TechRadar Reviews

GMKtec EVO-X3: 30-second review

The GMKtec EVO-X3 is a mini PC with a difference: firstly, it stands upright; the size is larger than most, the specs are impressive, and the price- well, that prices it out of most people's reach; however, this is a machine with an AMD Halo Strix processor.

The EVO-X3 features the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor; that’s the same as the EVO-X2 with 16 Zen 5 CPU cores, Radeon 8060S graphics, and a 50-TOPS XDNA 2 NPU. In this review, I’m looking at the machine with 128GB of LPDDR5X unified memory, enough to load and run local AI models; this ability is well beyond the capabilities of most other Mini PCs and even desktop PCs.

A quick look at the hardware makes it clear this is different, and for a machine with its specs, it’s still relatively compact, thanks to its slim, tower-like structure. It’s essentially been designed to stand upright to ensure plenty of airflow.

During testing, I ran local chat, reasoning, image recognition, image generation, transcription, and coding models on the EVO-X3. Smaller language models started responding almost immediately, while larger models provided more detailed reasoning and better-quality copy, essentially mirroring what you’d expect from cloud models.

You could also run these tasks with Wi-Fi disabled, so completely local and offline, with no need for credits or additional spend. This also meant all prompts, photographs, audio recordings, and project files stayed on your computer rather than being sent to a cloud service where you don't know what happens to them.

While the main focus here is the AI potential, I also ran the conventional benchmarks, and these are impressive. If you need a cutting-edge gaming PC and want to underplay the machine's potential, this is a great compact option, especially with the OcuLink connector.

However, refocusing on AI and unlocking the EVO-X3’s AI performance proved that some knowledge and experimentation are still needed; this isn’t quite an out-of-the-box, ready-to-run solution, although GMKtec has taken huge strides in that direction.

Local AI through the GMKtec Claw software environment was impressive. During testing, the Herdsman model manager recognised the NPU but reported that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 was unsupported by its current NPU runtime manifests, which I found odd since the software was pre-installed.

Installing Lemonade and its Ryzen AI runtime solved the problem. Compatible models then pushed NPU utilisation close to 100%, proving that the hardware was operating properly.

This leaves the EVO-X3 in an awkward position. It’s an exceptionally powerful local AI workstation, but it is not yet the polished, out-of-the-box AI machine that the marketing suggests. It will do everything advertised, but for you to get there, you must understand models, runtimes, servers, agents and external applications, or at least be prepared to learn.

Whether or not this deserves a spot on our guide to the best mini PC is, ultimately pretty subjective. At $3,799.99 for the current 128GB/2 TB configuration, this is a relatively cheap machine for experienced developers, and technically minded creative professionals will find it an extraordinarily useful tool if they’re willing to put in the time. If you’re less experienced, then hold out; a more streamlined and cheaper option will inevitably be available soon.

GMKtec EVO-X3: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From £3,029 / $3,799
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from GMKtec or Amazon

The GMKtec EVO-X3 is available in the US direct from GMKtec and on Amazon.com, with the base 128GB/2TB configuration priced at $3,800. However, you can save an extra $100 at GMKtec or 5% on Amazon with code GMKX3DP3.

In the UK, the EVO-X3 is priced at £3,030 from GMKtec. At the time of review, it's not currently on Amazon, but I'd expect it to arrive shortly.

The EVO-X3 comes with either a 2TB or 4TB SSD, with both versions featuring 128GB of onboard LPDDR5X-8000 memory.

• Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)GMKtec EVO-X3: Specs

CPU: AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 16 cores/32 threads, up to 5.1GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon 8060S, 40 compute units
NPU: AMD XDNA 2, 50 TOPS; up to 126 TOPS total AI performance
RAM: 128GB LPDDR5X-8000, non-upgradeable
Storage: 2TB or 4TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 SSD, two slots, up to 16TB total
Front Ports: USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps, USB 2.0, 3.5mm audio
Rear Ports: HDMI 2.1, USB4 40Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps, OCuLink PCIe 4.0 x4, 2.5GbE RJ-45
VESA Mount: Not specified
Dimensions: 13.90 by 7.32 by 1.61in (353 x 186 x 41mm)
Weight: 5.07lb (2.3kg)
Power: 230W external power adapter, 19.5V/11.8A
Operating System: Windows 11 Pro, with Ubuntu and Linux support

GMKtec EVO-X3: Design

The EVO-X3 design is far removed from the usual square mini-PC, and instead goes for a tall, narrow metal enclosure with vents on either side that help draw cool air through the system to help maintain maximum performance.

While it’s tall, the footprint because of this is relatively small, meaning it can sit neatly next to your monitor. Standing at 353 x 186 x 41mm without its stand, it looks more like an oversized external graphics card than a conventional desktop computer; the small stand that’s included is held in place with two screws and adds stability to the vertical stance.

While the unit is slim, it does have a good weight at 2.3kg, so while you could transport this very easily, this is one designed to stay in situ.

The full-metal CNC-machined casing looks great once you get used to the slightly different design, and with the grey finish with green detailing, the aesthetics are all well balanced. Compared with the small boxy Mini PCs, this definitely looks and feels like a professional workstation, as the pricing suggests.

Taking a closer look at the cooling and the slim tower design enables air to be pulled in through the single vent plate on the top/side of the machine and output through the two vent panels on the base/side. Checking inside the casing, there are three heat pipes and multiple cooling fans that all help to keep the powerful components cool.

Through the test, I was impressed by just how well and how quietly these fans were and left on auto; while you can hear them, they’re never overbearing. Through the interface, you also have the ability to adjust the mode, from Silent 45W to Balanced 85W and Performance 140W.

One of my biggest surprises when it comes to the design is the port allocation, or lack of it. The front provides one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, one USB-A 2.0 port and a 3.5mm audio connection. Considering the EVO-X3’s intended creative and professional audience, another high-speed USB connection or front-mounted USB-C port would have been handy.

The rear is slightly better equipped, with HDMI 2.1, 40Gbps USB4, 10Gbps USB-A, 2.5Gb Ethernet and an OCuLink connection. I would have preferred a little more, as connecting to a hub of some type is essential if you have further accessories.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The most interesting addition here is the OCuLink that enables you to add an external desktop graphics card via a more direct PCIe connection than a typical Thunderbolt or USB4 enclosure. Hot plugging isn't supported, so you must shut down the computer before attaching or removing an external GPU.

Wireless connectivity options are all pretty standard with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4; then there’s also the wired 2.5Gb Ethernet. This is slightly lacking, and I would have expected a 5GbE or 10GbE at the least.

However, the lack of ports aside, the big story here is AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 that combines a 16-core, 32-thread Zen 5 CPU with Radeon 8060S integrated graphics. The GPU includes 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units, while the XDNA 2 NPU contributes up to 50 TOPS of dedicated AI processing.

Other machines with this CPU, such as the EVO-X2, they feature only 64GB of RAM and no Oculink connection, both of which, as I discovered, really are essential if you want to make the most of running local AI.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)GMKtec EVO-X3: Features

At the heart of the EVO-X3 is AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395, part of the AI power family Strix Halo. This chipset offers a combined 16-core, 32-thread Zen 5 CPU alongside Radeon 8060S graphics and an XDNA 2 NPU all within a single processor package, which is why it can fit into this small form Mini PC.

The CPU can be boosted to 5.1GHz and is supported by 16MB of L2 cache and 64MB of L3 cache. Alongside it, graphics processing is supplied by the Radeon 8060S, which provides 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units operating at up to 2,900MHz.

What is impressive here is that the performance of this integrated GPU has, in tests, beaten many dedicated GPUs. As GPU power is central to creative work, gaming and local generative AI, this power will be a huge benefit to the majority of Creative Apps that I use.

Alongside the CPU and GPU is the XDNA 2 NPU that provides up to 50 TOPS of dedicated AI processing, which brings the combined processor performance to up to 126 TOPS. The NPU essentially handles supported AI workloads better than running everything through the CPU or GPU. Again, surprisingly, some of the AI Apps used in the test fell back to the CPU and GPU rather than making use of the NPU and the speeds with and without made a big difference.

If you’re looking through this and thinking this all sounds very familiar, then it is essentially a very similar configuration to the EVO-X2, which is again equipped with the the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, Radeon 8060S graphics and a 50-TOPS NPU. The EVO-X3 adds the new chassis design to maximise the new cooling system, OCuLink connection, 128GB of standard memory capacity and a pre-installed AI environment to make getting started easier.

My review sample of the EVO-X3 features 128GB of onboard LPDDR5X memory running at 8,000MT/s. This memory is soldered and cannot be upgraded, but up to 96GB can be allocated as graphics memory. That large shared-memory pool is useful for local AI because it enables the integrated Radeon GPU to load models that would exceed the dedicated VRAM capacity of most graphics cards.

Storage options are either 2TB, as in my review sample, or 4TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. It includes two internal M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, which enable you to install up to two 8TB drives, with a maximum internal capacity of 16TB. Having downloaded and installed several models, tools and applications through the test, I would definitely install a minimum of an additional 4TB.

One of the big upgrades over the EVO-X2 is the rear OCuLink connection. This provides a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface for an external desktop graphics card; you do, of course, need an eGPU enclosure as well, and then this gives you the ability to add an Nvidia or AMD GPU for rendering, gaming, as well as those AI workloads. OCuLink does not support hot plugging, so if you do use one, the machine needs to be powered down before the port is installed. I don’t at present have an OcuLink enclosure, so I haven’t tested the boost that this will give to performance.

On the back there’s also the USB4 connection, but only one, and it enables data transfers at up to 40Gbps, DisplayPort video output at up to 4K 60Hz and USB Power Delivery input at up to 100W. If I were to use this machine long-term, then I would connect a hub to maximise connections, especially for creative use, as just one USB-C is limiting.

Display output is limited to two screens, which can be connected through HDMI 2.1 and USB4. The HDMI connection supports higher-resolution displays, while the USB4 port provides DisplayPort output up to 4K at 60Hz.

Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and 2.5Gb Ethernet. The front has two 5Gbps USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a 3.5mm combined audio socket, and the power button. Around the back are 40Gbps USB4, 10Gbps USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1, OCuLink, 2.5Gb Ethernet and the main DC power input.

The absence of a front USB-C port or card reader is disappointing for such an expensive creative workstation. This is especially noticeable because the cheaper EVO-X2 includes both front USB4 and an SD card reader.

I was also pleased to see three performance profiles provide a choice between power consumption, heat and processing speed. Silent mode operates at 54W, Balanced mode increases this to 85W, and Performance mode allows sustained operation at up to 120W, with short peaks of up to 140W.

Three heat pipes, two fans, and intelligent fan control handle cooling by pulling air through the vent on the top/side and pushing it out through the bottom/side. This cooling remains relatively quiet throughout the testing and is designed to maintain the processor’s performance during heavy AI use, as well as video rendering and development workflows.

As you would expect, Windows 11 Pro is preinstalled, with support for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions. GMKtec also supplies its Claw local-AI environment, which is promoted as offering one-click model and agent deployment and was well implemented; there’s also Herdsman and installers for LM Studio and Ollama, giving you a good choice of Local AI management.

Claw is well integrated with EVO-X3 as it brings together local models, cloud services and AI agents without requiring you to assemble the entire software environment. The associated Herdsman model manager detected the NPU but reported that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 was unsupported by its current runtime manifests. The underlying hardware worked once Lemonade and its Ryzen AI runtime were installed, but that workaround goes against GMKtec’s claim that local AI is ready to use without coding or setup.

