on floor type. As you can see from the video clip below, it does a pretty good job, although its navigation in this mode is a little erratic.

While all the oats and tea leaves were cleaned up, I could see some tea dust still on the carpet. As a comparison, I sprinkled a little more dust from a teabag and used my Dyson V15s Detect Submarine in Auto mode to clean it up and saw similar results. I repeated the tea dust test with the Qrevo Edge on the carpet in Max+ mode and found no reason to complain.

It’s a different story on hard floors though. For the exact same test performed on tiles, I found that the side brush scattered the larger debris (oats) when doing a Zone clean on the default SmartPlan settings. The scattering happens on all other settings, but when changed to doing a 2x vacuum at Max, it did a better job.

Where it fails quite badly is edge cleaning. I expected most of the tea dust I had scattered along a room edge on a hard floor to be picked up, but sadly that wasn’t the case. Even running it on a 2x vacuum-only run at Max+ made no difference. I had to use the crevice tool on my Dyson to clean up the tea dust remaining on the floor.

Moreover, if you have gaps between tiles or wood panels on your floor, fine dust will invariably get moved into the grouting or the gaps and even the Max+ setting does nothing to clean that up. Larger debris getting caught in those spots, though, will get cleaned, provided you use the maximum suction setting.

To be fair to the Qrevo Edge, though, robot vacuums weren’t designed to be your primary cleaner, but rather for ongoing day-to-day or regular cleans. You'll still want to have one of the best vacuum cleaners on hand for the more difficult jobs, particularly for carpets and sucking up dirt from nooks and crannies.

Mopping

Like its vacuuming prowess, the Qrevo Edge does a good job of mopping too – again, only if it’s not taxed by too many spills. The regular cleaning jobs of dusty footprints and spilt water is excellent.

This mopping performance is helped by four water-flow levels – Low, Medium, High and Custom/Gentle. I found the Low and Medium weren't very effective for the kind of tiles I had in my test space, as the pads didn’t saturate enough for my needs and barely dampened the floor. While this is excellent for sensitive floor types (like some wood panels), the High setting was perfect for me and that’s what I left it at for the various Routines I set up via the app.

The Custom setting, while allowing you to choose the water-flow level, doesn’t ‘scrub’ as well as the other three and that, again, is good for sensitive floor types. If you do need a better clean, you can set the robot to sense areas of excessive dirt and it will automatically return to do a second mop after it has washed the pads following the first attempt. During my testing, though, this feature failed most of the time.

Depending on your cleaning needs, you can set the bot to mop-only, vacuum then mop, or do both at once. Personally, I’m not fond of the last option as I'm a little paranoid that the mop pads will pick up more dirt and won't get washed properly.

I found that it was also a good idea to assign the order in which it cleans rooms as this can reduce track marks from its own wheels over an area it has just mopped – this can be done in the app by just editing the saved map.

Like I did for vacuuming, I performed a couple of mopping tests to see how well the Qrevo Edge does.

While we usually use ketchup in our standard mopping test, I had none at the time and used oyster sauce instead. I allowed a small spill to dry out a little, but also plopped some of the fresh viscous liquid on another part of the floor to test the scrubbing action on dry and wet messes.

Even with the water-flow rate set at High, the Qrevo Edge had minimal effect on the dried-out sauce on the Standard ‘route’. The route is how the robot moves through a space while cleaning and there are four options for both vacuuming and mopping. After setting the robot to do a 2x mop run in the Deep+ ‘route’ setting, though, most of the dried oyster sauce was cleaned, but not fully. I ended up wiping that spot myself.

No matter how often I mopped my floors, the dirty water was... very dirty (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Cleaning up a wet spill was another matter altogether. On a default Zone run (which uses the SmartPlan option), the sauce was mopped but, of course, got stuck on the side brush (I’m glad I was able to rinse it), smeared the undercarriage and the mop pads left long, brown streaks as the bot moved on.

After allowing it to go back to the dock for a mop wash, I immediately set the Qrevo Edge to a 2x mop at the High water setting to clean up the remaining mess, which it did well.

I’d expect situations like these are extreme and most users wouldn’t allow their robot vacuum to encounter such messes, but it’s worth noting that it doesn’t handle bigger dry messes well either. For example, I sprinkled copious amounts of talcum powder on a wet bathroom floor, then allowed that to dry completely. On a High water-flow setting, white streaks were left on the bathroom floor, much like the oyster sauce.

While I can’t fault the Qrevo Edge’s mopping issues as it’s not unique to it, I regularly found that it didn’t go all the way to the edge of a room despite the extended mop pads. More often than not, about an inch of floor space along skirting boards would remain unmopped. And that was disappointing, particularly since this robot vacuum comes at such a high price and, conspicuously, has 'Edge' in its name.

Obstacle avoidance could be better – the Qrevo Edge couldn't identify a cable in its path (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Navigation and obstacle avoidance

For a day-to-day regular cleaning run, I found the Qrevo Edge’s navigation to be impeccable. There are two Routes (or paths) you can select in the app when it’s vacuuming or vacuuming and mopping at once – Fast and Standard – but you’re provided four when you opt for mop only – Fast, Standard, Deep and Deep+. These Routes determine how much of the floor gets covered and, after testing all of them, I found that the Qrevo Edge follows the chosen Route correctly.

The Route you opt for will, of course, affect battery life and the app gives you a warning every time you change navigation. Despite that, I personally preferred the Standard (for vacuuming) and Deep for mopping as the results were the best.

Importantly, selecting a 2x cleaning run will automatically prompt the Qrevo Edge to clean in the opposite directions for the two sessions, which I thought resulted in even better results than a single Deep mopping session.

The only reason it didn't chew up the cable was because it had already partially swallowed a sock (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The only time navigation was erratic was if I had chosen a Zone clean for a quick session, which defaults to the SmartPlan navigation. This uses deep learning to determine which part of the zone or room the Qrevo Edge should clean first and I found its movements weren’t as precise on a carpet. It was slightly better on hard floors though.

Still, the SmartPlan navigation is quite efficient. Having learned that there is a medium-pile rug in my living room, for example, the Qrevo Edge always did a vacuum-only clean first on the rug, then went back to the dock to wash its mop pads to clean the rest of the tiled living-room floor. On the rug, though, it wouldn’t always move in straight lines, but I didn’t see that it missed any spots.

A lightweight obstacle just gets pushed around as it moves (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The Qrevo Edge’s obstacle avoidance could be better though. While it manages to identify some obstacles in its path and place a marker on the map, this functionality wasn’t consistent. To test this further, I placed its own packing box in its path once and it didn’t add a marker on the map, but it did so for a chair I had moved from its original location.

To check its effectiveness avoiding smaller objects, I ran the standard TechRadar tests of placing a cable, a sock, a slipper (aka flip-flop or thong, depending on which part of the world you live in) and a shoe in the robot’s path.

It nearly swallowed the little sock, which got stuck on the central roller, and because of the sock taking up space on the undercarriage, it ran over the cable without getting entangled. The first time it encountered the slipper, it went over it, but the subsequent times it just pushed the lightweight rubber footwear along in front of it. The shoe was the only obstacle it managed to avoid each time it encountered it on its path.

Its camera quality isn't the best, but it's good enough for a security check (or looking in on your pets if you have any). You can even use the call button to speak to your kids or pets (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

This shouldn’t come as a surprise though as most robot vacuums have difficulty with the smaller obstacles and would chew up a slim charging cable or a sock. That’s why all brands recommend you pick up the smaller items before you do a cleaning run.

That said, Roborock does call out the Qrevo Edge’s obstacle avoidance, so I expected more. It’s perfectly fine for general cleaning, but the performance doesn’t quite match its high price tag.

The robot can use its onboard camera to take a picture of the obstacle and, when you tap on the corresponding marker (if any) on the map in the app, it will come up. Every time I wanted to try this feature with a specific obstacle, it didn’t place a marker on the map. The only time it worked was for a chair that is permanently a part of the map.

Dock performance

Other than the bit of bad odor I could smell when I hadn’t cleaned out the dirty water the day of the cleaning run, I can’t fault the dock’s performance. There’s plenty of suction that pulls out nearly every bit of dust, debris and hair from within the onboard dustbin.

The only thing I found in the bin after a self-empty was a thin film of fine dust along the sides, which is perfectly normal and can be washed out. Just be sure to fully dry out the bin before placing it back into the robot again.

Image 1 of 2

A white indicator light on the dock says everything is A-OK... (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 2

..but turns red when you've removed a tank or it's not sitting correctly, or there's something else the matter (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Even the washing seems adequate. At the time of writing, I’d used the Qrevo Edge for two months, running it a couple of times a week, and the mop pads still look good to me. That said, I found the mop pads looked a lot better after three months of using the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni, and I also found the air drying to be more effective in the competition as it uses hot air rather than warm as in the Qrevo Edge.

This means the mop pads take longer to dry on the latter and, if there’s not a lot of ventilation in the area you’ve positioned the robot vacuum, you could smell the pads if there's even a little dampness left. During my testing, I had to increase the air-drying time to eliminate any smells.

Another indicator of how well the mop washing works is the color of the dirty water in the tank – it was always dark brown, even if I ran the robot on subsequent days, thinking the floor wouldn’t be too dirty. Boy, was I wrong.

The dock’s self-cleaning features also includes one for the tray the robot sits on (and uses to scrub the mop pads). That can get grimy too and the 5-minute self-cleaning session means you need the least amount of work to maintain this machine.

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The brand-new mop pads before the first use... (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 2

..and their condition after about 8 weeks of use, two to three times a week (not too shabby) (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Battery life

Battery life is where the Qrevo Edge truly shines. It’s got a 6,400mAh pack that easily did a full clean session on Max suction and Standard/High mop (on a vacuum-and-mop run) in one go in my test space and still usually had about 36% battery left.

If I set the robot to do 2x cleans at its highest settings, then it would run down to about 12% battery, head back to the dock for about three hours, top up till about 48% and finish the rest of its cleaning. That’s an impressive battery performance in my books considering it was doing power-intensive sessions.

Roborock says that the Qrevo Edge is capable of fast charging (up to 30% quicker than previous models apparently), but I saw no evidence of that during my testing. Considering it took about three hours to get just 40% topped up during my testing, I think the best time to run these kinds of modes is when you’re away for the day – that way, you can return to a clean home and not get impatient with half a job done.

• Performance score: 3.5 out of 5

A light can automatically come on if the Qrevo Edge is cleaning a dark room or under the bed (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Roborock Qrevo Edge review: app

• Very detailed app as compared to some of the competition
• Offers plenty of precise control
• Matches system dark mode that looks very classy

The Roborock app is arguably the best-designed I’ve used for a robot vacuum cleaner. When you first download it, it will ask if you want it to match your phone’s system settings, which means it will automatically convert into dark mode and I found that it looks very nice indeed – colors pop and everything is clearly laid out.

It will take time to get used to the app, though, but that’s only because there’s a lot going on. In fact, I kept discovering quirks and better ways to use the robot all through my two-month testing period. While my test space was a single-storey home, the Roborock allows you to save multiple floor maps and swap between them, although you will have to go through the Edit Map menu to do so.

Map editing is a lot more straightforward here than I’ve found with other robovac apps, and it identified carpets and hard floors in the test space correctly, requiring minimal intervention on my part. You can add furniture if you wish. The usual features of adding no-go zones and virtual walls is also available.

The Roborock app is very detailed, starting from map building and editing (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Diving into what the robot can actually do is time consuming, particularly if you plan to set up custom Routines. The app gives you some default options that you can edit, but it’s not always as straightforward as its map editing.

For example, a couple of full-home routines I tried to set up refused to show me a vacuum-only option, but only gave me a vacuum-and-mop. I had to then break up that option and have two Routines for a full-home clean.

You can always edit those Routines as you learn more about the app, but it really shouldn’t be as difficult as it is currently set up.

There are also plenty of options in the settings to go through (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Perhaps the best part of the app is the SmartPlan option you’ll see as soon as you select the robot vacuum. While you can run this from the get go, you won’t get the best clean early on.

I found that it’s the most effective after you’ve run the robovac a few times throughout the home on specific Routines. It will use this information, leveraging some AI smarts, to customize the best cleaning path, suction and mop settings for subsequent runs.

There are some other advanced features in the app that you can use, including using the onboard camera to do a quick security check around your home while you’re away. You can guide it remotely using the app navigation, but you can also keep the camera on while it is cleaning.

You can set up custom routines or enable Rocky, the onboard voice assistant (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

You can even photograph obstacles or conduct a video call with your pet. The camera features are turned off by default, which is a good thing, and all photos and videos are saved locally, according to Roborock. Moreover, you’ll even need to be the primary account holder to enable these camera features, adding a layer of security.