The EVO-X3 has an exceptional feature set for local AI with the 128GB unified-memory capacity, integrated graphics, NPU, dual SSD slots and OCuLink connection enabling both flexibility and power. The issue is that most of this is already present in the substantially cheaper EVO-X2, making the X3’s £3,029.99 price seem a little steep.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

GMKtec EVO-X3: Performance

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Benchmark scores

Crystal Disk Mark Read: 7045.28
Crystal Disk Mark Write: 6182.82
Geekbench CPU Multi: 9469
Geekbench CPU Single: 2619
Geekbench GPU: 25645
PC Mark Overall: 6855
Cinebench CPU Multi (Threads): N/a
Cinebench CPU Single (Threads): N/a
Fire Strike Overall: 7429
Fire Strike Graphics: 8551
Fire Strike Physics: 11509
Fire Strike Combined: 2953
Time Spy Overall: 3631
Time Spy Graphics: 3473
Time Spy CPU: 4897
Wild Life Overall: 24312
Steel Nomad Overall: N/a
Windows Experience Overall: 8.7

Getting started with the EVO-X3 is much like any other mini PC: plug in, screw the stand into the base and power on. You then have the Windows 11 Pro setup to run through, and as ever, GMKtec has covered the LAN port with a warning not to connect until the full setup process has been completed.

Once installed, I instantly noted the speed of the system; this was as fast and responsive as they come, and powering down and starting up from cold takes just 18 seconds from power being pushed to the home screen and the machine being ready to use.

As I started to load the applications for the benchmarks, the machine was fast and responsive, really as you’d expect for a machine at this price, and I was happy to see that this was at least in line, if not faster, than my workstation. Opening Premiere Pro, Lightroom and Photoshop all worked seamlessly, with the only real issue being the lack of ports for connection at the back.

When it came to the usual software and benchmarking tests, I ploughed through with almost all hitting record speeds and values when compared with any Mini PC or Laptop that I’ve reviewed in the past. An example is the Geekbench score, which aligned with many of the high-performance Mini PC’s and laptops, with a score of 2,956, but then the multi-core result of 19,401 far exceeded anything else.

Pushing the rendering benchmarks to give an idea of how it would perform for 3D content and video, the Cinebench R23 produced 33,295 points in the multi-core test and 2,034 points using a single core again; this is almost double anything else that I have seen.

Due to the positioning of the machine in the market, you would expect decent graphics performance, but due to an AI rather than games and creative perspective, and sure enough, the graphics performance was superb as I settled into some gaming. The Radeon 8060S hit scores of 101,583 in Geekbench GPU, while 3DMark Fire Strike returned an overall score of 25,721.

The EVO-X3 scored consistently high results through the 3DMark benchmarks, with most doubling the results that I have seen from other high-performance Mini PC. This performance not only translated to the test but also to gaming, as I settled back to play Cyber Punk 2097.

My review sample came with the 2TB NVMe SSD, and the transfer rates were slightly below what I expected but are consistent for a PCIe 4.0 slot, with read and write speeds of 4,912.96 MB/s and 4,648.62 MB/s.

Rounding out the standard tests, I checked out PCMark and wasn’t surprised to see a high score of 9,857, while the Windows Experience result was 9.5, again one of the highest I’ve recorded this year.
GMKtec EVO-X3 review: AI software

The EVO-X3 is sold as a ready-to-go machine with local AI models installed and one-click agent deployment through its Claw software environment. Claw uses Herdsman as the gateway to the AI models, so you start Herdsman and then open Claw, and the rest is quite straightforward for chat, image generation and countless other Agents that can be downloaded and installed.

Using this approach simplifies everything, and as I downloaded SuperPowers Agent, software workflow, Paper Research, Office Copilot, slidewright and a few others, I quickly built myself a decent set of tools for day-to-day AI use. The models you use can be downloaded in Herdsman and then used in GMKClaw. Depending on the complexity of the model you use and whether you switch Thinking on or off, the speed of the AI model you have selected varies.

What I like about this is that once you have models loaded, the application then downloads the additional tools that it needs to run. This is obviously online, with the AI processing done offline. Initially, the results were hit and miss, with the simple prompt, “A photo of a Labrador on a beach”, creating an abstract; once it had a few more prompts and details, the final results started to look better. The point here is that the more you use it, the better it gets.

While I also wanted to test the offline AI ability, what I also realised quickly was that I needed to run examples of everything I wanted to do; it needed to download and upgrade the models and tools that it had to hand.

Through the menu at the top of the screen, you can toggle between the different AI models, with Auto selected as default. This auto mode switches between the cloud and local to generate the images, but I noted that the NPU throughout stayed silent, registering 0% in Task Manager.

While the performance of the models was good both online, offline and hybrid, this wasn’t the potential that I was hoping for from this machine. I then went down another route and installed Lemonade and a series of Apps to give me greater control.

Installing Lemonade provided a way forward. After downloading its Ryzen AI NPU runtime and compatible models, Windows Task Manager showed the NPU operating at near-full potential, and a quick test in chat showed just how fast this machine's AI could be.

Lemonade provided what I had hoped for from Claw, with the clearest interface for testing local models; the GMKTecClaw integration is good but not yet mature enough to reach its full potential. Lemonade also displays time to first token, token-generation speed, memory use and processor activity, while making it relatively easy to switch between NPU, hybrid and GGUF models.

However, the setup process does require large model downloads and multiple tools and other additions to be downloaded. It’s also worth highlighting that downloading several models simultaneously resulted in HTTP 429 rate-limit messages from Hugging Face. Some completed downloads also encountered temporary file-locking problems, so for the complete set that I ran in this test, I downloaded over a few days, trying one task and then returning for more models for images, text, speech, and more.

Once Lemonade and its Ryzen AI runtime were installed, the EVO-X3’s NPU performance was impressive. I started out with the relatively lightweight Qwen-2.5-1.5B-Instruct-NPU model, which responded in around a second per response. Checking the stats, it recorded a time to first token of 0.61 seconds and generated 25.1 tokens per second. RAM usage reached 16.7GB, while CPU utilisation remained at only 4.8%.

This made it a good model for quick questions, summaries and relatively straightforward writing tasks.

Moving to Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct-NPU resulted in slower responses, as expected from a more complex model, but provided a useful step up in capability. The Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct-Hybrid model was again fast, and when asked to generate the opening of an imaginary book, it began responding in about a second, with Lemonade showing 523 input tokens, 393 output tokens, and a time to first token of 0.47 seconds.

I then loaded the larger gpt-oss-20b-NPU, more brain and more thinking, so everything took longer to consider when it came to the responses but produced noticeably better copy. It did, however, become slightly preoccupied with satisfying the requested word count and took quite some time rewriting the 100 words. That test processed 825 input tokens and generated 1,500 output tokens. Time to first token was 1.67 seconds, while RAM use reached 25.6GB and CPU remained at 5.9%.

These tests show why model selection matters. The smallest model delivered the fastest chatbot for general use, while larger models slowed speed for improved reasoning and writing quality. All processing was run locally, disconnected from the internet.

The next step was to plan a project, or, to be more accurate, all the things that I had to get done today. I wanted a plan and a spreadsheet that I could open on my phone and also print out if needed. I used DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-7B-NPU to organise the workday and plan an entire website project, covering content gathering, site structure, visual design, and implementation.

After asking several questions to clarify the project requirements, the model produced a detailed, methodical plan with useful software suggestions.

The website-planning conversation used 4,118 input tokens and generated 490 output tokens. Time to first token was 3.38 seconds, with RAM use reaching 19GB and CPU utilisation at 5.2%.

Generating the plan was straightforward, but turning it into a downloadable CSV proved difficult in the basic chat interface. While the model could create correctly formatted CSV text, it couldn’t save it as a downloadable file. Copying and pasting the information worked, but this highlighted the difference between a chat model and an agent with access to files and tools, which is where I started to discover additional tools needed to be used; with coding later, Visual Studio Code and the Continue extension were invaluable.

Essentially, the chat model can provide instructions and generate content, while an agent needs permission to create files, organise folders, run applications and modify a project directly, and everything needs connecting, which can take time initially, but after it’s done, the potential is exactly what you expect.

Image recognition is something that I’m really interested in, and training a model to help organise thousands of files literally. To start this off, I loaded a photograph into Gemma-3-4b-it-GGUF and asked it to describe the person shown, which was me.

The model correctly recognised that the subject was male and produced a reasonably accurate description of my appearance and clothing. It processed 267 input tokens and generated 147 output tokens. Time to first token was considerably slower at 22.65 seconds. The process used 17.2GB of RAM, while CPU utilisation remained at approximately 4.6%.

When I ran the UL Procyon AI Computer Vision benchmark, it returned a score of 1,171, which highlights this machine's potential on this front.

Through this part of the test, I looked at using local AI to organise an archive containing thousands of photographs. Gemma suggested several workable approaches, requiring Python scripts and external utilities rather than simply selecting a folder and pressing a button. Again, if you have more complex tasks, then these are possible but do require you to set up the resources required.

As part of this test, I installed ExifTool and ImageMagick, which provided the underlying ability to read metadata, organise files, and produce contact sheets, but connecting these tools to an agent required more configuration.

The EVO-X3 was powerful enough for the job. The difficulty was connecting the model to the required tools and granting it the ability to examine, classify and move files safely. This requires your knowledge and skill and is one of the features that is possible but is not ready out of the box.

Video organisation presents the same problem. Switching models provides different abilities, but no single supplied application will automatically understand, catalogue, and reorganise a large photo or video archive.

Local image generation produced surprisingly good results. I wrote several detailed prompts and used them to create original images.

The generated pictures followed the descriptions closely and, while each took approximately two minutes and 30 seconds to render, the resulting quality was more than acceptable for experimentation, visualisation and concept development.

During one test, Lemonade displayed 17 input tokens, 509 output tokens and a 0.25-second initial response. RAM usage reached 18.1GB, while CPU utilisation was 6.9%.

The token figures are less useful than the total rendering time because image generation differs considerably from language-model inference. However, the test showed that the EVO-X3 can produce useful generative imagery without a discrete GPU or cloud-based service.

I couldn't complete a comparable video-generation test. This would have required another specialist model and a separate workflow, such as ComfyUI, which would have extended the setup beyond the applications already installed.

Another of my major uses recently of AI agents is transcription. The UGREEN IDX6011 features a simple, ready-to-go app, and this machine looks to offer the same. To get started, I loaded a 46-minute podcast about 3D printing into Whisper-Large-v3-Turbo. The interface let me select the audio file but didn't provide a prompt field, preferring to just get on with it. As processing progressed, Windows Task Manager showed repeated spikes in NPU activity, showing that the dedicated accelerator was being used.

The processed transcription appeared after about five minutes and was really accurate. The speed and accuracy of this transcription are outstanding, and I’ll look in the near future to see if time codes can easily be added, which will help with editing. Again, all local and not cloud intervention.

AI code creation is one of the big areas of AI, and having used this machine for a month, I can see why. It’s not quite as straightforward as design me this site, and then it will. You need to provide it with the guidance, but as long as you do that, you can essentially bash together a site relatively quickly.

I still couldn’t get it to perform quite as well as some of my other workflows from Figma to GitHub and Cloudflare Pages, but still the workflow was quick and pretty solid when using the Qwen2.5-Coder-7B-Instruct model and connecting it through Visual Studio Code using the Continue extension.

As I created a site, the NPU utilisation reached 99% as the model generated the website structure and files. Further prompts could then add content, adjust the design, and fix issues. There was quite a bit of initial setup, and the end results needed an aesthetic polish, but for an hour's work I had a fully functional static site that could be updated quickly.

This test highlighted how a practical local-AI workflow, along with extensions and applications, can be used together to get the results that you want. Lemonade or Herdsman loads and serves the model, such as Qwen, providing the coding capability; Visual Studio Code then supplies the workspace and Continue enables the model to interact with the project.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

GMKtec EVO-X3: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The GMKtec EVO-X3 is a mini PC workstation and one that has been fine tuned to run local AI properly. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, Radeon 8060S graphics and 128GB of unified memory are provide the speed that's required and while more advanced models do push the system and slow things down,at least you get to use it without incurring cost.

Side by side the localised models aren't as powerful as the cloud based, but still what you're able to do is impressive and if you invest the time to develop your own AI workflows the end result will be AI agents in this local machine that can help with your workflows.

The bundled software is impressive, although there are some glitches at present that do slow the processing, however, a switch to another AI management option quickly unlocks speed and greater potential.

Out of the box this is one of the most impressive AI machine that really can run decent size local models. If you're willing to put in the time to discover how everything interlinks then this is a formidable machine with huge potential.

Should I buy the GMKtec EVO-X3?

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Value

Exceptional hardware, but extremely expensive 

4

Design

Solid construction, compact footprint and superb quiet cooling

4.5

Features

128GB unified-memory capacity, USB4 and OCuLink 

4.5

Performance

Outstanding CPU, graphics and local-AI capability once configured

4.5

Overall

Superb workstation hardware held back by setup complexity

4

Buy it if...

You need to run substantial AI models locally.

The combination of Radeon graphics, a 50-TOPS NPU, and a large unified-memory pool enables models to run without relying on cloud processing.

You work with sensitive material.

You can process photographs, audio, documents, and source code locally without uploading them to a third-party service.

Don't buy it if...

You expect an appliance-like AI experience.

The bundled model manager did not initially support the NPU, and accessing the hardware required Lemonade and separately downloaded models.

You only need a conventional mini PC

This level of processing, graphics, memory and AI performance is unnecessary for normal office work and occasional creative use.

For more professional-grade desktops, we've tested the best business computers.

Valerion VisionMaster Max: One-minute review

The Valerion VisionMaster Max is an interesting amalgamation. While it sits in the footprint that has become popular with many home theater projectors aimed at the masses, it brings high-end capabilities found in far fewer models. This makes it a powerhouse in the space with flexible optics, making it easy to get a pristine 4K picture in the position and at the size you want.

With its RGB laser light source, the VisionMaster Max offers bright and stunningly colorful visuals. But more impressive than that is its ability to deliver them alongside a deep black floor — something a lot of projectors struggle with. Of the compact projectors I’ve tested, the VisionMaster has come closer than any to rivaling the Sony Bravia Projector 7’s black levels, which were virtually perfect in a dark home theater.

This sets the VisionMaster Max up nicely for success. Combining its display prowess with a solid streaming platform in Google TV and plenty of connections for additional home theater gear make it all that much stronger, helping it stand alongside many of the best projectors.

What holds it back is the same thing that hinders many high-end theater devices: its price. At $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999, it’s a lofty option next to rivals like the Hisense C2 Ultra and Xgimi Horizon 20 Max, both of which undercut it by thousands. Its black level may be hard to touch, but these other models are otherwise very competitive.

With the VisionMaster Max at full price, I’d direct most people to Xgimi. But if there’s ever a sizable discount on it and some bonus bundled items (like the Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system), it could be worth your while, especially if you like a deep, dark cinema environment.

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Price and release date

• Release date: October 2025
• Price: $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 

The Valerion VisionMaster Max first got teased well before its arrival at IFA 2024 and became part of a crowdfunding campaign shortly after. It was over a year after the announcement before it actually landed.

Now that it’s here, it comes with a $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 price tag. That puts it into competition with basically every projector we’ve tested. In the time between announcement and launch, the projector space has heated up considerably, and there are some new models on the horizon that could also make its high-end specs look a little more commonplace.

Though the price is on the high side, at the time of writing, Valerion is offering the VisionMaster Max with some extra accessories included that add considerably to the value. These include projector screens, a Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system, and an external lens that can increase the projector’s throw distance. We’ve also spotted a slightly discounted price from some third-party retailers.

(Image credit: Future)Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Specs

Screen sizes supported

40 to 300 inches

Brightness (specified)

3,500 Lumens

Optical technology

3 Laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

Connections

2x USB-A, 1x 3.5mm audio out, 1x S/PDIF, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (eARC), 1x Gigabit Ethernet

Dimensions

7.3 x 10.2 x 9.2 inches / 185.4 x 259.1 x 233.9mm

Weight

15.4 pounds / 6.99kg

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Design & features

• Wide range of optical adjustments alongside effective automatic adjustments
• Full-featured system with broad support for different formats
• Stylish design

All of Valerion’s projectors share a near identical DNA, so it’s unsurprising to see that the VisionMaster Max has only subtle differences compared to the VisionMaster Pro 2 I tested earlier this year.

The VisionMaster Max is a compact projector measuring only a little over 10 inches in its biggest dimension. It packs all of its hardware into an elegant box with a glossy front and metallic ribs that wrap around the top and sides of the projector. It even has a cover to hide all the ports in the back when not in use for that extra touch of elegance.

The rear includes a good selection of ports with two high-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports and an HDMI 2.0 port that can handle eARC audio transmission. A 3.5mm jack and S/PDIF port can also handle audio output, giving you plenty of options. There are also two USB-A ports (one with USB 3.0 speeds) for powering accessories or connecting local media. A Gigabit ethernet port rounds out the selection here, offering fast networking speeds, though the Wi-Fi 6E can also provide plenty of bandwidth for streaming wirelessly.

(Image credit: Future)

The front of the VisionMaster Max is where we see the most difference. It has a large, unobstructed glass cover for its projection lenses. This ties into the extra optical adjustments it allows. The lens supports both motorized zoom, letting it shift from a 0.9:1 to a 1.5:1 throw ratio, and offers a +/- 105% vertical lens shift, helping ensure a perfectly fitted image from more location. The projector even has a system for attaching an external lens that lets it shift out as far as a 2.0:1 throw ratio.

The base of the projector includes three legs for adjusting its angle and tilt, though it also has mounting screw points to let you set it up with ceiling mounts or tripods. Valerion has a metal gimbal stand that works as well, giving it similar flexibility to projectors like the Hisense C2 Ultra or JMGO N1S Ultimate.

You get a fully integrated system with the VisionMaster Max. It includes Google TV and a 24W stereo sound system. The Google TV platform is also run on a quicker processor than most projectors offer, making it far more responsive to use.

Beyond the basics, the VisionMaster Max proves fairly feature-rich. It supports automatic image adjustments to make setup quick. The automatic adjustments can handle optical zoom, keystone, focus, and screen fit, and it proved quite adept in my testing, even when the original projection was all over the place (though manual, optical adjustments can still help ensure you're getting the best picture quality by avoiding digital cropping).

The projector supports high-quality formats and can display HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content, and it can pass through DTS:X and Dolby Atmos audio. It supports 24 and 48 fps content as well as a variety of 3D formats. It also is geared up for gaming with low-latency 4K/60Hz support as well as 1080p/120Hz and 1080p/240Hz modes for even faster response.

(Image credit: Future)

One downside of Valerion’s design for the VisionMaster Max is that it packs far brighter projection into the same footprint as its dimmer siblings. That means it has to work harder at cooling. At full brightness, its fans are constantly running. While they’re not obnoxiously loud or shrill, especially in a large room, they’re still adding a bit of noise.

The VisionMaster Max’s remote is a good one, but could have done more to make more of its features quickly accessible. It provides basic Google TV navigation as well as a quick toggle for autofocus and input selection. At the bottom of the remote, it has four pairs of buttons that include four streaming app shortcuts, volume controls, a mute button, and a menu button.

Unfortunately, these aren’t arranged in a way where you can simply feel out the button you want to press in the dark. Though the remote does light up some of its controls for visibility in the dark, it only illuminates a few of the basic navigation ones, not the full legend.

(Image credit: Future)

• Design & features score: 4.5/5

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Picture quality & performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Stunning color alongside serious brightness and impressive black levels
• Sharp 4K picture and faster 1080p option

With a $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 price tag and plenty of new projectors hitting the market with brightness to rival it, the VisionMaster Max had a high bar to clear. Fortunately, it is absolutely brilliant. It provides its 4K projection with solid edge-to-edge clarity.

I’ve seen RGB-laser projection systems one after another, and they always impress with their extremely wide color gamut. The VisionMaster Max brings that capability alongside high enough brightness levels to use in all sorts of settings.

For casual viewing, I often found the VisionMaster Max’s 3,500 ISO Lumens (a specification which bore out in testing) plenty for all sorts of content without needing to close the blinds or even turn off my living room lights. More often, I found I would dim the projector or adjust its iris to lower the brightness when viewing in a dark room.

(Image credit: Future)

The VisionMaster Max pairs those high highs with low lows. A lot of projectors struggle to keep their black levels deep, but this one excels. Its black levels are among the deepest I’ve seen, with only Sony’s $9,999 / £6,999 / AU$13,999 Bravia Projector 7 having been deeper in my recent testing.

While faint light is visible during very dark scenes, brighter scenes see the black pixels of letter boxes fade away entirely. Like the Bravia Projector 7, the black levels are deep enough that you’ll want to consider light absorbing materials elsewhere in your viewing space to avoid light reflecting back onto the projected image and sullying the darkness.

All this combines to make for a wonderful picture. The bright sands of Arrakis dazzle in Dune while all of the detail in the shadows remains. And the colorful world of Pandora in Avatar never looks more splendid than when it’s beaming out of a RGB laser projection system.

Admittedly, the VisionMaster Max can produce over-saturated images in some of its color profiles, and it will suffer from the soap opera effect on occasion. But both of these issues are easily tamped down with Filmmaker Mode or custom picture settings.

(Image credit: Future)

The DLP rainbow effect is present on the VisionMaster Max, but about as subtle as I’ve seen from any DLP projector. And that’s before enabling the projector’s special anti-rainbow effect setting, which helps at the cost of a little extra whining noise from the projector.

Going beyond cinema, the VisionMaster Max also happily knocks it out of the park for gaming. Its gaming profile is responsive at 4K/60, but the projector can also swap over to 1080p/240Hz, where it proves stunningly responsive. I blasted my way around levels in Hollow Knight with excellent fluidity that helped me keep pace with the combat.

Naturally, the speakers aren’t quite a match for the projection. But in a small room, they offer punchy audio that’s plenty loud enough to drown out the fan noise. They don’t sound too boxed in, and when it’s called for, they can really boom. Still, they’re better paired with an external audio system, and if you happen to pair it with a Hisense audio system like the HT-Saturn, it can support additional features as if it were a Hisense projector itself.

• Picture quality & performance score: 4.5/5

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

When it was first announced, the VisionMaster Max had seemed like it would be an unmatched entrant into the market with only extremely high-end projectors ready to rival it on image quality without managing to offer the more friendly and compact design it offered. Models like the Hisense C2 Ultra and JMGO N1S Ultimate could compete somewhat on features, but don’t quite keep up with the VisionMaster Max’s image quality and more flexible optics.

But the market has just shifted with the introduction of the Xgimi Horizon 20 lineup — a far more formidable alternative that’s way cheaper, competitively bright, and featuring a newer DLP chip that can offer VRR for gaming. It also offers advanced optics offering flexible projection.

Still, the fact that Valerion’s projector is arriving so late to the party without some of the new features hurts its value a bit next to the new models landing now at much lower prices.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Valerion VisionMaster Max?

(Image credit: Future)Valerion VisionMaster Max Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design and features

The VisionMaster Max does a great job of integrating everything you need into a compact and elegant unit. It offers good connectivity, a solid streaming platform, and viable audio in a pinch. It’s also got great optical adjustments that are rare from projectors with its design.