Roborock has its own voice assistant called Rocky, which is available to use on the Qrevo Edge, but the prompts it can understand are very limited. There are more Siri voice prompts, but even these I found to be a little unreliable. You can connect the Qrevo Edge to Google Home or Alexa, which offers better control but, again, quite limited prompts. In general, I think the app itself should be your go-to for full control of the robot vacuum and its dock.

• App score: 4.5 out of 5

The mop pads lift up 10mm and I never found a damp streak on my living room rug (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Should you buy the Roborock Qrevo Edge? Buy it if...

You have thresholds around the home

The Qrevo Edge can tackle heights of up to 4cm and, even though it might look like it’s struggling, it takes time to figure out how much power it needs and the best angle to get over the threshold.

You want an efficient robovac for day-to-day cleaning

Despite its impressive specs and features list, the Qrevo Edge is better at tackling the easier regular cleans, rather than handling the tough jobs. It's navigation, though, is arguably its best feature, arguably being one of the most efficient I've seen.

You want a low-maintenance robot vacuum for the most hands-off experience

Other than having to regularly clean out the dirty-water tank, the Qrevo Ege is arguably the most hands-off robovac I’ve tested. Its dock can take care of a lot for you, including cleaning up the mop-pad washing tray. Even the 2.7L dust bag won’t need replacing too often thanks to the larger capacity, but be wary of smells.

Don't buy it if...

You want value for money

Given its issues, I’d be hard pressed to recommend the Qrevo Edge at its full price. There are plenty of other cheaper options available that perform just as well, if not better. Although be aware that you will need to make a few sacrifices if you opt for cheaper models, like not having the same amount of suction or a self-cleaning mop-washing tray.

You want a simple robot vacuum

The Qrevo Edge is a do-it-all robovac with an app that has a heck of a lot of detail. If you don’t need all its bells and whistles, and would prefer a simpler self-emptying option, there are plenty to choose from and you’ll also save money in the bargain.

You want the very best in mopping and edge cleaning
While the regular mopping runs with the Qrevo Edge are very good, its penchant for creating more messes on the tougher spills is disappointing. Other models like the Eureka J20 (with a roller mop) and the cheaper Ecovacs T30 Omni are better moppers, and even handle edge cleaning more efficiently.

Roborock Qrevo Edge: alternatives to consider

Dreame L40 Ultra/X40 Ultra

If money is no object and you’re after one of the best in autonomous cleaning, consider the top-of-the-range Dreame L40/X40 Ultra. The L model is widely available in most markets, but the X option is available in Australia. Both offer similar specs and performance, including excellent suction and mopping, plus a few smart features that make cleaning as hands-off as possible.

Read our full Dreame L40 Ultra review
Read our full Dreame X40 Ultra review

Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni

As one of the best robot vacuums representing excellent value for money, the T30 Omni might not have the same suction power as the Qrevo Edge, so it won’t be as good on a dirty carpet, but if you predominantly have hard floors, I can’t recommend this highly enough. The Pro model, which doesn’t cost much more than the standard, is just as good, but you get a couple of additional features – voice assistant support and better mopping.

Read my in-depth Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review

How I tested the Roborock Qrevo Edge

• Used in single-storey, one-bedroom apartment with mixed flooring
• Used two to three times a week for eight weeks
• Tried various settings and modes, with specific tests for fine dust and larger debris

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

I used the Roborock Qrevo Edge regularly for a period of two months in an approximately 40sqm one-bedroom apartment that has both full carpet and hard floors (tiles). This test space has no pets, but I did my best to make sure there was enough of my own hair on the carpet to make for tougher cleans.

I also set up several custom routines, running each at least two or three times to test for not just cleaning abilities, but also consistency. I even ran it on some default settings and modes, particularly testing the SmartPlan option several times for Room and Zone cleaning.

I ran TechRadar’s usual tests for suction, mopping and obstacle avoidance, plus did an extra test to test for cleaning fine dust and powder (using talc).

I compared its performance with other robot vacuums I’ve tested previously, having gone from the Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni directly to using the Qrevo Edge.

Read more about how we test robot vacuum cleaners

[First reviewed April 2025]

Apple Nike Sport Loop review

If you want to jazz up your Apple Watch, then look no further than the Nike Sport Loop. This lightweight, yarn-crafted strap has a woven design that’s a bit more charismatic than more basic silicone alternatives. But still, it’s not the cheapest option, coming in with a list price of $49 / £49 – so is that splash of pizzazz truly worth it?

Well, if you’re big into workouts or running, then the answer may well be a resounding ‘yes’. That’s because this durable band is constructed of a double-layer nylon weave, which forms a cushioned layer on the skin-side while still enabling moisture to escape. Its breathable design means you’re not going to be irritated by excess sweat, which is a big benefit.

Having said that, I didn’t personally find this band to be as comfortable as some of the best Apple Watch bands around. That’s due to its use of a nylon material that could sometimes feel a little bit fuzzy and overly noticeable on my wrist. Of course, that’s going to come down to personal preference – not everyone will love the fluoroelastomer material used on the Apple Sport Band, say, but I much preferred its smoother texture.

One thing that’s undeniable, though, is that this strap is ultra quick and easy to fasten. It comes in a loop shape and can be attached using its velcro strips. Simply stick the band down and you’re ready to go – just like that you’ve got a secure, hassle-free way to wear your Apple Watch. That’s a significant plus, especially given some cheaper alternatives, like the Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap can be a tad stiff to fix on.

As well as being quick to fasten, this strap has a flexible design, meaning it rarely feels too tight. The Nike Sport Loop’s inherent flexibility also means that it comes in one size only – though it will suit any wrist size between 145 and 220mm, meaning almost anyone can find a snug fit.

One last critique before I sum up: this strap is fairly playful, but isn’t exactly the most distinguished or premium-looking. Its use of a yarn material reminds me almost of a fabric watch I had as a kid – especially in colorways like Blue/Red and Green/Grey. There are some more low-key color options like Black/Blue, but if you want something classier, you’re better off with an option like the Apple Milanese Loop.

In the end, the Apple Nike Sport Loop is undoubtedly a practical, workout-friendly band that’s going to hit the spot for a lot of you out there. I didn’t adore the sensation of the nylon material or the aesthetic of the band, but that’s very much down to personal taste – I’m sure there will be plenty of you who disagree wholeheartedly! So, if you want a high quality strap and you’re into the Nike Sport Loop’s flexy, playful look, it’s certainly well worth considering.

(Image credit: Future) Apple Nike Sport Loop review: price & specs

(Image credit: Future) Should I buy the Apple Nike Sport Loop? Buy it if…

You want a more flexible fit
The loop design and velcro strips mean that the Apple Nike Sport Loop is super easy to fasten. The flexibility of its material also means it won’t feel too tight or rigid, ideal for when you’re on a run or mid workout.

You need an option for workouts
The Nike Sport Loop’s flexible fit is only one aspect that makes it optimal for workouts. It’s also constructed of a fabric material that’s both breathable and sweat resistant. It doesn’t get much more practical than that!

Don't buy it if…

You want a more sophisticated look
This isn’t the most distinguished-looking Apple Watch strap on the market, in my view. If you want something a little more premium looking, check out the Apple Milanese Loop, for instance – though beware, this model will set you back $100 / £100.

You’re looking for an ultra-cheap option
At $49 / £49, this is far from the most expensive watch strap around, but there are a whole host of cheaper, third-party alternatives to consider too. For example, the CeMiKa Silicone Sport Straps will only set you back between £8.99 - £12.29 if you’re in the UK – though bear in mind, you won’t get the most stylish band around.

Apple Nike Sport Loop review: also consider

Apple Nike Sport Band
The Apple Nike Sport Band is still my go to Apple Watch strap and it’s going to take something special to push it off that pedestal. It has a smooth, comfortable design, exciting color options, a highly adjustable fit and plenty of breathability. This one’s made of fluoroelastomer, which I found to be a lot kinder on my skin, plus its sweat and water-resistant. You can’t ask for much more, really. Read our full Apple Nike Sport Band review.

You might not be immediately familiar with the Opera web browser, but it has been around long enough to have settled down with a wife and kids. First released in 1995, Opera earned a name for itself as the browser that adhered the closest to web standards such as CSS, making it the go-to choice for web developers.

In 2016, the company released a VPN baked into its web browser; no separate app required. We had a look at the paid OperaVPN Pro version a couple of years ago, and found it somewhat underwhelming as a paid product, especially compared to the best VPNs on the market.

In a world where you can find full–featured free offerings from companies like Windscribe, Proton VPN Free, and PrivadoVPN Free, is there still an argument to be made for using OperaVPN? Let's find out.

Features

Opera's offering is rather sparse; users don't get more than the bare minimum in terms of features. There are three VPN server locations to choose from, and free users also get access to a split tunneling tool, which Opera VPN Free calls “bypass rules”, a feature which is, strangely, absent from the paid Pro version.

Bypass rules allow you to choose if you want specific websites to use your regular connection rather than the VPN connection. This comes in handy if you do a lot of online banking.

OperaVPN also comes with IP and DNS leak protection – but that’s it for features. There’s no support for streaming or torrenting, and no additional security tools beyond those that come as part and parcel of the Opera web browser. All the other features are for paying customers.

The biggest drawback is that Opera VPN Free only protects your browser and nothing else, unlike other free providers that protect all the apps on your device.

Features score: 3/10

(Image credit: Shaun Rockwood) Server network

The Opera VPN Free server network is, in a word, tiny. There are three server locations for free users to connect to, including the Americas, Asia, and Europe. By contrast, paid users get access to servers in over 60 locations worldwide.

There is another option called ‘Optimal location’, which automatically chooses the server it thinks offers the fastest connection. There is no ability to pick a more specific location, no cities on offer, though the ability to at least pick a certain point on the map puts OperaVPN above some free VPN providers, which connect you to a random server in a random location whenever you hit the connect button.

As OperaVPN only protects web traffic, there are no specific servers for torrenting or streaming.

Server network score: 3/10

Apps

To use Opera VPN’s free or Pro version, you must install and use the Opera web browser. The browser is available on a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and Chromebooks.

Apps score: 5/10

Ease of use

We found that Opera VPN Free was surprisingly intuitive to use. As basic an offering as it is, there’s little to confuse even those unfamiliar with VPNs.

You access the VPN by clicking the small “VPN” icon in the address bar. After that, you get the usual big power button style connect button with a message that reads ”Unprotected - Enable for enhanced privacy” when the VPN is off and “Protected - Your browsing is secured” when the VPN is up and running – and a map visual showing you where you're connected to.

(Image credit: Shaun Rockwood)

Beneath that is a dropdown with four different connection options, which will show your chosen location and new IP address. The other settings for the VPN are accessed via a rather tiny cog icon that takes you to the settings menu.

There’s a handful of additional VPN-specific settings, mainly centered around whether or not you want certain sites to use the VPN, though there are no tool-tips to help beginner users understand why they might want to enable/disable any of these settings, nor is there any help given to explain how the split-tunneling/whitelisting feature works.

Ease of use score: 3/10

(Image credit: Shaun Rockwood) Speed and performance

OperaVPN’s performance varies wildly depending on the time of day you access it. Our testing was carried out on a 1 Gb fibre connection during the morning and the evening.

The Asian location gave us a top connection speed of 249 Mbps down with an upload speed of 103 Mps.

(Image credit: Shaun Rockwood)

The European and American locations were both equally as inconsistent, with top download speeds of 380 Mbps and 136 Mbps respectively. These tests were repeated over multiple days, and speeds varied from passable to barely usable, with the best results being returned in the evening GMT.

4K streaming, for instance, requires connection speeds of 25 Mbps, so while you could maybe stream high-def content via Opera VPN Free, it would be heavily dependent on the time of day you were trying to watch anything.

By contrast, Windscribe’s test results put it in the top ten fastest VPNs with a download speed of 785 Mbps using the WireGuard protocol and a top speed of 365 Mbps when connecting through the OpenVPN protocol. PrivadoVPN Free and Proton VPN’s free offering both returned download speeds that are faster and more stable than OperaVPN as well.

Speed and performance score: 4/10

(Image credit: Shaun Rockwood) Unblocking

While OperaVPN Pro was surprisingly competent when it came to unblocking streaming sites around the world, the same cannot be said for the free version.

It failed to access any content on Amazon Prime Video, couldn’t unblock Disney+, and attempts to get to Paramount+ led to a screen telling us that the service wasn’t available in our part of the world.

(Image credit: Shaun Rockwood)

The same went for BBC iPlayer, with the service detecting that we were not based in the UK and denying us access. If accessing streaming content is a big selling point for you, then not only does this force you to use the websites to stream rather than the bespoke apps, which often leads to degraded picture quality, but you would simply be better off using a different free VPN, with both PrivadoVPN Free and Windscribe offering far better results.

While it was able to access a variety of different torrenting sites, Opera VPN Free offers no protection if you want to download any of these torrents, as you need to use an external client. If you’re looking to do any P2P file sharing, you’d be better off looking at one of the best torrenting VPNs instead.