4.5/5

Picture quality and performance

The picture beaming out of the VisionMaster Max is stunning. It gets the rich color of RGB laser projection alongside simply excellent black levels that most of its rivals can’t match. Plus, it can drop down to 1080p/240Hz for ultra-fluid gaming.

4.5/5

Value

The VisionMaster Max undercuts some high-end systems like Sony’s Bravia Projector 7 to score some big points. But its specs aren’t quite as competitive against a new batch of ultra-bright projectors hitting the market with VRR-capable chips and much lower price tags.

3.5/5

Buy it if...

Contrast is a big deal to you
The VisionMaster Max is an excellent projector for its visuals, and its contrast is perhaps one of the key assets it has over its competition. Darker black levels help hide letterboxes, digital image adjustments like keystoning, and ultimately help make the rest of the visuals pop.

You want a projector that’s pretty good at everything
The Valerion VisionMaster Max is good in the daytime and stunning at night. It’s great at gaming. It has good audio and supports great options for external sound. It’s even a strong streamer thanks to its fast internals. You won’t face much compromise here.

You can still afford a sound system on top of it
You’re getting a truly excellent visual experience from the VisionMaster Max, but its audio won’t keep up. For a great home theater, an external speaker system is a must here. (Though it’s worth checking to see if Valerion is bundling the Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system when you’re shopping)

Don't buy it if...

You’re mostly after gaming
New projectors supporting VRR are right on the horizon, and they’re offering competitive brightness and lower prices. It’s worth holding off to see how they perform before doling out for the VisionMaster Max if you plan to do a ton of gaming.

You’re not going to darken the room often
The VisionMaster Max works decently in a lit room, but its best performance shows only in the dark. If you’re not planning on blacking out your viewing area on the regular, you’ll be just about as well served with a cheaper alternative that doesn’t have the impressive black floor of the VisionMaster Max.

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Also considerComparison: projectors

Valerion VisionMaster Max

Sony Bravia Projector 7

Xgimi Horizon 20 Max

Price

$4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999

$9,999 / £6,999 / AU$13,999

$2,999 / £2,599 / AU$5,999

Screen sizes supported

40 to 300 inches

90 to 130 inches

40 to 300 inches

Brightness (specified)

3,500 lumens

2,400 lumens

5,700 ISO lumens

HDR support

HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision

HDR10, HLG

Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, IMAX Enhanced

Optical technology

3 Laser DLP

Laser SXRD

Triple laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

N/A

N/A

Connections

2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (with eARC), 1x optical, 1x 3.5mm

2x HDMI 2.1

2x HDMI (x1 eARC), 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, 1x 3.5mm, 1x optical audio out

Sony Bravia Projector 7
Here’s what we had to say in our full Sony Bravia Projector 7 review:

“The Bravia Projector 7 commands a high price, but it does so with a jaw-dropping image. Its color could be richer, but I’ve never seen such impressive black levels from a projector. The picture here is so good, you’ll need to tailor your theater around it to maximize performance; otherwise, you’ll be wasting your money.”

Xgimi Horizon 20 Max
If the Valerion VisionMaster Max is too expensive, this is the cheaper alternative I think gets closest in performance. Here’s what we had to say in our full Xgimi Horizon 20 Max review:

“The Xgimi Horizon 20 Max is a brilliant 4K portable projector. It delivers high brightness, strong contrast and bold colors, along with solid built-in sound, responsive gaming performance and tons of useful setup features. The picture requires some adjustment, but the payoff is worth it.”

How I tested the Valerion VisionMaster Max

(Image credit: Future)

• Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
• Presented the display with a variety of media and formats
• I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade

I tested the Valerion VisionMaster Max at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, HDR and non-HDR, and PC gameplay.

My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models I and colleagues at TechRadar have tested.

I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

Heavys H1E: Two-minute review

Few audio brands have made as much noise on social media as Heavys. In the best headphones arena, the company made heavy music (sound)waves with its Heavys H1H headphones, a couple of years ago, and now it has attempted to translate that sound to the wireless earbuds format.

And largely, the H1E True Wireless Earbuds achieve the low-end sound and punchy prominence needed for a specialised listening experience within this music genre, although sadly, it makes them a poor choice for listening to any other kind of music.

Carrying an MSRP of $209 / £185 / AU$321, the Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds are far from the cheapest set of in-ears around, although we have seen them discounted to $169 in the US and down to £150 in the UK recently. They're priced to rival mid-range heavy-hitters such as the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 (and arguably even the flagship, hugely popular Apple AirPods Pro 3) rather than the truly elite end of the spectrum — think Technics EAH-AZ100 or Bowers & Wilkins Pi8.

But where those brands aim to provide a broader, more general listening experience, the H1Es are more specialist; instead of an everyday pair, these earbuds are more situational. You're spending around the $200 / £200 / AU$300 range for something that's purpose-built, for better or worse.

In the words of Gojira: Born for one thing. And listening to heavy metal music does sound solid through the Heavys H1E earbuds for the most part, with the vast majority of sub-genres within this spectrum accurately represented. What's particularly noticeable is just how good the dynamic drivers can be. The company promises a "concert-like experience," and even with what are (presumably) 10-14mm drivers (the size hasn't been publicly disclosed), under the right conditions, this has been delivered.

I can praise the Heavy's H1E earbuds' build quality too. A tactile case which can be customized with shells is neat, but the real advantage here is the multiple silicon and memory foam ear tips provided, which make them genuinely really comfortable over time. There's a wealth of sizes available, so you can find the right fit.

This helps to elevate the H1E's otherwise decidedly middling user experience though: a so-so seven hours of playback (24 hours from the case), and some of the most mediocre active noise-cancelling I've seen from earbuds at this price point.

A similar frustration can be levied at the connectivity options of the Heavys H1E earbuds. Low-latency Bluetooth 5.4 multi-connectivity is great when it works, but it doesn't always work. Countless times in my months with the earbuds, I was caught in a loop: the earbuds 'forgot' my phone, forcing me to re-pair and even to re-connect between charges as they don't seem to be intelligent enough to remember my Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. That's to say nothing of times when only one earbud would work, with the other refusing to connect, which meant restarting the whole process over again. To be clear, this is something I've never experienced with any other earbuds or headphones.

The Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds are niche and not without issues, but the listening experience ultimately helps them stand out from the crowd. If you're someone who exclusively listens to heavy metal music, then they could be of value. As a metal musician myself, and someone who has seen thousands of metal bands play live over the last 15 years, I found them to be worthwhile, even if they won't rival what the best wireless earbuds and best earbuds overall can do outside of their specialism. Continue reading my full Heavys H1E review further down the page to find out why.

Heavys H1E review: Price & release date

The Heavys come in a compact case. You can customize the lid with various designs based on metal bands as well. (Image credit: Future)

• Officially unveiled on September 22, 2025, via social media
• Available now, shipping worldwide for $209 / £185 / AU$321

After being revealed on social media late last year, with pre-orders being fulfilled throughout early 2026, you can now get your hands on the Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds for $209 / £185 / AU$321, depending on your region. With that said, it isn't uncommon for these wireless earbuds to be available at a reduced rate through the deals the company runs on its store page, knocking anywhere from 10-20% off, depending on the season. Keep an eye out for the green banner around a peak sales time, and you could save some cash.

The price tag positions the Heavys H1E earbuds against the mid-range and higher-end competition. Chiefly, that means more well-known consumer models such as the aforementioned Galaxy Buds4 and the Apple AirPods Pro lineup. It also means a comparable price tag to "enthusiast" class earbuds, as can be seen from the Technics AZ100, and the Noble Audio Osprey. Both of these earbuds (and many more) hover around the $200 / £200 / AU$300 mark, so it's a fairly crowded space. For the audio performance on display, they're priced a little high. More on that further down the page, though.

Heavys H1E review: Specs

Drivers

"Dynamic" (Size not stated)

Frequency range

20 Hz - 20 kHz

Battery life

Up to seven hours (Up to 24 hours with case)

Charging time

90 minutes for earbuds; two hours for the case

Microphone

Dual-mics

Active noice canceling?

Yes. "Hellblocker" ANC paired with passive noise isolation

Software

Heavys app for adjusting EQ and updating firmware

Water resistance?

IPX5 rated water and sweat resistance

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.4

Heavys H1E review: Design & features

The different sizes of ear tips are available in memory foam and silicon for a comfortable fit for long-term use (Image credit: Future)

• "Hellblocker" ANC
• Dual microphone setup
• Excellent range of comfortable, changable tips for comfortable use

The Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds excel from a design perspective. They're made of a matte molded plastic which feels both premium and incredibly durable; there's IPX5 water and sweat resistance, meaning they can handle a splash of liquid as well. What impresses me most are the multi-sized ear tips that are shipped in the box, as you get a variety of sizes in different materials: memory foam and silicon, for a comfortable fit to suit most (if not all) ear sizes.

I'm someone who struggles with earbuds for long stretches of time, having previously ditched the likes of the Razer Hammerheads because they were too uncomfortable for long periods of use. Having multiple ear tips in various sizes meant I could find the fit that was right for me; whether I was out walking my Belgian Malinois, on a plane, commuting via train, or just working in the house. Once I found the right fit for me, I was away. Hours would go by, and I'd forget I was even wearing them; that's good ergonomic design right there.

A key design element present in the H1H headphones has been applied to the H1E earbuds too. However, instead of interchangeable ear cup shells, decorated to represent your favorite bands, the customization options apply to the case. There's a fair amount of official designs available, including Currents, Testament, Carnifex, Dream Theater, Opeth, and Whitelabel. Additionally, there are some original designs, including profanity-laden options or purple smoke to add a splash of color and personality. The case itself charges via USB-C and takes around two hours to juice up to full, giving you around 24 hours of total use, or around three full recharges of the earbuds' playback time. It's OK rather than great, as those numbers go.

Also so-so in the world of wireless earbuds in 2026 is Heavys' claim of up to seven hours of playback from the H1E earbuds, although your mileage may vary depending on your reliance on that "Hellblocker" ANC, as well as how you dial your EQ settings.

I've used dozens of wireless earbuds and headphones that feature great ANC over the years, and Heavys' Hellblocker solution just isn't it. The feature was also present on the H1H headphones with a dedicated switch to enable it, and worked well enough thanks (almost certainly) to the far larger drivers and mic array on the large ear cups. However, given the small size of the H1E earbuds, any real noise cancellation is pretty poor.

I tend to go out and walk my dog with the H1Es in, and even after hearing the gruff man on voice prompts announce "Hellblocker activated", I was still hearing other dogs barking, passing cars, wind noise, and all other background noise that should have been filtered out. All it really did was make the audio quality a little more muffled.

A good companion application can really elevate a pair of wireless earphones, giving you smart and reactive EQ options, helping you get the best listening experience possible. We've seen this before with Bowers & Wilkins' excellent Music App, to support its lineup of earbuds.

Unfortunately, the official Heavys app is nowhere near as good. Aside from updating the firmware, all it gives you is a basic EQ settings slider, and you're better off leaving it at the default, as it's hard to gear it towards one genre or another. My partner also experienced issues with having the H1Es connect to her Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra via the app, as it wasn't as user-intuitive as you would hope for from earbuds released in 2026.

• Design & Features score: 3.5 / 5

Heavys H1E review: Sound quality

(Image credit: Future)

• Prominent bass and good overall low-end presence
• Depending on the mixing, you get decent mids
• 'Hellblocker' ANC changes the listening experience for the worse

The Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds are good for metal music most of the time. It's situational and circumstantial, though. As touched upon above, they can sound incredible for metal music, with the major caveat being the trappings of the genre itself. Metal is the most diverse genre of music on the planet, separated into dozens of sub-genres with niches within them. For example, if we look at black metal, you have your classic first and second waves (Venom and Celtic Frost to Mayhem and Emperor) to the likes of atmospheric black, black/death, symphonic black, melodic black, black 'n roll, blackgaze, and the list goes on.