Unblocking score: 0/10

Privacy and Security

The biggest issue we faced when talking about Opera VPN Free’s privacy and security features is that the provider shares so little definitive information anywhere online.

The client’s privacy and security settings are as bare bones as the rest of its offering, while also managing to be confusing by offering a variety of protocols depending on the platform you're using. On Windows and macOS, it uses the IPSec protocol. On Android, it uses either IPSec or OpenVPN, and on iOS, it uses the WireGuard protocol.

While other VPN providers offer up-to-date and speedy VPN protocols like WireGuard, OperaVPN free users are restricted to only the somewhat dated IPSec protocol on Windows and macOS.

There’s also no way for you to choose your protocol if you have issues connecting to a server or online resource. Opera does claim to have AES-256-bit encryption, but it's difficult to verify any of these claims when Opera itself is so tight-lipped about what the VPN is capable of.

We can confirm that there are no DNS, IP, or WebRTC leaks found in any of our testing, and the Opera web browser itself blocks malicious websites, as well as offering advert and tracker blocking.

That's great news, meaning that it provides some additional protection from intrusive websites trying to track what you’re doing, or wasting your bandwidth with annoying adverts. Beyond that, however, there’s none of the additional security or privacy features we would hope or expect to see, like multi-hop connections, anti-virus, obfuscated servers, or a kill switch.

The company has taken steps to assure both users and critics that it is committed to privacy and security. Towards the end of 2024, the company underwent an independent third-party audit, bringing in Deloitte to look at its systems and processes. The result of this was that Deloitte confirmed that Opera does live up to its no-logs policy and does not log or store any user data.

This is a big step toward proving that while it might be feature-light, Opera VPN Free doesn’t mess around with the privacy of its users.

Privacy and security score: 5/10

Track record

There’s not a great deal to say here, which is a good thing. OperaVPN doesn’t seem to have been involved in any major controversies or data breaches, though there have been some concerns voiced about Opera’s parent company, given that Opera is now majority owned by a Chinese company called Kunlun Tech Co., Ltd.

It also underwent a third-party audit last year that confirmed that its no-logs claim isn’t just an empty promise that can't be verified.

Track record score: 8/10

Customer support

The short answer is that there is not much in the way of support for Opera VPN Free. Opera VPN Pro has its own dedicated support site, but it’s about as basic as they come. There are a handful of short articles that are mostly concerned with the basics of getting the VPN configured and working.

One of the articles claims to detail the difference between the Pro and Free versions, but it’s little better than a marketing page that directs users to the respective sites for each product and offers only two sentences with an overview of the differences between them.

Free users get even less. There is no dedicated support portal for free users, and nothing more than a handful of extremely basic “how to use the VPN” entries in the overall Opera browser support pages.

If you can’t find any help there, then there are community forums you can use, but the VPN doesn’t even merit its own dedicated forum for queries! There’s one for the AI tools that Opera bundles in, but not for the VPN.

Again, this is in comparison to other free VPNs that boast full-featured knowledge bases and sometimes even a support team you can reach out to for help.

Customer support score: 1/10

(Image credit: Shaun Rockwood) Pricing and plans

Opera VPN is available both as a free and a paid Pro version. The Pro version is priced as follows:

• 1 year - $48
• 6 months - $30
• 1 month - $8

There are no bandwidth limits when using the free version of the VPN, and you can install the Opera browser on as many machines/devices as you like, with the understanding that only your browser traffic is going to be protected by the VPN.

The paid version supports up to 6 simultaneous connections for your devices, which is fewer than a lot of other premium VPNs.

(Image credit: Shaun Rockwood)

The company offers a 7-day free trial, but there seems to be some confusion over the length of the money-back guarantee.

On the Opera website, it appears to suggest that there is a 14-day money-back guarantee, which requires you to fill out a form, print it, scan it, and then send it to Opera’s support desk, which is hardly an intuitive or user-friendly procedure.

But if you look at the Opera VPN Pro forums, it claims that the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, and that all you need to do is email the support team.

Pricing and plans score: 7/10

Should you use Opera VPN Free?

Opera VPN's free offering brings very little to the table that would see us recommend it over its competitors, and Opera seems almost embarrassed by its existence, judging by the dearth of information in its own official forums and support pages.

It has a tiny server network, it only protects your web browser, there’s no support for torrenting or streaming, no support site to help if you run into trouble, and its connection speeds range from the barely-usable to the just-about-adequate. There’s no killswitch, no ability to choose your VPN protocol, and basic whitelisting for URLs only.

It’s not all bad, though. The company passed an independent audit confirming its no-log claims, it’s about as simple a VPN as you could get, making it very easy for absolute beginners to get to grips with, and it does add at least some additional protection to your browsing by masking your IP and ensuring there’s no sneaky DNS leaks.

OperaVPN aims to be the most convenient way to encrypt your web browsing, and that approach does have some merits. The problem, though, is that other free VPNs are almost as simple to use, offer faster speeds, more features, and protection for all your other apps.

OperaVPN might appeal to those who aren’t particularly tech-savvy and want a truly simple product, but the argument could be made that a non-tech-savvy user isn’t going to be browsing the web through Opera to begin with.

Overall score 39/100

HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro: Two-minute review

The HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro is the latest iteration of the brand’s line of elite gaming mice, promising stellar performance and design. It adopts a sleek form fairly typical for a gaming mouse, and it looks the part. The Slate Grey finish, which is the only available, doesn’t inject the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro with much vibrancy, but it’s inoffensive enough, and the black accents side buttons and scroll wheel add some interest.

One aspect that sets it apart from many others is the prominent central hump, as the mouse buttons rake downwards sharply, creating a unique feel. In my hand this descent began almost flush with the second knuckles of my two forefingers, which was ideal as I could easily flex to click. However, there will no doubt be gamers who won’t find this quite so ergonomically sound.

I was also surprised by how much of a handful it is, with its width looking narrower than it feels. The subtle side bulges mean your thumb and ring finger are spaced further apart than you might imagine, and again I found this suited my grip style quite well.

(Image credit: Future)

The Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro is solidly constructed too, and is on par with some of the best gaming mice out there. I also liked the subtle texture of its body, which feels smooth but provides just enough natural grip, although optional grip tape is included in the box.

The mouse buttons themselves feel engineered to equally high standards, as do the side buttons and scroll wheel. I was also glad to see the DPI button positioned topside, rather than hidden underneath.

At only 61g, the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro is on the lighter end of the spectrum. There are certainly gaming mice out there that tip the scales even less, but it’s still very easy to maneuver, which is also aided by how evenly the weight is distributed.

The Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro can be customized using HyperX NGENUITY, the brand’s peripheral tool. Here you’ll find the usual RGB lighting and DPI tweaks, along with rebinding options. However, I was a little disappointed at the lack of shortcuts available for assignment, paling in comparison with other peripheral software. It also lacks multiple rebinding layers, which is a shame.

(Image credit: Future)

Despite the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro being a mouse designed for elite gamers, there’s a distinct lack of advanced tweaks too, with slam click filters, angle snapping, and the like absent. You can at least alter the lift-off distance, although only 1mm and 2mm options are offered.

You can also adjust the polling rate in NGENUITY (which can also be accomplished on board via a button combination), with a maximum of 4K available. This will please pro players, although those who obsess over such numbers might wish for 8K instead, as other elite gaming mice are capable of.

Regardless, I still found the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro very accurate when gaming. Tracking is smooth and precise, and while it might not glide as effortlessly as some others (the skates are quite thin, after all), it’s still easy enough to swipe with.

The clicks are snappy and actuation is light, with just enough damping to make them satisfying. Both buttons have a deeper travel than you might expect, but I didn’t find this negatively impacted their responsiveness. I was also fond of their indentations, which helped to keep my fingers secure.

The side buttons are similarly responsive and offer more feedback and travel than I was expecting. However, they are a little narrow, which might not suit certain play styles. The scroll wheel has some quite pronounced notching, but it’s still swift enough in action, while the middle click is easy to actuate and provides enough stability to avoid mis-flicks.

I experienced no connectivity issues with the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro during my time with it, and it switched easily between 2.4GHz and Bluetooth modes. The light, braided USB cable that’s included created only a minimal amount of drag during wired play.

HyperX claims the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro can last up to 90 hours on a single charge, and based on my testing, I’m inclined to believe this figure. After a few days of testing, it only depleted by several percentage points.

The Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro acquits itself well in the main, thanks to its capable performance and design, although I’m not sure every gamer will like the shape. The multiple connectivity modes are certainly welcome at this price point too, which gives it an advantage over the Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed, one of its closest competitors. While that mouse has more customization options and slightly better performance, the difference between them isn’t huge, which means the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro is a solid choice if you’re after a gaming mouse with plenty of prowess.

(Image credit: Future) HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro review: Price & availability

• $119.99 / £99.98 (about AU$188)
• Available now in one colorway
• Well-priced compared to rivals

The Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro costs $119.99 / £99.98 (about AU$188) and is available now in one colorway: Slate Grey. It comes with a 2.4GHz USB dongle, an extension adapter, a braided USB cable, a spare set of skates, and optional grip tape for the sides and mouse buttons.

It’s a similar price to the Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed, which is a little lighter than the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro, and offers many more customization options via Razer’s Synapse software. However, it lacks Bluetooth and its maximum default polling rate is 1K. This can be upgraded to 8K, but an optional dongle needs to be purchased to achieve this.

If you really want to save money on a wireless gaming mouse, the Cooler Master MM311 is a great pick. You will have to sacrifice a rechargeable battery and some other features, but the performance-to-price ratio is strong in this one.

HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro review: Specs Should I buy the HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro? Buy it if...

You want good performance
The snappy and satisfying buttons, coupled with the 4K polling rate, make the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro a strong contender in battle.

You want multiple connectivity options
The Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro can be connected wirelessly via Bluetooth and the 2.4GHz dongle, with easy switching between the two, which makes it ideal for multi-device setups.

Don't buy it if...

You want a traditional shape
The steep front slope of the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro probably won’t be for everyone, but I found it comfortable.

You want advanced customizations
NGENUITY offers less tweaks than rival peripheral tools, and elite adjustments are missing, LoD heights aside.

HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro review: Also consider

Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed
A close rival to the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro in terms of price, the DeathAdder has a slight edge when it comes to smooth performance. It has the advantage of more in-depth customizations than the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro, thanks to its compatibility with Razer’s Synapse software. Its default polling rate tops out at 1K, although 8K is possible – but requires the additional HyperPolling dongle to get there.

Cooler Master MM311
It’s been the undisputed champion of the budget gaming mouse division for a while in our eyes, and for good reason: it offers great performance for the super-low price. It will require a AA battery, and its polling rate also tops out at 1K, but if saving money is the name of the game, you can’t do much better. Read our Cooler Master MM311 review.

How I tested the HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro

• Tested for a few days
• Played FPS titles
• Plentiful gaming experience

I tested the Pulsefire Haste 2 Pro for a few days, during which time I used it for gaming, productivity, and general browsing. I used its Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, and wired modes on Windows 10 and 11 systems.

I played Counter-Strike 2, which is a stern test for mice given it requires quick movements, precise aiming, and rapid clicks. I also played S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, which is less frantic but makes wider use of a mouse’s functionality.

I have been PC gaming for over 10 years, and during that time I have experienced a great deal of mice. I have also reviewed numerous models ranging in price, features, and shape. I previously reviewed the HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Mini as well.

• First reviewed: April 2025
• Read more about how we test

Mild spoilers follow for The Last of Us season 2 episode 1.

The Last of Us season 2 has a lot to live up to. Its predecessor set a high bar for HBO's TV adaptation of Naughty Dog's popular video game franchise. So, the pressure on season 2 to reach the heady heights of the hit series' first season and authentically adapt the story told in The Last of Us Part II couldn't be greater.

Based on this season's opening episode, 'Future Days', it seems The Last of Us' sophomore season will be a largely faithful take on its gaming namesake. However, future episodes will need to ratchet up the tension, melodrama, and horror-infused action if season 2 wants to be talked about as glowingly as its forebear.

The dark side of us

Some years have passed since we last saw Ellie (left), pictured here with Joel's brother Tommy (right) (Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

Like The Last of Us Part II game, episode 1 of the hit HBO series' second season reunites us with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) after a time jump. Indeed, five years have passed since the explosive season 1 finale where Joel massacred numerous Fireflies to save Ellie's life.

Remember, she's immune to the Cordyceps virus because the Fireflies' doctors believe the fungus has been growing in her brain since she was born. So, they were going to use Ellie's brain to create a vaccine, which would kill Ellie in the process. Cue a furious Joel going on a bloodthirsty rampage to rescue Ellie, seemingly consigning humanity to its fate with no cure to combat the virus, and then lying to Ellie about what actually happened at the Fireflies camp.