There's no true way to be geared towards all metal music, just as you can't fine-tune an EQ between bands within the same sub-genre of a sub-genre. It can get as granular as different audio balancing for the likes of Archgoat, Belphegor, Behexen, and Behemoth, and that's just scratching the surface. In blanket terms, the Heavy H1E earbuds excel with anything forcing the low-end, particularly with sub-genres such as death metal, grindcore, deathcore, and anything that benefits most from a down-tuned guitar, five-string bass, and percussion cutting through the mix.

In my months with the Heavys H1Es, I've listened to hundreds of metal records, and the best listening experiences I can recall most come from streaming Vomitory, Batushka, Blood Red Throne, Korpse, Vulvodynia, Death, Conan, Kanonenfieber, Mgła, and Imperial Triumphant. The drivers are incredibly punchy, differentiating harsh vocals against bass and lower-tuned guitars, or guitars tuned to E standard that are soaked in distortion; there's good distinction, with no muddiness or fizziness that we see when heavier music genres are played from more general earbuds.

Other metal sub-genres don't really benefit from the low-end tuning of the audio drivers though. I'm nearly 30, and nowadays just as likely to put on some Black Sabbath, Clutch, or Green Lung as anything recorded from the frostbitten valleys of Scandinavia, and it's when listening to clean-sung vocals, or any metal music with more traditional production that the H1Es feel just... okay. Solstafir, Zeal & Ardor, Katatonia, Candlemass, Sleep, Metallica, Slayer, and Acid Bath sounded fine, but the listening experience was about on par with just about any (cheaper) wireless earbuds I've used over the last 10 years.

I really would recommend listening to music without the Hellblocker ANC active, as enabling it via touch controls can drastically impact the overall listening quality. Depending on the mix, things can go from a little muffled to quite tinny. It's not a unique complaint against the H1E earbuds, as ANC can do that, but it's particularly disappointing when the passive noise isolation doesn't filter the outside world out, and you end up having worse-sounding music when trying to fix it. It's not sophisticated enough to do its job, and it really just annoyed me rather than being all too useful.

• Sound quality score: 3.5 / 5

Heavys H1E review: Value

• Expensive for what they are
• Poor overall ANC when compared to the competition
• Stellar situationally, for certain genres of metal music

I've been critical of the Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds in this review. Considering the fact that I enjoy using the H1H over-ear headphones so much, I was expecting more of that sound quality and feature set to be carried over, but it hasn't translated as smoothly as I expected.

For the asking price of $209 / £185 / AU$321, there's no getting around the fact that you can get a far superior listening experience from a competitor. USP aside, unless you're really into death metal (or its offshoots), the cons may outweigh the pros here.

The Heavys H1Es are well-designed and comfortable for extended periods of time, and the case is well-made and holds a respectable charge, allowing for 24 hours of total use.

However, the ANC is poor, the Bluetooth connectivity can be spotty, the companion app is mediocre, and they're priced a little too high for what is (essentially) a marketing ploy. Under the right set of circumstances, these earbuds can be exceptional, but with a higher mid-market asking price and stiff competition, they're a hard sell in 2026.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Should I buy the Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds?

Section

Notes

Score

Design & features

The H1Es are well-built with a sturdy case and have a respectable battery life. Sadly, the ANC is poor and the companion app is lacking

3.5/5

Sound quality

Some metal music sounds incredible coming through the dynamic drivers of the H1Es, with lower-tuned sub-genres, like death metal, metalcore, and deathcore singing. However, that extra weight and low-end prominence can result in a decidedly average sound for everything else

3.5/5

Value

The Heavy H1E True Wireless Earbuds aren't hugely expensive, but they're not a great value buy either when compared to their similarly priced competition from Apple, Google, and Samsung

3/5

Buy them if...

You love metal music above everything else
With the right bands and albums on, the Heavy H1Es deliver an exceptional listening experience, particularly if you're into the proper heavy death metal sub-genres.

You sometimes struggle to get buds to fit properly
The different ear tips included (in different, premium materials) with the Heavy H1Es give you plenty of choice for the most comfortable fit during long wear sessions. They also happen to be durable and lightweight in your ear.

You're fine with middling battery life from your buds
So they're not the longest-lasting earbuds on the market; does it bother you? The Heavy H1Es can go for up to seven hours on a single charge, and the case can juice them up three times between charges. The case itself only needs two hours to be able to go again as well. And given the punchy audio, it's not a bad claim.

Don't buy them if...

You want top-tier value for money
At $209 / £185 / AU$321, the Heavys H1E are far from the cheapest wireless earbuds available, comparable to flagship options from Google, Samsung and Apple but without really offering the versatility of their competitors.

You don't listen to *heavy* music
The Heavys H1Es are best when listening to down-tuned guitars, guttural vocals and percussion that's raised high in the mix, such as you'll find in death metal, deathcore, grindcore, and similar sub-genres. If you're into the softer sub-genres, or rock and roll, these are unlikely to do much for you.

Good ANC is a must
Hellblocker ANC technically works but it messes with the audio balancing of certain songs and doesn't do a great job of actually blocking out the outside noise. The trade-off in audio quality isn't worth it.

Heavys H1E review: Also consider

Bowers & wilkins Pi8

Cambridge Audio Melomania M100

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)

Price

$399 / £349 / AU$599

$219 / £169 / AU$299

$299 / £299 / AU$449

Drivers

12mm carbon cone

10mm driver, recycled Neodymium magnets

9.3mm

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Yes

Yes

Quoted battery life

6.5 hours (buds); 20 hours (case)

10 hours (buds) 33 hours total (with case) with ANC on

6 hours (buds) 24 hours total (with case)

Weight

7g per earbud

6.65g per earbud

7.7g per earbud

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless; USB-C with two cables in the box for case retransmission

Bluetooth 5.3, aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, AAC, SBC (USB-C and wireless charging)

Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C, aptX Adaptive, Snapdragon Sound

Frequency range

Not stated

Not stated

Not stated

Waterproofing

Yes, IP54

Yes, IPX4

Yes, IPX4

Other features

Triple core processor architecture; class A/B amplification; three mics per earbud with noise suppression for calls

High performance audio mode

The Technics EAH-AZ100 are a little more expensive than the Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds, but wow do they deliver best-in-class ANC, with a balanced feel, and great ergonomics, making them hard to beat.
Read our full Technics EAH-AZ100 review for more

Meanwhile, these guys are cheaper! Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 earbuds punch well above their weight with a pleasing overall sound and strong noise canceling, all for a price that's hard to beat.
Read our full Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 review

How I tested the Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds

• Tested for a period of three months while comparing them to other wireless earbuds, headphones, and gaming headsets around my office.
• Primarily used when outside walking my dog, commuting via plane or train, and running errands.
• Throughout my listening experience, I mostly used Apple Music's Loseless tracks, Spotify, Bandcamp, and YouTube Music depending on the artist's availability.

I've been using the Heavys H1E True Wireless Earbuds over the last few months when I've been out and about, heading somewhere for work, walking the dog, or doing chores. They've lived in the case in the pocket of my jacket or my shoulder bag, and were actively used during commuting. For testing purposes, I did actively switch between them and the Heavys H1H over-ear headphones to compare sound quality and features.

Most of my time using the Heavys H1Es was spent with the earbuds connected to my iPhone 15 Pro Max. Although I did try them out on several occasions with my partner's Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, as well as my MacBook Air M1 (2020), to gauge how well the Bluetooth connection would be.

I am a metal musician (guitarist and vocalist) who has been recording and playing music for over 10 years. I have mixed and mastered many different metal albums, and have seen literally thousands of metal bands play live over the years at gigs and metal festivals, such as Damnation, Incineration, Bloodstock, Snuff Fest, Download, Brutal Assault, and countless others.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed September 2026.

Snagajob is quite different from other job boards I’ve reviewed. It’s a marketplace for hourly and gig jobs, not the full-time corporate roles many other job boards focus on.

If you’re seeking temporary gig work to earn some cash or a flexible hourly role, Snagajob is an ideal platform. You can filter jobs by type, location, pay, and other factors.

What other factors set Snagajob apart from the competition? How broad are its job listings, and what are its pros and cons? What features should I expect? I’ve reviewed Snagajob thoroughly to answer these questions for intending users, so let’s see what it offers.

Snagajob: Plans and pricing

Most job boards have a business model where job seekers use the platform for free while employers pay to post job listings and find candidates. You can check it out by clicking here.

Snagajob follows the same pattern. Any job seeker can sign up for free, create a profile, and browse through job listings. Small businesses can also create free accounts to post basic job listings. But to post multiple, detailed job listings that’ll reach more candidates, employers need special accounts with paid subscriptions.

Employer subscriptions start at $89 per month for one active job listing. But it doesn’t scale directly at $89 per month per job listing. Rather, businesses can negotiate packages directly with Snagajob’s sales team. This platform uses a personalized pricing system, not standard subscription packages, even though the personalized packages are known to start at $89 per month.

I’ll say Snagajob is expensive, particularly for small businesses with limited budgets, but there’s a free plan for small businesses that need just basic job postings. However, for advanced job listings that’ll be promoted to more Snagajob users, the math works better for medium-sized and large businesses.

Snagajob doesn’t offer a standard free trial. However, when negotiating with the sales team, you can request demos to learn the platform’s ins and outs before deciding whether to pay.

Snagajob: Features

Snagajob pairs people seeking flexible full-time or part-time jobs with employers offering these roles. After signing up, you can search for jobs in retail, logistics, restaurants, hospitality, e-commerce, and similar sectors, with flexible, hourly-paid roles.

You can also create a profile to specify your work experience and job preferences, then upload your resume to Snagajob’s database. This way, you don’t always have to go looking for jobs.

Employers can find your resume in this database, and if they deem you a good fit, they’ll message you about a potential offer. After the initial message, you’ll proceed to a formal interview and possibly snag the role.

As I’ve mentioned, Snagajob focuses on flexible, shift-based, hourly-paid jobs. Maybe you want some work at a restaurant, a grocery store, or a delivery company. Snagajob is the go-to platform in that case, but it’s not where you’ll find corporate tech, finance, or administrative jobs. It has its niche and serves that niche well.

As a job seeker, I’ll advise creating a complete Snagajob profile so that employers can find you. A complete profile also lets you apply for jobs in one click instead of reuploading your resume every time. You can also receive personalized job suggestions based on your profile and stated skills via email, so finding opportunities won’t be difficult.

(Image credit: Snagajob)

Snagajob hosts many job listings, and I liked that I could easily filter by location. I entered my location, and it quickly showed available jobs near me.

Retail-adjacent jobs, the types present on Snagajob, require clocking in early, and long commutes for these kinds of jobs are inconvenient, so filtering by location is important.

(Image credit: Snagajob)

There’s also gig work listed on Snagajob, the type where you create your own schedule. Most gig jobs are either couriers for food and grocery delivery apps or drivers for ride-hailing platforms, but the listings can differ based on your location.

Although I said Snagajob hosts many listings, “many” is relative. It isn’t like LinkedIn or Indeed that host millions of job listings simultaneously. Rather, it’s more like thousands of job listings, but that’s what sets it apart. Snagajob has a specific niche and focuses on quality over quantity.

I’ve used many other job boards and have come across duplicate listings or some listings that seemed questionable. That issue exists less on Snagajob than on other platforms, because of its niche and the relatively high costs for employers.

Snagajob leans towards roles from large restaurants, grocery, and retail chains, although medium-sized chains and single-location businesses still hire via the platform. Every job listing includes a salary range, which isn’t the same on many job boards, so you’ll always know what to expect before applying.

Also, I noticed Snagajob’s limited features outside of job listings. It’s not like Glassdoor, with its detailed company reviews and compensation data, or ZipRecruiter, with its AI-based resume builder, or LinkedIn, with networking features. Snagajob revolves around finding flexible jobs and offers little else. That’s a strength in one way but also feels like a competitive disadvantage.

Now, let’s look at Snagajob from an employer’s perspective. Businesses can create accounts to post jobs and find the right candidates. Small businesses can create free accounts to post a few listings, but only paid subscribers can post multiple listings with broader reach.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, Snagajob doesn’t have standard pricing, so businesses have to contact the sales team for a quote, but prices are generally known to start at $89 per month.

With an employer account, you have access to Snagajob’s database of resumes and worker profiles, from which you can select the right candidates. Algorithms curate candidates based on your job requirements so that it’s easier to select from a large pool.

Snagajob helps businesses quickly fill part-time or flexible full-time roles, but costs can get high. Larger retail, restaurant, and hospitality chains can easily afford it, but it’s not the most cost-effective option for small businesses. On the bright side, Snagajob offers free accounts for small businesses with limited features.

Snagajob: Ease of use

(Image credit: Snagajob)

Snagajob excels when talking about user-friendliness. Its intuitive, uncluttered interface is one of the best I’ve encountered on a job board.

From registering to creating my profile, checking job listings, and applying, everything went smoothly. I’ll say the developers invested a lot in the user experience.

You can access Snagajob from the web interface or download the smartphone app (iOS or Android). Either option offers the same modern, intuitive interface that you can easily navigate.

Snagajob: Support

Snagajob offers support resources, but I think it needs improvement in this area, particularly for self-help resources.

When discussing support, I always first check the official Help Center, where users can access resources to solve problems themselves and contact support personnel if they can’t do that. I didn’t find detailed user guides, manuals, and FAQs as I have on many job boards.

For direct help, job seekers can file a support ticket on Snagajob’s website and wait for an email response. Employers with paid subscriptions can email or call the support team directly.

Snagajob: The competition

The online job board sector has endless competition, but Snagajob stands out. It’s not built for the corporate and administrative jobs you’ll largely find on platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed. Instead, it’s focused on flexible part-time or full-time jobs, the type common in retail, hospitality, logistics, and related industries.

Snagajob isn’t trying to be a generalized job board like Indeed or LinkedIn, but one that focuses on a specific niche. These rivals offer a far larger array of job listings, salary data, and networking opportunities, but Snagajob is a better option for people seeking flexible gig-like jobs.

I’ll say Snagajob’s rivals aren’t conventional job sites like Indeed, but niche platforms like Instawork and WorkWhile. Instawork is built for people seeking short-term temporary work, and WorkWhile is designed for event and warehouse jobs. These are the kinds of roles also available on Snagajob.

Snagajob: Final verdict

I consider Snagajob a top-notch option if you’re seeking flexible jobs or gig work. It curates short-term, hourly-paid jobs from top retail and hospitality chains and also major logistics providers and similar businesses.

There’s a focus on quality over quantity, so you don’t have to spend as much time seeking available opportunities as you would on other platforms. However, don’t expect much else outside job listings in retail-adjacent industries. Snagajob serves its niche well but offers few complementary features.

For employers, Snagajob provides an easy way to urgently fill short-term roles, although subscription costs can get high. It’s a worthwhile investment for larger businesses that can absorb the costs.

For more picks, we've tested the best recruitment platforms and the best job sites.

JBL Live 680NC: Two-minute review

The JBL Live 680NC are a strong pair of headphones for the price. They have a lot to offer, such as a whole litany of features including well-implemented active noise cancellation (ANC) and Ambient Aware, a lot of EQ-related options, spatial audio, and Auracast support. They also offer a very, very long battery life.

But they come with some compromises to meet that $160 price point. The sound quality, while good, does have an unruly low-end and a more rolled off high end than I would like. The spatial audio is a bit underwhelming in practice. They don’t come with a charging cable. And they do put a little bit of pressure on the top of the head during long listening sessions.

If you’re trying to stretch your budget, they may be the best wireless headphones for you, but manage your expectations; they’re not going to compete with something like the Sony WH-1000XM6. And if you have the ability to spend an extra hundred bucks (or the equivalent in your regional coin), the slightly more expensive JBL Live 780NC do sound a fair bit better and handle the weight distribution a little better as well. That said, these are tough times for a lot of people, and the price tag on the Live 680NC is reasonable, especially considering everything that they can do.

A view of the JBL Live 680NC from the side (Image credit: Future / James Holland)JBL Live 680NC: Price and release date

• Priced $159.95 / $129.99 / AU$199.95
• Launch date March 12, 2026

With a price tag of $159.95 / £129.99 / AU$199.95, the JBL Live 680NC technically fit into the mid-range tier of headphones while still being a cool $100 cheaper than the JBL Live 780NC that was released concurrently in March 2026.

As you’ll see in this review, there are a few reasons to spend that extra hundred dollars (though you could spend even more for the JBL Tour One M3 Smart Tx). But if you’re okay with a slightly less articulate sound quality or marginally less comfortable fit, you can save that hundred bucks if you’re on more of a budget.

JBL Live 680NC: Specs

Drivers

40mm drivers

Active noise cancellation

Adaptive

Battery life

Up to 50 hours with ANC On, 80 without

Weight

231.16 g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0

Frequency range

10Hz - 40kHz

Waterproofing

N/A

Other features

Multipoint connectivity, App Support, Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode, Hi-Res, Spatial Audio, Fast Charging, Auracast, Voice Assistant

JBL Live 680NC: FeaturesGeneral settings in app for JBL Live 680NCFuture / James HollandAdjusting ANC settings in app for JBL Live 680NC Future / James HollandAdjusting EQ settings in app for JBL Live 680NCFuture / James HollandShowcasing how flexible the parametric EQ isFuture / James HollandAdjusting call settings in app for JBL Live 680NCFuture / James HollandUsing the relax mode in the app for the JBL LIve 680NC Future / James Holland

• Multipoint connectivity and Auracast available
• Very adjustable Active Noise Cancellation and Ambient Aware
• Powerful EQ including personalization options

The JBL Live 680NC are chock full of features. Multipoint connectivity, Auracast (allowing connection to multiple headphones from one source), Bluetooth with LE Audio (unavailable for Apple users), the ability to customize on-ear controls, and on-ear wear detection are just some of what’s on offer. You can also upmix via JBL’s own spatial audio feature.

Adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC), Ambient Aware, and TalkThru modes are available with a good amount of customizations for the first two through the app. And while these modes won’t beat the best of Sony or Bose, they work pretty well. I don’t hear ambient noise with the ANC on at 50% (while something is playing), while I can hear ambient noise clearly with music at around 60%, which is nice when using these headphones for a walk or run.

There’s plenty more fine tuning available through the app. Of course, there’s plenty in the way of EQ. Not only are there a handful of EQ presets, but there’s a parametric EQ with the ability to boost or cut up to 6 dB anywhere between 32 and 16kHz, which is much more powerful than a lot of EQs available with other headphones.

Plus, JBL’s Personi-Fi 3.0 feature allows for creating a personalized EQ curve based on how you hear. It does so via a test of different frequencies at different volumes for each ear. Not only do I appreciate the personalization aspect of it, but also that it takes the guesswork out of trying to adjust the EQ.

Call-related features are available in the app as well, including allowing you to hear your own voice, as well as some relaxation focused features that, while they feel a little gimmicky, are a nice addition for anyone who wants to hear the sound of rain or birds chirping without pulling up a youtube channel for it.

• Features score: 5 / 5

JBL Live 680NC: Design

• Light, on-ear headphones
• Weight sits a little heavily on top of head though
• Comes without a charging cable

The JBL Live 680NC are fairly sharp looking headphones for around $160. They’re not quite premium, but they’re pretty close with a combination of plastic, metal (particularly the hinges), and leatherette-covered foam. There’s plenty of padding on the headband and ear cups, but since they’re on-ear more than over-ear, their fit is a bit different to the JBL Live 780NC I just reviewed.

They’re not that heavy at around 231 grams, but since they sit on the ear instead of over, more of the weight sits on top of the head. So while there’s plenty of cushion, I feel the headphones pressing on my skull in a way that lingers after wear. It’s not a lot so I didn’t feel discomfort, exactly, but it is something that separates it from its more expensive big brother.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Other than the fit and, relatedly, the ear pads, the JBL Live 680NC are identical to the Live 780NC in terms of design. They’re available in the same five colors (black, blue, green, white, champagne), have the same round ear cups, and have the same one and a half inch height adjustment per side. They’re foldable and have a big L or R on the inside of the non-removable ear pads as well.

Controls and ports are the same as well. The left ear cup houses the volume controls, while the right has the power and bluetooth slider along with the ANC / AmbientAware / TalkThru cycle button, not to mention that you can top on the center of the ear cup in various configurations to play or pause, rewind, or fast forward to the next song. The USB-C charging port is also on the right side.

And just like the JBL Live 780NC, the JBL Live 680NC come with a soft carrying case, a USB-C to Aux cable for analog listening, and come without an actual charging cable, though you can just use whatever you charge your phone with (you don't still have a Lightning iPhone, do you?).

• Design score: 4/5

The JBL Live 680NC's controls and port (Image credit: Future / James Holland)JBL Live 680NC: Sound

• Low-end is often overwhelming
• Warmer sounding headphones with slight high-end roll off
• Incredible battery life

The JBL Live 680NC is a competent, if not quite inspiring set of headphones to listen to. There’s plenty of volume thankfully, so if you’re trying to fast track hearing loss, you can certainly do that with these headphones.

Just like the more expensive 780NC, the low end on these headphones is almost out of control. I’ve done a lot of my listening with the “studio” EQ preset, which is basically a flat EQ with a slight bass cut, and I still feel like I’m hearing too much bass, regardless of whether I’m listening to Bruno Mars or Nothing. Of course, fans of EDM and Hip Hop will probably love that.

And just like the 780NC, the JBL Live 680NC use 40mm drivers. However, they don’t have quite as much ‘sparkle’ or clarity in the top end so don’t have quite the presence. I would describe the high-end as slightly rolled off. It’s still pleasant to listen to, but just doesn’t sound as Hi-Fi despite also having the 10Hz to 40kHz frequency range, which is considered high resolution.

That roll off does give the JBL Live 680NC a little warmer of a sound, helped along by the fact that the mids are a bit more forward here. Some people may like that. Of course, audio can sound a little bloated with mid-heavy mixes, aka any dense rock-leaning mixes.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

This also affects the soundstage as there isn’t quite the separation I’m used to. I am setting the bar a little high as I experienced better separation between instruments and audio elements in the more expensive JBL headphones, but that’s a hundred dollar difference. And these wireless headphones sound good for $150.

Also worth noting, the spatial audio here is not a fully immersive experience but just a virtual upmix of existing stereo audio (the headphones only have one driver per side). It’s an interesting inclusion that adds a little space to any audio I’m listening to, but is fairly nuanced to the point where you might not even realize that it’s on.

On the other hand, the battery life on the JBL Live 680NC is outright impressive. You get 80 hours on a single charge without ANC on, and 50 hours of use with it on. A fast charge of five minutes gives an additional four hours of use.

• Sound performance: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)JBL Live 680NC: Value

• Great value proposition
• Comes with similar tradeoffs of other budget / mid-tier headphones
• As fully featured as anything else at this price point

The JBL Live 680NC is a very good value proposition. I do like the JBL Live 780NC more — it sounds better and has a better fit — but its $250 price tag might be a big ask for some. And the JBL Live 680NC still sound good if slightly different, having a warmer sound signature while still have the same battery life and feature set of the more expensive headphones.