I was already convinced that Dever would be a vengeance-fuelled tour de force

One push of the fast-forward button later, and the pair have grown accustomed to life in Jackson, the now-bustling Wyoming town that's become a safe haven from the life-threatening, global scourge that's decimated humanity.

Before we catch up with our intrepid duo, there's the small matter of addressing Joel's murder spree and the deceased Fireflies' devastated relatives left to pick up the pieces. That includes Kaitlyn Dever's Abby, The Last of Us Part II's divisive deuteragonist, whose father is among the people Joel mercilessly gunned down.

What's immediately apparent about Dever's Abby is that she's not as physically imposing as her video-game counterpart. Loathed as Abby is by some The Last of Us fans for events in the game that I won't spoil here, I suspect those same devotees will be vexed over what they perceive to be an unnecessary tweak to her build.

I've no doubt that Dever will deliver a powerful portrayal of Abby in HBO's TV adaptation (Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

Honestly, though, I don't mind this minor, if controversial, change. Yes, Abby's physicality is a large part of her identity, so the decision to downgrade this part of her character is one reason why fans expressed concern for Dever's welfare in the lead-up to season 2's release.

Nonetheless, based on her portrayal of tough and complex yet empathetic characters in other projects, I was already convinced that Dever would be a vengeance-fuelled tour de force in HBO's small-screen adaptation. My confidence has only grown after witnessing the emotional gravitas she imbues Abby with during her limited screentime in 'Future Days', and I can't wait to see how she builds on the character in Part II in future episodes.

Season 2 isn't afraid to show how Joel and Ellie's once-strong bond has deteriorated

By and large, though, this is still the Ellie and Joel show, and the critically acclaimed Max series isn't afraid to show how their once-strong bond has deteriorated in the time since we last saw them.

A major part of the heartbreaking shift in their relationship is down to Ellie's growth as a person. She's still the oft-amusing, impulsive, and reckless individual we came to adore in The Last of Us season 1, but an animalistic fury – one born out of traumatic events she's endured – now courses through her veins. That means she's not only physically older and more world-weary than last season's Ellie, but also far more temperamental and destructive than before.

Pascal's emotionally rich performance in 'Future Days' tugs at the heartstrings (Image credit: HBO)

Unfortunately for Joel, he bears the brunt of the highly charged verbal torpedoes Ellie lets loose. This is more than a normal teen rebelling against a parent, biological or otherwise, though. Indeed, it's a surrogate father-daughter bond on the verge of total collapse.

A clear animosity has developed between them since The Last of Us TV show's season 1 finale. That much is clear in the plot exposition woven into a conversation between Joel and Isabela Merced's season 2 newcomer Dina, who's an utter delight as Ellie's bestie and Joel's surrogate daughter substitute for Ellie.

Fans of Naughty Dog's games aside, I don't think anyone will be prepared for the breakdown in their relationship – hostilities that'll only grow when that huge showdown between Joel and Ellie occurs. In fact, I'd go as far as to say some viewers will be stunned by this development, especially as they spent little time apart in season 1. Like The Last of Us Part II, 'Future Days' keeps interactions between them to a minimum, which serves to make the brief scenes they share all the more heart-shattering.

Support structures

Merced's Dina is a perfect foil to Ramsey's Ellie in more ways than one (Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

There's more to one of the best Max shows' return than this season's tritagonists in Joel, Ellie, and Abby, though.

The return of characters from season 1, including Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Maria (Rutina Wesley), plus the addition of new characters like Merced's Dina, Young Mazino's Jesse, plus Abby's strike team (read more about them in my season 2 cast guide) help to populate this universe with fascinating, complex characters whose relationships will be impacted by the actions of the aforementioned trio. That each new actor fits their character like a glove only makes them more likable and/or intriguing to watch, too.

That each new actor fits their character like a glove only makes them more likable and/or intriguing to watch, too

There's also a largely gratifying expansion of the narrative depicted in Part II. Most are minor narrative improvements that flesh out its story or refine the tale Naughty Dog originally told, but the odd one or two additions might frustrate long-time fans wanting a beat-for-beat re-tread of the game series' latest entry.

One change that won't irk fans is the addition of Gail (Catherine O'Hara), a psychotherapist whose complex relationship with Joel is already a season highlight of mine after season 2's opening episode. I reveled in seeing these powerhouse actors, whose emotion-wracked performances speak louder than words ever could, go toe-to-toe. I really hope we're treated to more similarly intense interactions between them over the course of this season.

O'Hara's Gail is one new addition to HBO's interpretation that builds on its video game counterpart (Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

The premiere's near-hour-long runtime allows for brief moments of levity to shine through the post-apocalyptic melodrama, too.

Much of that comes by way of Ellie and Dina's endearing puppy love-style dynamic. Ramsey and Merced clearly revel in egging each other on as their respective characters; their playful exchanges punctuating the sobering yet dangerous world they inhabit.

Even though I know what happens in Part II, I'm still keen to see how their relationship evolves.

Ramsey and Merced clearly revel in egging each other on as their respective characters

'Future Days' has already set up fascinating threads for this dynamic with the fallout from their romantically charged dance, Ellie's physical run-in with a new version of the Infected (aka the Stalker), and the ominous, double-headed nature of how this season's premiere ends all set to change the duo's perceptions of, and loyalty to, each other. That's before we even get to that absolutely soul-crushing moment from Part II (if you know, you know) that'll severely impact their friendship.

If there's one criticism I have of 'Future Days', it's that it's the epitome of a calm before the storm-style episode.

Okay, it's supposed to serve as a slow-paced reintroduction to this universe that moves the requisite chess board pieces into place for more heart-pounding, shocking, and revelatory events to come. Still, there are moments of thrilling action and/or location-based exploration in Part II's first few hours of gameplay that, while they can't be directly translated for television, could've been substituted for other suspense-filled storytelling beats.

My verdict

'Future Days' is a purposeful and methodically paced reintroduction to HBO's retelling of The Last of Us, and one I mostly enjoyed. As a catch-up episode, it didn't need to employ a gung-ho storytelling approach. I was also largely satisfied with its near-perfect authentic take on Naughty Dog's source material.

That said, compared to season 1's action-heavy and emotionally devastating opener, it felt somewhat underwhelming in its design. Part II's most heart-rending moment notwithstanding, more thrills and tragedy-laced incidents will be required in future episodes – in season 2 and The Last of Us' recently confirmed third season, both of which cover the story told in Part II – to recapture the infectious magic of its predecessor.

The Last of Us season 2 episode 1 is out now on Max (US and Australia) and Sky Atlantic (UK).

The Hon Altern Task Chair is a minimalist, budget-friendly, modern ergonomic chair designed for home offices and office buildings. It's the basics, nothing flashy, and that's okay.

After testing out all the best office chairs, I didn't expect to like this model. I thought it would be too lightweight, flimsy, and not even comparable to some of the chairs I've reviewed. However, even though it is minimal, it still managed to impress me in a number of ways.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Hon Altern Task Chair: Price and Availability

The Hon Altern Task Chair retails for around $300, depending on your chosen configuration. You can grab one of these chairs from Amazon, Hon's official website, or other office furniture stores like Staples and Wayfair. The company offers a lifetime warranty on the frame and a five-year warranty on mechanical parts. For a $300 chair, that's pretty impressive.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Hon Altern Task Chair: Unboxing & first impressions

Thanks to this chair being super light, the assembly was overall quite simple. Following the directions, I could quickly assemble the pieces in about 12 minutes.

Once I assembled it all, I immediately noticed it looked pretty small compared to some of the more prominent office chairs I get. But that is why it feels so sleek, modern, and minimal- the elegant black color and mesh backing.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Hon Altern Task Chair: Design & build quality Specs

Seat Cushion: 3.5” thick foam
Seat Height: 17.95” to 21.1”
Seat Depth: Adjustable, up to 21”
Back: Mesh, breathable
Weight Capacity: 275 lbs

The Altern has a simple mesh back and a sleek frame surrounding the chair. This combo is excellent for those who run a bit warm like I do, and it's for those who want actual comfort, not the feeling of leaning against a board like some chairs.

Though this chair is small, as I've noted, my team and I had no issues adjusting it to fit all of us. Features like the thigh depth help with leg comfort, especially if you are taller (or adjusting to a shorter thigh depth if you are shorter). Especially paired with a good-height backrest and adjustable armrests.

Moving on, the lumbar support can slide from time to time, though I haven't had a huge issue with this, and there is no tilt-lock to stick yourself in upright no matter how hard you press (okay, maybe you could push hard enough to break something and lean back).

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Hon Altern Task Chair: In use

My team has had this chair in rotation for a while (156 days). Moving from room to room is simple and easy, even from my studio to a workspace. It's not overly complicated with dials and switches to adjust the chair like some that I test, and the cushion is comfortable for all-day work. My team member who usually works with this chair is 5'6" and probably around 190 lbs. It fits him perfectly, and he loves using the chair for long working sessions.

When I jump into this chair, I can still see his comfort level, which is great because usually, one size fits the chair better than others, but it's not bad for a nearly 8-inch difference in height.

A few things I don't love about this chair is that it can look dirty quickly with dust or even slight debris. If anything touches the black, I must immediately wipe it off, including crumbs, dust, shavings from a 3D Printer, fuzz, etc. Additionally, this chair has very simple armrests. This is super helpful for some. I go back and forth. On the one hand, I like that I can lean on these and not worry about them moving away from me (I may or may not have had issues with this in the past), but on the other hand, I do like being able to adjust my chair with 4D armrests to move anywhere I want them.

My team has loved using this chair, and it's held up without any issues. The armrests and pieces are still just as tight and work wonderfully. The chair has yet to creak or sound like it's groaning. I can see why Hon is willing to give such an extended warranty.

Hon Altern Task Chair: Final verdict

The Hon Altern Task Chair is an excellent crossroad between comfort, budget price, and minimalist style. If you're interested in a decent chair that's slim enough to fit where you want it, strong enough to hold you up, sufficient quality to last, and comfortable enough to use all day, the Hon Altern Task Chair is worth considering.

For more office essentials, we've reviewed the best standing desks for the home and office.

Bluetti is one of the more well-known power station companies. They make phenomenal offerings like the AC500, AC200L, and the Handsfree 2 backpack. The Elite 200 V2 is another offering in this quality lineup, expanding the form factor of the AC200 and AC200L with better output, smarter technology inside, and a slightly more compact design.

I've reviewed plenty of the best portable power stations, and this one has explicitly found great use in my workshop area, ensuring that all of my gear is readily charged and good to go. This charges drill batteries, vacuums, toys for the kids, etc. It got me thinking about how great of a solution this power station would be for a job site or in a utility capacity for charging tools out of your truck or van or even making sure you can top off power tools at a construction site.

Alternatively, perhaps you’re not in that line of work; this would also be a good pick for a cabin, a shed, a camper van, or something similar, especially if it's paired with an all-season solar panel to keep you off the grid entirely.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Bluetti Elite 200 V2: Price and Availability

The Elite 200 V2 is frequently discounted to under $1,000 from its regular MSRP of $1,999. That’s a pretty good deal, and if you’re even considering being in the market for a portable power station. You can buy these from Bluetti's website, Amazon, and a handful of other retailers.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Bluetti Elite 200 V2: Unboxing & first impressions

The Elite 200 V2 comes in a simple box with only bare essentials. It has the power station itself, an AC Charging cable, solar cable attachments, a grounding screw, and a manual—nothing out of the ordinary there. The casing and handles help build into this power station's rigidity factor, which, paired with the overall heft, feels quite premium.

It doesn’t have as much casing as some of the more “all-season” units that Bluetti has (review coming soon on a more weather-resistant model), but it still feels like you can knock it around, and it will be fine. The two integrated handles on either side of the top of this unit make moving the power station something I can do on my own, though it’s not something that most would enjoy doing.

If there were one handle, this unit would be flat-out inaccessible to many, if not most, and that’s not to say I’m even some sort of professional lifter of heavy things. My wife and a few co-workers struggled immensely trying to lift this unit into position, even with the two handles. If this is you, the two handles are positioned so you can easily buddy-carry and share the load with a friend (or stranger).

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Bluetti Elite 200 V2: Design & build quality Specs

Capacity: 2,073.6Wh
Output:
4x 120V AC (20A)
2x USB-A (15W)
2x USB-C (100W)
1x 12V/10A car outlet
Input:
AC (up to 1800W)
Solar (up to 1000W)
AC + Solar = 2400W max
DC car (12V or with Charger 1 accessory)
Dimensions: 13.8 × 9.8 × 12.7 in
Weight: 53.4 lbs

As I alluded to in an earlier statement, I am also testing the IP-rated variant of this power station. So, in comparison, this unit is much less rugged, but not in a bad way. I’d consider this a professional-looking power station, ready for the board room just as much as it’s prepared to live in the back of a work truck.

All the ports are on the front of the unit, other than the power inputs (AC and Solar) and the grounding wire, which are all on the right side. The output ports are all on the front, beautifully surrounding the display without encouraging covering the screen.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Bluetti Elite 200 V2: In use

I briefly mentioned above that I've found this machine useful in a workshop area, simultaneously charging up some of my gear. I have also taken this outside (when it wasn't raining) to help keep drills recharged while working on building a giant playset in my backyard. I brought this to a job site where I was helping run conduit, power, and CAT-6 Ethernet in a workspace at a company I work with. When the power was cut, I used this power station to shop lights and keep drills recharged for the team, throwing up a half-wall and drywall.

During this testing, I was impressed with the output capacity of this hefty yet mighty power station. Sometimes, I wish it had more than four ports, but in all of my testing, ID 3. So, while more feels better, I don't usually find myself needing more on the go. And, if I did, I could throw a power strip on there pretty straightforwardly, like what I am doing with a work cart powered by my EcoFlow River 3. This power station only has one AC port with a ground and just a two-prong AC port. Still, I run a robust cart with a dozen outlets mounted all around for ease of use, a Thunderbolt Dock, a monitor, a charging station, and a charger for a few radios. So, if I can run all of that off of a smaller unit, with only one and a half AC ports, you can run plenty with four full three-prong AC ports.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Another excellent use case for this power station would be for emergency backup. It could power a fridge (the time it could run would depend a lot on the type of fridge) for hours, a router, a server, phones, computers, medical equipment, security equipment, and so on.

Bluetti Elite 200 V2: Final verdict

The Bluetti Elite 200 V2 is a fantastic portable power station for most individuals. It is a tremendous all-around Swiss army-knife power station that is great at many things. It's hefty, doesn't have waterproofing, does not come with solar panels, doesn't have wheels, and some features are only accessible with the app.

Still, outside of those few minor inconveniences, not even problems, this power station is excellent. It's dependable, durable, robust, purposefully designed, and all less than $1000. If you're looking to get into portable power stations, need a solid one to add to your fleet, or anywhere in between, this power station is worth considering, especially if it's on one of its sales.

Nank Runner Diver2 Pro: One Minute Review

The Nank Runner Diver2 Pro are unquestionably one of the best pair of bone conduction headphones on the market, and certainly the best pair of waterproof headphones I’ve personally tried in a very long time. They perform well in all areas, offering long-lasting battery life and ample storage, and prove comfortable to wear both on land and in water.

I used the headphones on my runs for quite a few weeks and could find precious little to moan about. Their adjustable hooks allow you to achieve supreme comfort, and you can also adjust the transducers – bend them inwards towards your ear, for example, to activate the Runner Diver2 Pro’s “noise canceling” mode – to suit your needs. Note, though, that noise canceling here isn’t exactly on a par with the ANC you’ll find on the Apple AirPods 2 Pro; you’ll need to wear earplugs to really eliminate sound leakage.

Nevertheless, to expect a pair of bone conduction headphones to feature world-class noise canceling is likely an ask too much. The Diver2 Pro are open-ear headphones that have been designed to enable you to continue to hear the world around you, stay safe on the roads and perform well in water. By their nature, bone conduction headphones don’t shut sound away, which explains the reason that the noise canceling mode disappoints here.

Bone conduction headphones work by using transducers to emit sound waves through your temples towards your eardrums, rather than directly into your ear canals. And coupled with the proprietary magnetic charger, silicone casing and 32GB storage in the Diver2 Pro, allow them to be used in the water, too. Bluetooth signals don’t travel well underwater, so the onboard storage is crucial for swimmers.

Overall, the Nank Runner Diver2 Pro are genuinely well-crafted and well-executed headphones for all manner of sports, from running to swimming. They’re a bit thicker and bulkier than market leader Shokz’ slender offerings, probably in order to accommodate that MP3 player – but we really can’t fault that; the headphones are quick to charge, simple to use and high-performing; they’re great for runners, cyclists and swimmers alike, which will make them near-perfect for triathletes.

Nank Runner Diver2 Pro: Price & Availability

• $199.99 / £154.50 / AU$427.80
• More expensive than OpenRun Pro 2
• Can be found on sale for less

The base price of the Nank Runner Diver2 Pro is $199.99 / £154.50 / AU$427.80. For that sum you get the headphones, the proprietary magnetic charging cable, earplugs, and three sizes of sound-quality enhancers. A carry case is available, but it’s sold separately - which is disappointing considering the price

While the base price is more expensive than the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, putting the Diver2 Pro at the very top end of bone conduction models, the headphones can frequently be found at a discounted price on both Nank’s own website and third-party outlets such as Amazon. At the time of writing, Nank’s website has the US version of the Diver2 Pro on sale for $159.99, and the UK version for £123.60.

Find them on sale for less, and I’d consider the Diver2 Pro a good buy – especially at that UK price point.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Nank Runner Diver2 Pro: Design

(Image credit: Future)

Weighing around 32g, the Nank Runner Diver2 Pro headphones are light and comfortable both in and out of the water, which is surprising given they come packing 32GB storage. Their silicon casing is remarkably soft, especially on the enclosed earplugs, which are made from the same material. The IP69-rated sealed unit makes the Diver2 Pro headphones fully waterproof and sweatproof; even open-water swimmers can use them without worry of saltwater getting into cracks and crevices.

The magnetic proprietary charger is well designed and clips onto the inside of the unit neatly; however, given the price, I was surprised to see Nank still using USB-A for its charging point. I reckon if we’re expected to pay full-price for these headphones, then USB-C – rapidly becoming the new universal standard due to its faster data transfer and charging speeds – should have been used instead.

The headphone’s arms allow you to pull the transistors towards your ears by up to 35 degrees, delivering greater control over how much sound is heard, while a trio of buttons enable you to skip tracks, adjust volume, and switch between Bluetooth and TF (storage) modes. Patented technology aims to reduce vibrations in the unit – a common problem with bone conduction headsets – by up to 35%. You can also slip the included silicon sound-quality enhancers over the base units, to stick in your ears, to ensure sound is conducted more effectively.

Overall, the Diver2 Pro’s are extremely well-designed: light, durable, comfortable and eminently functional.

• Design score: 5/5

Nank Runner Diver2 Pro: Features

• Noise canceling mode
• Multipoint connections
• Masses of storage

The adjustable arms of the headphones operate the noise canceling mode that Nank advertises: it claims that by pressing sound units closer to the ears and adding ‘noise canceling waves’ that you have the option between open-ear and closed-ear. You can slip the included silicon sound quality enhancers over the base unit, to stick in your ears and ensure sound is conducted more effectively.

However, the real stars of the show here are the multipoint connection with Bluetooth 5.4, which allows you up to two high-quality connections at once to switch between freely, and the built-in storage. The 32GB offered here is generous, holding up to 8,000 tracks – enough for hours upon hours of podcasts, or the longest workout playlist anyone has ever (probably) compiled. You can adjust the volume up and down, switch between modes or skip tracks with the Diver Pro2’s simple button configuration. While this might appear a limited feature set, in terms of bone conduction headphones, the Diver2 Pro are practically feature-rich.

I can’t really think of anything else I’d want on the Runner Diver2 Pro, apart from the ability to isolate the stored music into specific playlists, as I can do on Spotify. However, I can’t imagine how Nank would go about implementing such capability. These headphones are effectively a high-capacity iPod Shuffle at a fraction of the size, built into a pair of headphones. Awesome.

• Features score: 4/5

Nank Runner Diver2 Pro: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Great performance and comfort during runs
• Works well in the pool
• Battery lasts ages

I used the Diver2 Pro for multiple runs of varying length in Bluetooth mode, and found them ridiculously easy to set up and simple to use. My one gripe was that I was expecting the volume up/track forward button to be on the front of the unit rather than the rear, which took some getting used to.

Aside from that minor gripe, the headphones were light, comfortable and a pleasure to run with. While I didn’t find the noise canceling mode particularly useful – there was still plenty of ambient noise leakage, and the music just got louder rather than clearer – but this is a small complaint. From the start, the sound was clear, nicely balanced rather than overly-bassy (which is common with bone conduction headphones), plus the headset worked well for taking calls on the go, cutting out some ambient wind noise at my end.

In the pool, I found the Diver2 Pro similarly useful. Loading the built-in MP3 player with music was super simple from a laptop, and switching to storage (or “TF mode”) from Bluetooth was simply a matter of pressing the power button three times in quick succession. Despite an unavoidable change in sound levels as my head rose and fell out of the water during a swim, I could hear my music clearly throughout my swim.

Battery-wise, the headphones performed as described, lasting for around 12 days with plenty of use before needing to recharge. On the occasion I did find the battery low, charging for 10 minutes delivered an extra hour of use.

• Performance score: 5/5

Scorecard Nank Runner Diver2 Pro: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future) Buy it if...

You’re a triathlete

Find yourself moving from the water to the land during your workouts? These are the headphones to buy.

You need built-in storage

With a whopping 32GB, you need never take your phone out on a run or cycle again.

Money’s no object

These are a premium set of headphones, with a price to match.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You’re on a budget

There are cheaper headphones out there that do the job, albeit not with the same quality nor flare.

You need actual noise cancelers

If you’re looking for headphones that will block out the noise of the gym, you’ll need a pair that actually block your ear canal.

Also consider

Shokz OpenSwim Pro

The market leader in swimming headphones.

Read our full review

Shokz OpenRun Pro 2

We called the OpenRun Pro 2 our ‘ideal runner’s headphones’.

Read our full review

How I tested

I spent weeks testing the Nank Runner Diver2 Pro, going on runs and one pool swim. I drained the battery down with frequent use, charged it again, tried all the modes and loaded songs onto the unit using the proprietary cable.

First reviewed: March/April 2025

Earfun OpenJump: Two minute review

Now that open-ear headphones have evolved from a simple fad to a fully-fledged new kind of headphone (and a hugely competitive one, at that), two rough groups are emerging. On one hand you've got the open-ears designed for fitness use, offering long battery lives and hardy builds so you can run and cycle around traffic; on the other you've got lifestyle open-ears that provide decent music and some useful additional features.

The new Earfun OpenJump seem to want to straddle that divide, landing loosely in the second camp, but offering features which will appeal to the first. Unfortunately, poor timing has hampered what could have been a warm reception.

I associate Earfun with making cheap and cheerful audio tech, but the new OpenJump cost roughly the same as, and came out at the same time as, the Huawei FreeArc. These rival buds trump the Earfuns in myriad ways, with another contemporary (the Honor Earbuds Open) also eclipsing the OpenJump. So it's hard to recommend Earfun's proposition given that you can easily buy those alternatives – and I think, depending on your priorities, you should (although that's a different piece, isn't it? This is about Earfun).

But forgetting its rivals for a second, how do the Earfun OpenJump hold up? Well, they're... decent, but I don't think they'll be remembered for ushering in the new age of open earbuds as much as their H-branded rivals.

The buds are fairly lightweight and comfortable to wear, though some design issues made the fit and gesture controls a little unreliable. There's a decent feature set, particularly with a long-lasting battery life and an in-depth equalizer, and this is almost certainly where the OpenJump stands out.

Unfortunately, the audio quality just isn't there, and I mean that despite some bass tech from Earfun plus the aforementioned equalization options. Until very recently, you couldn't expect top-notch audio from such a design. But times have changed, and although the OpenJump are decent, that isn't quite good enough any more, even for this money.

Something to bear in mind: already in my testing period, Earfun has reduced the OpenJump by a noticeable margin. So there's a good chance that you can find these buds for a significant discount over the price listed below, firmly placing these into cheap earbuds territory. If that's the case, you can ignore a healthy chunk of my criticism here, since you'll be picking up a useful bargain. But at retail price, perhaps it's worth waiting for these to come down.

I really didn't mind using the OpenJump through the testing period, and I see myself continuing to use them until my next pair of open-ears come in. Nothing about them offends or annoys, but also, nothing delights or wows. And in the end, a tech review is meant to be an appraisal of which option is most worthy of your hard-earned cash. It's just too hard to point to the OpenJump as being that, given the competitive state of the market right now.

Earfun OpenJump review: Specifications Earfun OpenJump review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Announced in February 2025
• Costs $79.99 / £99.99 / AU$149.99
• Price is variable

The Earfun OpenJump was announced and released in February 2025, ready for everyone who put ‘exercise more’ on their list of New Year’s Resolutions (but didn’t start straight away, for whatever reason).

You can buy the earbuds for $79.99 / £99.99 / AU$149.99 – Earfun’s website has them listed as costing more in certain regions (£129.99 in the UK, for example), and the prices I’m going by are the RRP on Amazon.

In an odd break from Earfun’s modus operandi, that means that these are priced in the mid-range of the open earbuds market, not at the super-cheap cutting edge of it. At that price they’re the same price as the Huawei FreeArc, and there are a fair few open-ear options on Amazon for less – though don’t expect reliability and quality if you don't pay for it.