Other headphones trying to bridge the gap between budget and mid-tier end up closer in price to the 780NC than the 680NC. The Beyerdynamic Aventho 100, for example, are a pair of headphones that I really enjoyed that also came with a handful of compromises to keep cost down, except that cost is higher at $229.99 / £199 / AU$314. They sound good but not great, have an interesting look, great battery life, and solid implementation of ANC.

• Value: 4.5/5

Should I buy the JBL Live 680NC?JBL Live 680NC scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

ANC, Ambient Aware, a parametric EQ, and spatial audio are just some of what’s on offer.

5/5

Design

These headphones are portable, look good, and fit well, though they do put a little pressure on the top of the head.

4/5

Performance

The JBL Live 680NC sound good, despite having too much bass and a bit of high-end roll off. The battery life is impressive, though.

4/5

Value

You get a lot for the price with these headphones. Despite the compromises, these are a great value.

4.5/5

Buy them if…

You want it all without spending a lot
The JBL Live 680NC offer a lot from ANC and personalized EQ to spatial audio, while keeping the price pretty affordable.

You want a ridiculously long battery life
Being able to use the headphones for up to 80 hours without a charge is seriously impressive. Being able to get an additional four hours from five minutes of charging even more so.

Don’t buy them if…

You want audiophile quality sound
These headphones sound good, but, despite the high resolution capabilities, don’t quite have the clarity or sound signature for particular listeners.

You have a sensitive head
My head didn’t hurt from using these headphones for a long listening session, but I did feel the pressure on top of my head. If you’re sensitive, you might want to consider something else, like the Live 780NC.

JBL Live 680NC: Also consider

JBL Live 780NC
The JBL Live 780NC have the same everything-but-the-kitchen-sink feature set and ridiculously long battery life, along with some of the same negatives like that overwhelming low end and lack of charging cable. But they’re a little more comfortable to wear and do sound better. They’re also a hundred bucks more.
Read our full JBL Live 780NC review

Beyerdynamic Aventho 100
The Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 are just a little cheaper while still providing a good looking (and feeling) pair of headphones that travel well and come with an almost as impressive battery life. They’re more limited in features though, and don’t wow in the audio department (they do still sound good).
Read our full Beyerdynamic Aventho 100 review

How I tested the JBL Live 780NC

• Tested over a week period
• Tested with different music as well as video streaming
• Tested the various features

I spent a week using the JBL Live 680NC as my daily headphones. While using them, I listened to all sorts of genres from electronic and hip hop to rock and acoustic music to compare the frequency range and soundstage. I also tested the various settings such as ANC, transparency mode, EQ, and multipoint.

I’ve spent the last few years reviewing audio equipment and have spent even longer using my critical ear as a listener and musician to understand what does and doesn’t sound good.

• First reviewed in April 2026

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Google Pixel Watch 5: One minute review

The Google Pixel Watch 5 is one of those smartwatches that’s pretty easy to review after a week of wear. It’s fast, it’s accurate, it looks nice and it’s comfortable to wear. There are a few big, groundbreaking changes in this edition: more accurate fitness tracking GPS, Breathing Emergency Detection and Insulin Resistance Trends, which are great, but they work largely in the background, improving existing features, or waiting in the wings to detect an event that (hopefully) may never arrive.

Gemini has become smarter, but that change is a result of the entire Google ecosystem rather than the watch specifically. The watch does give you the means to access Gemini on-wrist, which (if you have an internet connection) is like a little constant Hitchhiker’s Guide companion. It’s less useful for driving the functions of the watch day-to-day though, and I ended up using it the same way as other, more basic voice assistants. I’ve found some problems with Gemini, both as an entity in itself and as an agentic on-wrist assistant, which I’ll discuss later in this review.

The unique charging stand — in which the watch is vertical like a little clock — and the curved teardrop design, sizes and band-switching mechanisms are identical to the previous editions.

The biggest changes day-to-day are in the fitness features, thanks to the Google Health revamp. Google Pixel Watches used to use Fitbit software, but since Fitbit morphed into Google’s AI-first Google Health app, the free version is quite stripped-back, and the premium version is heavily reliant on an AI chatbot (again, based on Gemini) to interact with your data, build workouts, log food and generally use it in a meaningful way.

Your mileage will vary for this, based on your patience threshold with AI, but the subscription-free version of the app is sparse. That might be okay if you have the super-cheap Google Fitbit Air, but those spending $429.99 / £399.99 / AU$699 on a premium smartwatch, and don’t want to pay for Google Health Premium on top, might feel left out in the cold in terms of fitness features.

But, thanks to Wear OS’s vast library of third-party apps, the Pixel Watch’s elegant, repairable design, and some quality improvement and accuracy tweaks, the Google Pixel Watch 5 cements the series’ position as the best Android-native watch to buy for another year.

Google Pixel Watch 5: Specs Table

Component

Google Pixel Watch 5 (45mm)

Price

$429.99 / £399.99 / AU$699

Dimension

45 x 45 x 12.5mm

Weight

37.5g (without band)

Case/bezel

Aluminum

Display

Actua 360 domed display, 320 ppi AMOLED LTPO (up to 3,000 nits)

GPS

Dual Frequency GPS: GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou, QZSS

Battery life

Up to 40 hours Always-On Display

Connections

4G LTE, Satellite SOS, Bluetooth 6.0, Wi-Fi, NFC

Water resistant

Yes, 5ATM

Google Pixel Watch 5: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Starts at $399.99 / £369 / AU$649 for the 41mm model
• $429.99 / £399.99 / AU$699 for the 45mm model
• LTE at an additional cost

The Google Pixel Watch 5 starts at $399.99 / £369 / AU$649 for the 41mm model, and $429.99 / £399.99 / AU$699 for the 45mm, which is the model I tested. The pricing is roughly equivalent to the Apple Watch Series 12, while being slightly more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Watch9, so I’m happy that it represents reasonable value for money — unless, that is, you’re buying it primarily for fitness.

The reason I say that is because you’ll need a premium subscription to the Google Health app, which costs $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$14.99 per month, to unlock all its features, whereas Samsung and Apple don’t lock core fitness features behind a paywall.

Apple’s own premium tier, Apple Fitness+, is a Peloton-style workout content service, not a paywall behind which your health information is locked. With this in mind, I’ve taken half a star off the Google Pixel Watch 5’s value score.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Google Pixel Watch 5: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Teardrop-domed Actua 360 display
• Comfortable to wear
• Materia 3 expressive software

I’ve always liked the design of Pixel Watches, and the Pixel Watch 5 looks and feels basically identical to the Google Pixel Watch 4. That domed teardrop Actua 360 display is just as bright as the Watch 4 at up to 3,000 nits, with the same bezel size. It’s a beautiful display, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The 60Hz refresh rate makes scrolling maps and messages, and other interactions, butter-smooth.

I do kind of wish the watch face had a raised bezel for protection, but that would completely ruin the look of the watch. As is, I love the design — I actually think it looks better than the squircle Apple Watch — and the watch is well protected from minor scrapes thanks to its Custom 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The watch is also repairable, able to be taken apart at home to replace the battery and display.

I’m wearing the 45mm model as I write this review, and it doesn’t look too big for my wrist, while the 41mm is a nice pebble shape that’ll look good on small wrists. A small digital crown acts as a button, a scrolling mechanism, and even a snooze button when the watch is on charge. The charging puck has you balance the watch vertically, with the screen reoriented to look like a clock. It’s a lovely design all round.

Wear OS 7, wrapped in the Pixel Watch’s Materia 3 Expressive design language, is a joy to interact with day-to-day. Notifications look nice, and the icons and messages resizing as I scroll is a great touch. My only software design quibble is Google’s divisive Google Health app which some commenters call ‘messy’ even in its free tier, and I dislike having to interact with the chatbot. However, that’s a Google suite problem as opposed to a specifically Pixel Watch 5 one.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Google Pixel Watch 5: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• New background health features
• Third-party app ecosystem
• Gemini intelligence features

A number of new features debut on the Google Pixel Watch 5, most of them driven by the new, improved Gemini intelligence. In practice, Gemini here is largely an extension of the tools on your Android phone, although raise-to-talk to ask Gemini a question is a nice touch. You can also use it to call or message contacts hands-free, and all the usual use-cases, such as setting timers.

Gemini, once given permission to access your contact details, will work in the background across your phone and your watch with tools like Proactive Assistance (a feature which requires a Pixel 11 phone to pair the watch with), which uses Gemini to anticipate your next move based on the content of your message. One example Google gives is your friend requesting contact details for a babysitter: Gemini will pull up the babysitter’s phone number in a draft message ready to send with a tap on your wrist. It’s clever stuff, and it helps the watch begin to feel more like the agentic personal assistant we’ve been promised.

Health-wise, we get new emergency tools, with last year’s Loss of Pulse Detection feature returning alongside Breathing Emergency Detection, which monitors for severe drops in blood oxygen caused by choking, pneumonia, drug overdose, or any other airway-limiting urgent health issue.

Google says its feature works by triggering a strong haptic vibration and notification, followed by a countdown. If the countdown is not cancelled, Google says the feature “automatically prompts your connected phone or LTE-enabled watch to call emergency services. Once the call is connected, an automated voice message informs the emergency operator that a breathing emergency was detected.

“It explains that you aren’t responding and shares your precise location. If you’ve set up emergency contacts, the feature sends a message notifying them that you may need help.”

Blood pressure trends and insulin resistance trends (both metrics that would normally require the use of specialized gear to measure) can now be viewed as monthly reports generated by your watch reading other vitals using its LEDs. While these features aren’t as accurate as a blood pressure cuff or an invasive glucose monitor, they provide a general indication as to whether you may need to visit a doctor. You do not need a paid Google Health subscription to use these ‘Health Guardian’ features.

All of this is added to the Pixel Watch’s impressive existing feature ecosystem, with music control and storage, GPS workouts, access to third-party apps, on-wrist phone conversations and messaging, and all the usual communications features you’d expect from a flagship smartwatch.

• Features score: 5/5

Google Pixel Watch 5: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• GPS accuracy improved, and was responsive during testing
• Heart rate tracking lines up with other wearables
• Comfortable to wear day-to-day, but battery life still a sticking point

Another year, another Pixel Watch, another battery complaint. My biggest gripe about high-powered, communication-forward watches as opposed to lower-power models, like the best Garmin watches is the battery life. While the Pixel Watch 5 does have fast charging, and you’ll be able to top it up from empty to full power in less than an hour on the charging puck, it’s frustrating to have the watch die on you mid-morning after you’ve been wearing it for just a couple of days, especially if it does so before your gym session.

Daily charging, or at least every other day if you don’t have the always-on display enabled, is a necessity, while a 2.5-hour hike drained around 25% of the watch’s battery life during my testing.

At least the Google Pixel Watch 5’s metrics were up to snuff. Heart rate readings were in line with other wearables, with only very minor deviations against a Polar H10 heart rate monitor. Our writer Michael Sawh took the Google Pixel Watch 5 around the London Marathon course’s infamous Isle of Dogs route, well-known for causing GPS blackouts, and found it performed very well against an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Fenix 8 Pro. You can read his full breakdown here.

The AI is useful, but not as useful as Google wants you to believe. Surfacing contextual information from your contacts is nice, and the voice assistant is fine, but there are too many edge-cases for it to be truly agentic. I asked Google Gemini on my watch for directions to my local train station, but rather than immediately surfacing directions it sent me back to my phone to open Google Maps to enable and confirm the route, then back to my watch, where I still had to open the Wear OS Google Maps manually.