It’s worth noting that, unlike competitors, Earfun’s open-ear buds are already subject to price cuts and discounts. I found them at $20 off in the US and £40 off in the UK, just one month after their release. So it seems money-saving deals come thick and fast on these buds, however it wouldn't be fair for me to treat these prices as the default, since you may not be so lucky.

Earfun OpenJump review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Cheap-feeling plastic charging case
• IPX7-protected buds
• Slightly unreliable fit and gestures

From a distance, the Earfun OpenJump’s case looks like most other open-ear buds’: a medium-sized clamshell. And that’s certainly true, but when you get up close and get the thing in your hand, you realise how cheap the plastic material feels. It didn’t feel very robust either, and I’d be curious to see how durable the case is over a longer amount of time. Even over a relatively short testing time of two weeks, it picked up a few scratches.

Of course, the case is simply for holding and charging the buds. It does that, with a USB-C port for powering up and an indicator LED on the front. On to the buds themselves then, and these look how you'd expect for open-ear designs: they have a bud which is held just over your ear by a sport loop, with a counterweight (and a very little battery pack) tucked behind your ear.

Evidence of how easily-bendable the hook is. (Image credit: Future)

They mostly fit well, and I went on several runs and workouts without issue, but now and then there was slight wobble and which made me worry that they'd fly off at any moment. This was nowhere near as bad as with some other rivals I've tested, mind you, but I've also used other buds without issue.

The buds have an IPX7 rating, meaning that they're protected from immersion in water up to a depth of a meter for up to thirty minutes. Given that the new athletically-minded Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 (although these are in-ear, rather than open-ear) only list a splash-proof IPX4 rating, it's good to see that the Earfuns will handle a puddle drop and survive.

Both buds support gesture controls by tapping once, twice, thrice or tapping and holding. They picked up my taps reliably, but the angle of the sensor meant I kept whacking my ear antihelix when trying to tap them. In a telling move, I soon relied on my phone or smartwatch for music control instead of these sensors.

Unlike some rivals, there's only one color option for the Earfun OpenJump: black. They weigh 8g each so they're pretty light, and they never felt a burden to wear.

• Design score: 3.5/5

Earfun OpenJump review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Pairing issues
• Versatile EQ
• Long-lasting battery

I had some troubles during my initial pairing with the Earfun OpenJump, in which my phone wouldn't find the buds it'd paired to, and throughout the testing process the Earfun App listed a profile for phantom OpenJumps which were simply a leftover from the first time I had tried to connect. After a while I got them to connect, and didn't have problems after that, but it's worth bearing in mind. I test earbuds constantly, and I rarely have these issues.

Talking of the Earfun app: it's worth downloading, because it brings a plethora of extras. These include various modes for gaming or streaming movies, the ability to customize touch controls and, most importantly, an equalizer.

(Image credit: Future)

Earfun fans will know that the company offers a fairly robust (possibly to a fault) equalizer. There are countless presets to pick from plus a 10-band equalizer and also a listening test to provide a custom sound profile.

A slight issue with the latter is that, like most other companies' versions, it requires you to listen to a sound until it fades from your hearing... all well and good except that these are open-ears. So by their very design, it's especially hard to tell when audio is soft, or when the sounds of the world are simply creeping in (unless you own a hermetically sealed subterranean bunker in which to conduct these tests).

The OpenJumps have some of the best battery life of any open earbuds that weren't made by OpenRock. The buds themselves will last for 11 hours according to Earfun, and my testing backed that up. The case itself offers a total of 42 hours of listening time before it needs to be charged and if anything, I'd say that my actual listening time seemed to surpass that slightly, up to nearly 44 hours, meaning stamina is one area where these buds are genuinely competitive.

• Features score: 4/5

Earfun OpenJump review: Sound performance

(Image credit: Future)

• 14.2mm driver
• Music is slightly lacking in energy and detail
• Bass redemption tech

The Earfun OpenJump came out at a poor time, released simultaneously alongside the two best-sounding open-ear headphones I've ever used (more on that in the Competition section later), so it was always going to struggle in the sound department. And they certainly do, though not to the extent I was expecting.

That's not a huge surprise given that the open-ear form factor naturally means that the drivers are hanging over your ears with no seal. This form factor still isn't for audiophiles and the OpenJump don't change that.

You're getting a fairly forward sound profile with the OpenJump, but music lacks energy or detail. There's little separation between instruments or any expanse to the soundstage, and it doesn't help that the treble lacks sparkle in a congested, compressed-sounding mix.

(Image credit: Future)

I had hoped that the Theater mode, which is meant to improve the soundstage, would help. While it did seem to spread out the music a little more, it also sadly made the overall performance quite tinny.

Earfun has added a feature which it's cryptically calling 'BassSurge Bass' (I wonder what that does?) and this goes some way into providing a little kick in certain songs, but it's hardly a surge of juicy and impactful low-end frequencies. You could argue that bass-heads should still look for over- or in-ears rather than an open-fit design, but other rivals have managed to deliver better bass, despite the inherent shortfalls of a design that doesn't fully cover or go into your ear canal.

The other bit of tech of note is a 14.2mm driver, which is a fairly standard piece of tech for this kind of bud, and I remember the Nothing Ear (open) had the same.

The OpenJump have quite a lot of noise bleed – again an inevitable part of open-ears given the design, but it was a little more pronounced here than on some other buds I've tested.

• Sound performance score: 3/5

Earfun OpenJump review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

I'm going to use the Amazon price to judge the Earfun OpenJump's value rating, because it seems that the buds are readily accessibly at that lower cost.

These are reasonably affordable open-ears for this price, undercutting some more expensive rivals though not quite offering the refined design, or sonic prowess.

They're certainly not alone at this price point though...

• Value score: 4/5

Earfun OpenJump review: scorecard Earfun OpenJump: Should you buy them?

(Image credit: Future) Buy them if...

You like using an equalizer

Compared to other open-ear rivals, the Earfun OpenJump have one of the best equalizers I've used with lots of options for sound customization.

You prioritise a long-lasting battery

The OpenJump outlast many competitors with their 11-hour listening time, and that's equally true with how much extra power the case offers.

You're on a budget

While not the cheapest open-ears out there, the Earfuns still offer you great value for money, especially if you find them discounted.

Don't buy them if...

You're picky about fit

For many users, anything but the most solid fit for open-ears isn't enough, and these users won't like the OpenJump.

You need best-quality audio

This brand tends to offer decent audio and a great feature-set, and although the feature set is still good here, the audio was a little disappointing.

Also consider

Huawei FreeArc

For the same price as the OpenJump you can buy these buds which sound great, have a sturdy fit and come in a more premium-feeling case. They struggle compared to the OpenJump in the battery life department and the app is a chore to download, but overall, I prefer the Huawei option.

Read our full Huawei FreeArc review

Honor Open Earbuds

These slightly-pricier models have an incredibly slim carry case, a design that's most similar to the Earfuns, and a very good audio offering. Again, the battery life doesn't match up, but for sound and secure fit, Honor wins the race.

Read our full Honor Open Earbuds review

How I tested

I tested the Earfun OpenJump for two weeks prior to writing this review, and before them I'd tested two similarly-priced contemporaries: the Honor Earbuds Open and the Huawei FreeArc.

I used the earbuds paired to my Realme phone for listening to music and podcasts, and the testing took place when I was at home, at the office, cycling through the city, going on runs and working out at the gym.

I've been reviewing gadgets for TechRadar since early 2019 and have used a huge range of tech. This includes other open-ear buds as well as audio offerings from Earfun.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: April 2025

Duracell has been around for as long as I can remember. I've got countless memories of grabbing some Duracell batteries to throw in toys, remotes, and other tools growing up, all the way up to toys for my kids. Duracell is a well-known, highly-reputable company that people recognize and trust.

Having reviewed the best portable power stations, I can confidently say this one is meant for everyday use, has excellent ports, and is a simple backup for essentials. However, what sets this power station apart is not the bold design, port offering, power output, or capacity.

What sets this apart is that you can recharge it with a standard AC extension cord. There is no fancy proprietary charger or IEC cable that swears on the cable that you can only use for that power station. Any AC extension cable will do.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Duracell G800: Price and Availability

The Duracell G800 is available through Duracell's official website for only $699 but be warned that it frequently sells out. They offer a smaller variant, but if you're going with this company, I'd choose this larger one for portable power stations.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Duracell G800: Unboxing & first impressions

When I first found the Duracell G800, I thought it was a gimmick. A power station resembling a famous battery wouldn't work well. But, once I got it, I was proven wrong. The build quality is excellent, the packaging is professional and straightforward, the handle is comfortable to carry, the port offering is fantastic, and then I noticed the way to charge, and I realized this is working hard to compete right out of the gate.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Duracell G800: Design & build quality Specs

Battery Capacity: 620Wh
Output: 800W (shared across 3 AC ports)
Ports:
• 3x AC Outlets (total 800W shared)
• 3x USB-A (7.2A shared)
• 2x USB-C (100W per port, 200W total)
• 1x Car charger port (120W max)
Weight: 19.4 lbs
Dimensions: 12.5” x 8.3” x 11.5”

The Duracell G800 is a unique look. It's got a bronze top half to resemble the famous battery, but what's great is that Duracell chose to make the line between the black and copper a ring light, helping light whatever you may be trying to plug in, in the dark, without power, thus the need for a power station.

Further, the handle is solid and firm, and there is some integrated storage on the backside of the power station to help carry the power cable or any USB-C/USB-A cables.

Thankfully, all the main ports are on the front, which I appreciate. It makes for a portable power station that is easy to use, allowing for this to be set down and forgotten about while charging whatever you may be keeping charged.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Duracell G800: In use

Admittedly, I've had this G800 for around 160 days. However, in that time, I've had my team put this thing to the test in real-life scenarios. I've had this power station help out when charging cameras on the go out of the back of my Jeep, charging iPads and computers on a long trip, and being a light source and emergency power in a power outage. I've had this power station help out my family in Florida during the crazy hurricanes this last year. In all the scenarios, this power station functioned great. The handle makes it easy to maneuver in all of these environments, and the forward-facing ports mean that all ports are accessible simultaneously.

Throughout my time testing, the most standout feature is that this unit recharges with a standard AC extension cord outlet. One thing that makes a power station less usable is when it has a proprietary charger or a unique charger that works only for that unit. It makes recharging more cumbersome, more challenging in many ways, and more expensive if you ever damage or misplace your charger. With Duracell, they chose to go the opposite route of an Apple with the (late) Lightning cable, and they decided to go with a cable option that is nearly everywhere (in the US). This may be an intentional move, or it's beginner's luck; regardless, I am a fan.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

While testing, I got this power station recharged to an impressive 80 percent in about an hour, just as Duracell suggests. I got my 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro fully recharged about 8.5 times, depending on just how heavily I ran it when plugged in (I run my computers hard with all that I do in a day).

Duracell promotes being able to run a Wi-Fi router for around 26 hours, a TV (very generic) for 5 hours, a mini cooler for 22 hours, a drone for 26 charges, and lights for 6.7 hours.

If you want to extend your off-grid power, plug in a G-Solar Panel to recharge the power station directly from the sun.

Duracell G800: Final verdict

Overall, the Duracell Power 800 is a quality power station, especially for the price, making it a great travel, camping, and home backup for smaller items that need to be charged. Sadly, it does not have app control, but it does have nice features such as a built-in light ring and that handy ability to recharge with a simple standard AC extension cord.

Last I checked (and surprisingly, I check pretty often), Dell is still the top monitor brand in the world. They dominate the display game primarily due to their professional monitor line-ups. In 2025, they will continue to put out spectacular panels for their business customers, offering what the people need and will need in the foreseeable future. The UltraSharp line-up has led this charge of premium office monitors for quite some time, with the U3225QE as the newest release.

Unless you have a super simple setup and you can get away with plugging your laptop directly into your monitor over HDMI, and then your setup is complete, most people benefit from a dock in one way or another. It may not be used heavily every single moment, but having a dock where you can plug in other cables, plug-in drives, or accessories and access your computer can be super handy. Another thing that not many setups have, but many would benefit from, is a KVM dock.

Dell's U3225QE continues the legacy Dell has set forth with a gorgeous panel, the world's most comfortable display, an integrated Thunderbolt Dock, and a KVM switch.

This is easily one of the best business monitors for those working on multiple devices in the professional space.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Dell U3225QE: Price and Availability

The Dell UltraSharp 32 4K Thunderbolt Hub is priced at $949.99 and is available at Dell and other business monitor resellers. It is backed by a 3-year Advanced Exchange Warranty, which includes access to the premium panel exchange. One thing to note is that only a mere fraction of Dell monitors are purchased through Dell, and most are purchased through a third party.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Dell U3225QE: Unboxing & first impressions

The box for this Dell Monitor was a little different than the standard brown box I've expected from most monitor manufacturers. This one was in a black box with a photo of the monitor on the front and prominent Dell branding. Once unboxing, though, everything felt familiar.

Within the contents are the monitor, a stand, a Thunderbolt 4 Cable, a DisplayPort Cable, a USB-C to USB-A cable, and the IEC power cable. The monitor stand and base are the same as those used by Dell for years. It works well, has integrated cable routing, and is height-adjustable.

However, it also takes up a lot of space. So, I usually opt for a monitor arm. Thankfully, as most monitors are these days, this monitor has a VESA mounting capacity, so I could put this display on the Mount-It monitor arm I had set up already.

Once I got the monitor arm mounted, the other things I noticed immediately included the pop-out ports, the plethora of ports on the back, the fantastic display, and my appreciation for IEC monitors in general.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Dell U3225QE: Design & build quality Specs

Size: 31.5” (4K UHD, 3840 x 2160)
Panel Type: IPS Black (3,000:1 contrast)
Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Color Accuracy: 100% sRGB, 99% DCI-P3 / Display P3, Delta E < 1.5
Brightness: 450 nits (typ.), 600 nits peak HDR
HDR Cert: DisplayHDR 600
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x DisplayPort 1.4 (in/out), 1x HDMI 2.1, 2.5GbE RJ45, 7 USB downstream, 3.5mm audio-out

Dell's monitors all look like they belong together. This one is no different. It's a black panel front with minimal bezels, a light grey plastic backing, and ports at the bottom middle of the back of the display. Another thing that I appreciate about Dell is that there is minimalist branding all around. That makes it an easy choice to toss this monitor on my testing desk and be able to leave it there without it looking like a branding piece or a gaudy flashy display.

Dell also made sure to include some front-facing ports since this is a Thunderbolt dock as well. There is a pop-out grouping of ports on the left-hand bottom bezel, allowing for ease of access when needed, and then it can be clicked back in place when not in use.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Dell U3225QE: In use

I'll speak quickly to a few different use cases for this monitor. This display is fantastic for people who need an all-in-one display in an office or workspace, especially if you have multiple devices. This monitor is also great for the home office and can be used for work and play, all on the same display. Another use case would be for videographers looking for a significant multi-use display.

For my use case, I have the Dell UltraSharp 32 4K Thunderbolt Hub Monitor on my secondary desk, which is directly behind my main desk. I have it on my Flexispot E7 Plus desk, with a Grovemade desk shelf, a Mount-It Monitor arm, and a Grovemade desk pad. I added a nice BenQ lightbar to the top and a few other gadgets around the desk to finish it.

For the last few weeks, I've had this monitor as my computer and peripheral testing area, making it super easy to plug in any laptop to the USB-C cable to charge and run data and video, all to the built-in hub on the back of the monitor. I can also run any HDMI or DisplayPort to the monitor, making it easy to plug in any desktop I am testing, any gaming system for after-hours fun, an Apple TV (for the screensavers and aesthetic vibes), and just about anything else. All of this without a dock since the monitor has it all built-in.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Translating this to the business world, this could be your all-in-one display. It's got super rich IPS Black colors, even though it's not running an OLED Panel, so it will look great with your content, no matter what you're doing on it. It's a 120Hz refresh rate, making the display buttery smooth, especially when you pair it with the 4K resolution and great colors. All around, the picture is brilliant. I'd suggest this as your only monitor if it fits the specs and price you're looking for.

Regarding features, the monitor has a built-in KVM on top of the Thunderbolt Dock, which I have already discussed. What's great about a built-in KVM is that you can switch displays for multiple computers/devices and swap around your inputs and peripherals simultaneously. Picture this: the Dell UltraSharp 32-inch 4K is your only monitor. You work from home. You can easily have your work machine plugged in, whether it is a laptop or a desktop. During the day, you can quickly finish your work on this brilliant panel, knocking out multitasking or project management, coding, writing, or virtual meetings. Then, when you're on lunch, you can press a button and swap your mouse, keyboard, webcam, mic, and any other accessories you want over to your personal laptop to check on the game, check your personal emails, work on your side project, video call a family member, or whatever else. Then, you can swap right back to your work machine with another simple press. No more needing multiple keyboards or having all your gear spread across a desk in a cluttered mess. Better yet, thanks to the great inputs, you can even have your gaming system plugged in, so after the workday, you can swap into an evening of gaming if you so choose.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Further, if one monitor is insufficient, Dell allows for daisy chaining these monitors, meaning you can still run a one-cable setup. Still, you can have several of these monitors side by side or stacked to give you even more digital real estate.

Sadly, there is no speaker built into this display. I say sadly, but at the same time, I only ever use monitor speakers for the occasional internal Google Meet, where I don't need brilliant audio; I need to be able to hear my teams. So, while it's a loss, I'd be frustrated at the quality if there was a speaker. And, if I wanted a good speaker, I could get the web conferencing variant like the Dell P3424WEB, but then I wouldn't need one of the best business webcams, which have great features in and of themselves.

Dell U3225QE: Final verdict

The Dell UltraSharp U3225QE is a gorgeous monitor that would be a perfect productivity companion for almost everyone. It's got impressive connectivity options, excellent pictures, 120Hz buttery smooth motion, and one of the best-rated eye-friendly screens on the market. It's not perfect, but for the vast majority, it's precisely what you'd want and need.

For more essentials, we've reviewed the best business computers and the best business laptops.

LG G5: Two-minute review

The LG G5 is the company’s flagship TV for 2025, and it changes the game for OLED TV tech with a completely new panel design that delivers notably higher brightness than its LG G4 predecessor. I’ll get into the specifics of that in the Picture Quality section of this review, but what you need to know is that with its impressive, mini-LED TV-rivalling brightness, the G5 succeeds brilliantly in bringing the best OLED TVs out of the darkness as a viable option for daytime, bright room viewing.

LG’s G4 relied on a micro lens array (MLA) layer to boost brightness over what conventional OLED TVs were capable of, but the new LG G5 incorporates a new Primary RGB Tandem structure OLED display panel. This uses individual red, green, and blue layers to produce light, and the resulting brightness is not only leaps and bounds better than what the G4 achieved with MLA, but it also yields improvements in color reproduction.

You’d think that the G5’s revamped display panel would command a higher price, but the LG pricing is equivalent to its G4 predecessor. However, at $3,399 / £2,399 / AU$5,299 for the 65-inch model I tested, it’s still very much a premium TV.

Along with higher brightness and richer color, the LG G5 offers a range of features that make it a flexible option for viewing in a range of lighting conditions. These include a new, more effective anti-glare screen, and a Filmmaker Ambient Light Mode that uses the TV’s built-in light sensor to dynamically adjust brightness without sacrificing picture accuracy in the process.

LG’s Alpha 11 AI processor Gen 2 is responsible for a range of AI picture and sound enhancements on the G5. These include AI Picture and Sound modes, voice recognition, and personalized content recommendations.

LG’s webOS 25 smart TV interface has been tweaked with the ability to switch between customized home screen layouts that get triggered by the viewer’s voice, and there are now onscreen wizards to guide you through the process of setting up unique AI picture and sound presets to accompany your custom home screen.

LG’s flagship G-series OLEDs are designed for wall-mounting, and the G5 has an Always Ready mode that lets the TV be used as a frame for displaying photos and art (now including images generated by AI with the TV’s assistance). But it's also a highly capable gaming TV, with support for 4K 165Hz, Nvidia G-Sync, and AMD FreeSync Premium. The G5’s Quick Card gaming portal also provides over 500 titles plus Nvidia GeForce Now, Luna, and other apps, and Xbox Game Pass support should be added during the start of 2025.

While the LG G5 has turned out to be a best-in-class OLED TV option for 2025, many people will be equally pleased with its step-down LG C5 model, which is already looking to be one of 2025's best TVs. The C5 isn't as bright as the G5, but you’ll save quite a bit by going with LG’s mid-range OLED .

LG G5 review: Price and release date

The LG G5 is the brightest OLED TV we've yet reviewed (Image credit: Future)

• Release date: April 2025
• 48-inch: £1,799
• 55-inch: $2,499 / £2,399 / AU$4,199
• 65-inch: $3,399 / £3,299 / AU$5,299
• 77-inch: $4,499 / £4,499 / AU$7,999
• 83-inch: $6,499 / £6,999 / AU$9,999
• 97-inch: $24,999

The LG G5 is widely available in 55- to 83-inch screen sizes. A 48-inch model is also available in the UK, and a 97-inch option in the US, though those models don’t use the same Primary RGB Tandem structure panel as the other sizes, and won't be as bright.

Prices for the G5 series are equivalent to last year’s LG G4 series, despite the inclusion of a new panel design, but are notably higher than the mid-range LG C5 series OLED TVs.

LG G5 review: Specs LG G5 review: Benchmark results LG G5 review: Features

The LG G5 has four HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 165Hz support (Image credit: Future)

• Fourth-generation panel with Brightness Booster Ultimate
• Filmmaker Ambient Light Mode debuts here
• 4K 165Hz gaming support on PC

A key feature of the LG G5 is a new fourth-generation OLED display panel with Primary RGB Tandem structure. In contrast to previous designs, which used two blue OLED layers plus a third layer with red, green, and yellow elements, the new panel uses individual red, green, and blue layers to produce light.

This “four-stack” structure benefits from increased brightness and enhanced color purity due to the panel’s use of separate OLED layers for the primary colors. Unlike the previous LG G4, the G5 doesn’t rely on a micro lens array (MLA) layer with microscopic lens elements to boost brightness.

LG refers to its new display panel tech as Brightness Booster Ultimate, and it’s accompanied by several other features to boost picture quality in a range of room lighting conditions. The first is an anti-reflective layer that LG says provides 30% higher glare resistance than last year’s G4.

Another is Filmmaker Ambient Light Mode, which uses the TV’s built-in light sensor to map gamma and PQ (the HDR equivalent of gamma) based on room lighting conditions. The G5 also has Perfect Black certification, which confirms that a TV can display less than 0.24 nits in conditions of up to 500 lux.

The G5’s Alpha 11 AI processor Gen 2 enables a range of AI-based picture and sound enhancements, including AI Picture and AI Sound modes. Picture and sound wizards guide you through setting up customized presets based on your response to a series of images and sound samples, and once completed, these can be automatically switched on for the specific users who created them based on voice recognition.

That also goes for the layout of the TV’s webOS 25 Home Screen – if you customize the app selection in your user profile, it'll switch to the layout you prefer when it detects your voice if you use the voice control system at all.

The G5 also gets a gaming boost over last year’s G4, with 4K 165Hz support for PC gaming along with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium. LG’s Gaming Portal offers over 500 game titles, with support for both Xbox and Luna controllers and Xbox Game Pass (coming in the first half of 2025, according to LG).

Usability features include AirPlay 2 and Chromecast built-in, along with hands-free voice control. The ThinQ screen in the webOS interface lets you configure devices to be controlled via Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Matter and Apple HomeKit, and there’s also a new, streamlined Magic Remote and more advanced AI Chatbot feature that can diagnose picture and sound issues.

• Features Score: 5/5

LG G5 review: Picture quality

The G5's picture looks bright and punchy even in well-lit rooms (Image credit: Future)

• Exceptional brightness for an OLED
• Anti-reflection layer in the screen
• Some issues with certain streaming formats

The LG G5 holds the distinction of being the brightest OLED TV we’ve yet measured at TechRadar. Peak brightness on a 10% HDR white window pattern in Filmmaker Mode measured 2,268 nits, and it was 1,850 nits in Standard picture mode. Those numbers are what we typically expect to see from higher-end examples of the best mini-LED TVs, and they best the Samsung S95D – our previous brightest OLED TV champion – by a sizeable margin.

The G5’s fullscreen HDR brightness measured 331 nits in Filmmaker Mode and 297 nits in Standard mode. That represents a boost over last year’s G4, which measured 257 in Filmmaker Mode, but it’s not the 40% fullscreen brightness boost that LG had previously cited for the G5. Measured in Vivid mode, the G5’s fullscreen brightness was 419 nits, a number closer to LG’s claim.

The G5’s color gamut coverage measured 99.6% for UHDA-P3 and 81.3% for BT.2020 in Filmmaker Mode. Those results are better than what we measured on the G4, and they match the Samsung S95D’s UHDA-P3 coverage.

The average Delta-E value (the margin of error between the test pattern source and what’s shown on-screen) for color accuracy was 1.2, which is excellent. (Any result under 3 is regarded as indistinguishable to the human eye.)

Given the LG G5’s high brightness, there was no need to dim the lights to make the picture look good – contrast, color saturation, and shadow detail all held up nicely even with my room’s overhead lighting on. That’s certainly not something you can say about all OLED TVs, which typically lag behind their mini-LED counterparts when it comes to brightness.

The new G5's new "four stack" OLED panel offers enhanced color performance over last year's G4 (Image credit: Future)

Even with the comparatively subtle Filmmaker Mode active, The Pitt (streamed via Max), a TV show that mostly takes place in a brightly lit hospital emergency room, looked staggeringly bright on the G5.