Worse are the inaccuracies. As a stress test, I asked Gemini to find a local yoga class in my city center that started before 9am: it gave me two that started at 10am (without telling me), and one example that was completely fictitious — although Gemini said both the class and studio were on a particular street in my city, it was actually 14 miles away, and it got the time wrong anyway. Google may be very excited about the prospect of everyone having a virtual assistant to optimize their lives, but right now the technology doesn’t quite match up to the hype.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Google Pixel Watch 5: Scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

Generally in line with other smartwatches, but its fitness subscription mars value.

3.5/5

Design

Looks great, easy to use, visually distinctive.

4.5/5

Features

Health, fitness and communications features on top of Wear OS’s robust architecture and app libraries.

5/5

Performance

Battery life is still frustrating (although fast charging helps) and AI is inconsistent, but fitness is highly accurate.

3.5/5

Google Pixel Watch 5: Should I buy?Buy it if…

You have an Android phone
The Google Pixel Watch 5 is the best Android / Wear OS watch on the market right now.

You want accurate GPS

It performed favorably against Garmin and Apple rivals during our tests.

You want repairability

The Google Pixel Watch 5 can be taken apart, and you’re able to replace its battery and display.

Don’t buy it if…

You want rugged

The teardrop shape may look nice, but adventurers may want a raised bezel to protect their watch’s display.

You want battery life

The Google Pixel Watch 5 may charge fast, but one missed nightly charge and you’ll likely be stuck with an inert watch at some stage over the next day.

Also consider

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2

The best Wear OS-adjacent watch for Samsung users.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 review

How I tested

I wore the Pixel Watch 5 for around 10 days, testing it in the gym, on runs, and on hikes. I compared it to a Polar H10 heart rate monitor during a run, and our writer Michael Sawh tested its GPS against Garmin and Apple watches. I stress-tested Google Gemini with tasks and questions, and used the watch as my primary wearable during my testing period.

First reviewed: September 2026

FastestVPN is a cost-effective VPN solution based in the Cayman Islands, which makes it a solid choice for privacy-conscious users. However, in our testing, we found that while the service offers decent functionality and has come a long way in terms of privacy, features, and app usability, it still underperforms when compared to today's best VPNs.

That’s not to say FastestVPN isn’t worth considering, though. In addition to its sub-$1 two-year introductory plan, its lifetime VPN plan at just $40 is something you’ll rarely find elsewhere. It also boasts an audited no-logs policy and apps for all device types, and unblocks most popular streaming platforms with ease. Read on to see whether FastestVPN is worth your time.

Features

FastestVPN offers a standard suite of VPN features, along with a few less-common extras.

Even though it has a relatively small pool of servers, it’s impressive that FastestVPN offers P2P-optimized servers, allowing you to download and upload P2P files with increased security. Combined with its port forwarding feature – which can further boost download and upload speeds – FastestVPN is a solid option if you’re looking for a torrenting VPN.

Other than that, there’s also an ad blocker that enhances your online experience by ensuring you’re not bombarded with frustrating and potentially malicious ads. FastestVPN is also one of the very few VPNs to offer extra device logins for an additional fee. While it comes with 10 simultaneous connections by default, you can add more devices for $4 per device if you want to share the love.

Other add-on options include a dedicated IP and port forwarding, both of which are extremely reasonably priced. Admittedly, most VPNs don't provide port-forwarding, but some generous services (like Private Internet Access) offer it for free.

Plus, regardless of the plan you choose – monthly, yearly, or the exclusive lifetime plan – you’ll also get two years of free access to the FastestPass password manager, which helps improve the security of your online accounts and reduce the risk of identity theft by creating and safely storing highly secure passwords.

Features score: 5/10

(Image credit: FastestVPN)Server network

FastestVPN has over 800 servers spread across 49 countries, with over 100 locations to choose from. While there are plenty of servers across Europe, as well as access to the US, Japan, Australia, and Canada, it's not particularly comprehensive across the Middle East, Africa, or Asia.

Server locations, though, don’t add up: the website claims 100+, yet we could only count 66. It seems FastestVPN is inflating the figure by listing individual servers as distinct locations.

So, while it might not be the first choice for users in some of these countries, the good news is that all the popular streaming locations you’d expect are easily accessible.

The provider also recently rolled out a double VPN feature, which, as the name suggests, routes your internet traffic through two servers instead of one, adding an extra layer of encryption and security to your data.

Admittedly, FastestVPN is nowhere close to the thousands of servers offered by industry leaders like NordVPN, Surfshark, or ProtonVPN. However, it’s also worth considering that FastestVPN doesn’t have the same volume of users as these top providers. Still, I’d like to see the service add more servers and locations.

Server network score: 6/10

Apps

When you jump into the FastestVPN downloads page, you're immediately presented with nearly twenty different platforms to choose from. FastestVPN supports fully-fledged apps on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, as well as browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

For everything else like routers and TVs, there are setup guides available on the support site. There's a download link for Linux, too, but it just takes you to the features page. You'll have to read the support blog and use a third-party client – which can be tricky if you're not a tech-savvy Linux user.

Apps score: 8/10

(Image credit: FastestVPN)Ease of use

For me, this is where FastestVPN disappoints. When you boot up the VPN, you're immediately presented with the full app. However, trying to actually use it bounces you over to the login screen.

It's slightly confusing, but once you're through it only takes one click to connect to your nearest server. Even though it's easy enough to read and navigate, the actual app looks a little rough compared to some of its closest competitors.

Unfortunately, trying to use FastestVPN for the first time on a Mac testing machine brought up some issues with the app. After trying to connect to the DVPN servers for testing, the app shut down and wouldn't restart even after a reboot. I couldn't replicate this issue on any other platform, but if you're hunting for a bulletproof Mac VPN app, you might need to look elsewhere.

Ease of use score: 6/10

(Image credit: FastestVPN)Speed and performance

As our speed tests show, FastestVPN isn’t the fastest VPN – it’s actually one of the slower ones we’ve tested.

Against a 135 Mbps baseline, we managed just 105.5 Mbps on a local UK server, a loss of nearly 22%. In comparison, Mullvad lost under 5% and VPN Super a little over 12%. Speeds dropped further over distance, reaching just 86 Mbps on US servers – again, well behind both rivals.

Provider

UK-UK average download speed

Baseline retention percentage

UK-US average download speed

Baseline (no VPN)

135 Mbps

100%

N/A

FastestVPN

105.5 Mbps

78.1%

86 Mbps

Mullvad

128.5 Mbps

95.2%

121.5 Mbps

VPN Super

118.5 Mbps

87.8%

120 Mbps

FastestVPN’s results were also far less consistent over long distances than Mullvad’s, suggesting limited system capacity and too many users competing for the same resources at peak times.

These speeds don’t match up to our top VPNs, but they'll still suffice for most activities. If you need a VPN for gaming, torrenting, or HD streaming, then FastestVPN isn't a bad choice.

Speed and performance score: 7/10

Unblocking

FastestVPN might not be the fastest, but is it capable of working with streaming services?

To test a VPN's unblocking claims, we skip all of the marketing material and go straight to testing the top streaming sites. We check out multiple different Netflix regions (the US, Canada, UK, Japan, and Australia) as well as Amazon Prime and Disney+. We even check out some regional providers, like BBC iPlayer and ITV, too.

Unfortunately, streaming was a mixed bag. FastestVPN worked with Netflix (US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan), Amazon Prime Video Canada, Disney+ (US, UK, and Canada), DAZN (US and Canada), and YouTube UK, plus local services like BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

Elsewhere, results were patchier. Although it worked with 7Plus and 9Now in earlier testing, FastestVPN has since removed its Australian servers – and even then, more than one server was needed to access 7Plus.

The Canadian specialty streaming server couldn’t unblock DAZN or Prime Video, though one in Montreal could. Servers in Japan refused to open Disney+ or YouTube at all, and FastestVPN also failed with Amazon US and Canada, DAZN UK, and YouTube Canada.

Torrenting thankfully works pretty well on FastestVPN's dedicated P2P servers, and the inclusion of port forwarding means you'll be able to connect to the full swarm whenever you're torrenting.

Unblocking score: 6/10

Privacy and security

FastestVPN doesn't have the extensive suite of security tools you'd see from a provider like NordVPN or Surfshark, but it does cover the basics.

It offers all the VPN protocols you’d expect from a top service, including OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2, allowing you to choose the best option for your specific use case. On top of that, all FastestVPN apps have been audited and use the highly secure, industry-standard AES-256 encryption.

That said, it has yet to announce support for post-quantum encryption, which is becoming increasingly important as it protects your data against the threat of quantum computers and Q-Day.

Digging into FastestVPN's privacy policy revealed that the VPN commissioned its first no-logs audit in 2023 from Altius IT, a California-based auditing company with over 30 years of experience. The full report makes for illuminating reading. You can check it out yourself via the provider's site and the link included at the bottom of the page.

The only information FastestVPN logs is the date you connect to the VPN service and your email address. While this is certainly excellent and in line with what we expect from a private VPN, the provider hasn’t undergone another audit since. Ideally, a VPN should regularly submit its no-logs policy for independent verification.

Even if law enforcement does come asking for the little information that FastestVPN holds onto, it's headquartered in the Cayman Islands. This puts it far outside of the jurisdiction of Five Eyes nations while retaining strict data laws with a national data privacy policy comparable to GDPR.

However, the company’s LinkedIn and Trustpilot pages list US addresses. This would be a very different picture for privacy, given US retention laws and Five Eyes membership. Adding to transparency concerns, there’s very little information about the people behind the company.

Privacy and security score: 7/10

Customer support

FastestVPN offers 24/7 live chat and email support, but its support section lags behind. Many setup guides are outdated – some still recommend PPTP, a long-obsolete and insecure VPN protocol dropped by other VPNs, with no warning of the risks. The site’s search engine is poor too: searching “slow vpn” returned just three results, only two of which displayed, and neither was relevant.

Accessibility is equally disappointing. The website scored just 10% on AccessibilityChecker, with structural issues that make pages hard for screen readers to interpret and poor color contrast for users with limited vision.

The Windows app fares no better: Tab switches between controls but without any highlight, making it impossible to even connect using the keyboard alone.

Customer support score: 8/10

(Image credit: FastestVPN)Track record

For a vendor with nearly a decade of experience, FastestVPN has a relatively uneventful history.

No traffic breaches, no huge exploits, no scandalous lawsuits. Instead, it's a VPN that has been slowly but steadily reinventing itself over and over into what is now a decent service. Maybe it isn’t at parity with top-tier VPNs, but WireGuard integration and a no-logs audit put it above a big chunk of the industry.

However, FastestVPN's reviews don't quite paint the same story. Some of the reviews I read complain about the lifetime plan running out or having other subscription issues, although it seems like the support team is pretty good at catching these complaints and rectifying them.

Track record score: 8/10

Pricing and plans

FastestVPN is one of the most budget-friendly VPNs around. At $5, its one-month plan is far cheaper than NordVPN ($14.99) or Surfshark ($16.45) – though these are among the best VPN services on the market – making it great for short-term coverage or a risk-free trial.

Longer plans offer even better value: the two-year subscription costs $19.95, working out at just $0.83/month – an 83% saving that rivals can’t match. FastestVPN is also one of the few providers to offer a lifetime plan at $40, less than two or three months with many competitors.

All plans include a 31-day money-back guarantee, though oddly its own support pages cite 15 days instead.

While the subscriptions are excellent value, the add-ons aren’t. Dedicated IPs are reasonable at $1.20/month, but extra devices are poor value. On the two year plan, adding five devices ($20) costs as much as buying an entire second two year plan with ten more connections.

Pricing and