And darker shows such as Severance (on Apple TV+) could be watched in brighter room lighting conditions without losing black depth and shadow detail. That’s partially due to the TV’s anti-reflective layer, which manages to reduce screen glare without elevating black levels, but also its Filmmaker Mode Ambient Light setting, which uses the G5’s light sensor to adjust gamma (or PQ for programs with HDR) based on room lighting conditions.

Viewing the season 2 final episode of Severance, a scene where Mark S and Helly R chat furtively in the Lumon office showed off all the LG G5's best aspects. The background of the dark workspace was a deep, rich black, and the light from the data terminals bathed their faces with a striking blue and green glow. The refined shadow detail gave the picture a powerful sense of depth that, for me, really drove home the point of why you would spend top dollar for a premium OLED TV like the G5.

An LG G5 review from our colleagues at What Hi-Fi? cited an issue with streamed Dolby Vision movies and shows, resulting in posterization and blocky picture artifacts when watching dark scenes. My G5 review sample showed the same posterization on at least one movie, Alien: Romulus (streamed via Apple TV), though it wasn't an issue on other streamed dark Dolby Vision content I watched.

What Hi-Fi? later reported that an LG software update scheduled for a late April release fixes this Dolby Vision glitch, and after installing a pre-released version of that update, the posterization on Alien: Romulus disappeared, though it created other picture quality issues when streaming from the G5's Apple TV app, adding strange horizontal lines in some dark scenes.

Without these problems, the TV would score five stars for picture quality. These problems are very situational, which means I'm still happy giving the TV an overall score that marks it as best-in-class. Once we've fully tested the wide release version of LG's software update, we will update this review, and if these problems are removed as expected, I'll update this section.

The G5’s motion handling was impressive, with a reference clip from No Time to Die – in which James Bond traverses a rugged hillside cemetery as the camera pans along – showing only minimal judder and blur. This same scene can look downright wobbly on some TVs.

Enabling the TV's Cinematic Movement setting in the TruMotion menu effectively removed any residual motion artifacts without introducing a 'soap opera' effect.

Sports also looked great – the NCAA basketball championship aired during my time testing the G5 – with fast motion looking solid and the TV’s bright, contrast-rich picture bringing out the vivid colors of the players’ uniforms.

• Picture quality score: 4.5/5

LG G5 review: Sound quality

The G5's 1-inch-thin frame is designed for a flush-mount against a wall and the TV comes with wall-mounting hardware (Image credit: Future)

• 4.2-channel speaker system
• Effective AI Sound Pro mode
• Sound Wizard for creating custom sound preset

The LG G5’s built-in 4.2-channel speakers take things up a notch from the 2.2-channel array built into the LG C5. An AI Sound Pro mode provides a virtual 11.1.2-channel upmix that makes a clear difference in the spaciousness of soundtracks when watching movies, but it also thins out the bass.

While Dolby Atmos is supported on the G5, DTS formats, disappointingly, are not. This is a step backwards from the G4, which had DTS support – though this won't be a problem for people using an AV receivers, and some soundbar setups.

Similar to the TV’s Picture Wizard, a Sound Wizard guides you through the process of creating a customized sound preset. This is entirely optional, and this preset doesn’t work when the TV is connected to a soundbar.

A useful WOW Orchestra mode lets you combine the output of the TV’s speakers with the speakers of a compatible LG soundbar when used together, for a bigger overall soundstage.

The movies and TV shows I watched on the G5 all sounded good, with clear dialogue and good spatial positioning of effects, especially with the AI Sound Pro mode active. The sound could also go fairly loud without coming across as strained.

Even so, given how good the G5’s picture looks, it would be a shame not to pair it with one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars or dedicated home theater speakers.

• Sound quality score: 4/5

LG G5 review: Design

An aluminum pedestal may be an extra cost option for the G5 (Image credit: Future)

• Wall-mount hardware included
• Optional pedestal stand
• New, streamlined AI Magic Remote control

The G5 comes with wall-mounting hardware at all screen sizes, and a pedestal stand is available as an optional extra in the US. In the UK, you can choose if you want the stand or the mount in some sizes.

LG’s sturdy aluminum stand, which I used during my G5 review, allows for both an elevated height to accommodate a soundbar, or a lower height where the TV sits directly on the stand’s surface.

G5 TVs are designed to be wall-mounted, with the thin, 1-inch panel aligning perfectly flat against a wall like a picture frame when you use the dedicated mount.

The TV’s nearly non-existent bezel gives it an 'all-picture' look that adds to the art-like quality, and a connection panel located on the back with bottom and side-mounted ports, along with cable management hardware, lets you hook up sources without detracting from the neat look.

Connections on the G5 include four HDMI 2.1 inputs, an RF antenna input, three USB ports and an Ethernet port.

LG’s new AI Magic Remote for the G5 is more compact and streamlined than previous Magic Remotes, with a flat surface, a reduced button layout, and a smaller central scroll wheel. Unfortunately, not all regions get this new, mostly improved design, though it was included with my review sample in the US.

The UK still gets a design with channel buttons, though it does include new AI keys.

The new AI button provides quick Chatbot access, and there’s also a dedicated button to call up the TV’s ThinQ screen. I never really had a problem with the previous Magic Remote, but some users may prefer the more traditional design of this new version.

• Design score: 4.5/5

LG G5 review: Smart TV and menus

LG's webOS 25 interface has been enhanced with multiple viewer profiles and picture settings that can be activated by voice (Image credit: Future)

• webOS 25 smart interface
• Always Ready feature with 'ambient mode' option
• Quick Cards and Quick Menu for easy app and settings access

The G5 uses LG’s webOS 25 interface, which is one of the best smart TV systems going. Like other smart TV interfaces, the top third is dedicated to a promotional banner (in this case, one mostly directing you to the LG Channels free ad-supported TV portal), alas, but below that is a Quick Cards section that provides hubs for Sports, Games, Music, Home and more.

The Home Card hub provides information about connected wired and wireless sources, which can be accessed using the TV’s remote control. It also lets you connect to Google Home, Matter, and LG ThinQ smart devices, which can be controlled directly from the TV.

The order of apps in the home screen’s middle section can be edited according to which ones you use most, and there’s also a Live TV option that shows a grid of both broadcast TV channels pulled in by the best indoor antennas and ones available on the LG Channels portal.

An Always Ready feature that needs to be enabled in the General menu lets you display images (including from your personal photo library) when you’re not using the TV, including ones that can be generated using AI. When in Always Ready mode, the voice recognition and AirPlay/Chromecast remain active, so you don’t have to power it on to use those functions.

A very useful webOS feature is the Quick Menu, which appears as a transparent overlay on the screen’s left side that lets you select between picture and sound modes, among other settings. You can also access the TV’s AI Chatbot from here, which can be used to guide you through the G5’s many settings and features.

The TV’s AI Picture wizard can be useful for creating a preset that corresponds to your preferences, but I found that the one I dialed in was overly cool-looking for my preference, despite it theoretically following my preferences, and I stuck with Filmmaker Mode instead for most viewing.

While I generally found navigating the TV’s menus to be easy, and was satisfied with the wide range of options for adjusting picture and sound, I found it annoying that the new, redesigned Magic Remote control lacks an input button for switching sources.

It’s easy enough to do that by pressing the Home hub button on the remote and then navigating to a specific source, but input select is nonetheless a button that should be included on every TV remote.

• Smart TV & menus score: 5/5

LG G5 review: Gaming

A Game Dashboard allows for easy gaming-related picture and sound adjustments (Image credit: Future)

• Four HDMI 2.1 ports
• 4K 165Hz, FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync
• 9.2ms input lag (Boost mode)

LG TVs have fantastic gaming credentials, and the G5 continues in that tradition of the best gaming TVs. Its four HDMI ports support 4K 165Hz, FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync. Input lag measured in Game Optimizer mode with a Bodnar 4K input lag meter was 9.2ms in Boost mode, which is about as low as TVs get.

The G5’s Game Card Gamung Hub offers over 500 games and apps, including Nvidia GeForce Now and Luna. (Xbox Game Pass support is coming in the first half of 2025, according to LG.)

When in Game Optimizer mode, a Game Dashboard pop-menu provides quick access to a range of adjustments and presets, which can be selected without pausing the game you’re playing.

The brightness level of the G5 is great here, again, because it means its good for playing in the day time without severe mirrored reflections distracting from what you're trying to focus on.

• Gaming score: 5/5

LG G5 review: Value

LG's new, streamlined Magic Remote (Image credit: Future)

• Priced competitively with premium OLED competition
• Step-down LG C5 OLED also excellent
• Very good overall value

At $3,399 / £3,299 / AU$5,299 for the 65-inch model I tested, the LG G5 is priced higher than another 2025 premium OLED, the Samsung S95F, which has a similarly high brightness as the G5 plus a Glare-Free 2.0 screen that’s even more effective at eliminating reflections in bright rooms.

The G5 is also priced lower in the US than another 2025 premium OLED, the Sony Bravia 8 II, which will sell for $3,999 in a 65-inch screen size… however, in the UK, the Bravia 8 II is actually priced slightly lower than the 65-inch G5, just to mix things

If you don’t require super-high brightness and want to save some money, the LG C5 ($2,699 / £2,699 at 65 inches) is an excellent choice. The C5’s peak brightness is roughly half of what we measured on the G5, but it's full of features and its picture quality is still exceptional, especially when viewed in a light-controlled environment.

Given its fantastic all-around performance, great features, and more affordable cost compared to some of its high-end OLED competition, the G5 earns high ratings for value.

• Value score: 4/5

Should I buy the LG G5?

(Image credit: Future) Buy it if...

You want to watch in bright rooms
The G5 OLED’s brightness rivals that of premium mini-LEDs. It also features an effective anti-glare screen and a Filmmaker Ambient Light Mode that compensates for brighter rooms without sacrificing picture accuracy.

You want a TV for wall-mounting
With a slim, wall-hugging design, the G5 is specifically designed for wall-mounting and a specially designed bracket is provided.

You want a great TV for gaming
With support for 4K 165Hz, FreeSync Premium, and Nvidia G-Sync, and an impressively low 9.1ms input lag, the G5 is about as good as gaming TVs get.

Don't buy it if…

You don’t want to use a soundbar
The G5’s 4.2-channel speakers deliver more than adequate sound, but a TV this impressive should ideally be paired with a soundbar or external speakers for a complete experience.

You want HDR10+ support
LG TVs support Dolby Vision, but not the HDR10+ high dynamic range format. That could be an issue if you have some 4K Blu-rays that include this format and not Dolby Vision.

You want to save money
LG’s mid-range C5 series OLED TVs aren’t as bright as the G5 series, but they cost considerably less and also provide excellent picture quality and a great array of features.

LG G5 review: Also consider...

Samsung S95F
We haven’t yet reviewed the Samsung S95F, but we have seen it in action extensively and, like the G5, it combines an impressively bright OLED picture with effective anti-screen reflection tech. Initial US pricing for the S95F is also lower than for the G5.

LG C5
The C5 isn’t as bright as the G5, but it’s a great all-around TV that’s also feature-packed for the price, as we observed in our LG C5 review. This mid-range OLED is a good alternative if you don’t need its picture to stand out high ambient light viewing environments.

Sony Bravia 9
Sony’s flagship TV is about as premium as mini-LED gets, and we appreciated its bright yet refined picture and powerful sound in our Sony Bravia 9 review. Like the G5, it’s a pricey option, but a good choice if you prefer to not use a soundbar.

How I tested the LG G5

Measuring a 10% HDR white window pattern during testing (Image credit: Future)

• I spent about 20 hours in total measuring and evaluating
• Measurements were made using Calman color calibration software
• A full calibration was made before proceeding with subjective tests

When I test TVs, I first spend a few days or even weeks using it for casual viewing to assess the out-of-box picture presets and get familiar with its smart TV menu and picture adjustments. I next select the most accurate preset (usually Filmmaker Mode, Movie or Cinema) and measure grayscale and color accuracy using Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software.

The resulting measurements provide Delta-E values (the margin of error between the test pattern source and what’s shown on-screen) for each category, and allow for an assessment of the TV’s overall accuracy.

Along with those tests, I make measurements of peak light output (recorded in nits) for both standard high-definition and 4K high dynamic range using 10% and 100% white window patterns. Coverage of DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color space is also measured, with the results providing a sense of how faithfully the TV can render the extended color range in ultra high-definition sources.

For the LG G5, I used the Calman ISF workflow, along with the TV’s advanced picture menu settings, to calibrate the image for best accuracy. I also watched a range of reference scenes on 4K Blu-ray discs to assess the TV’s performance, along with shows streamed from Max, Netflix, and other services.

You can read an in-depth overview of how we test TVs at TechRadar for more information.

• First reviewed: April 2025
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee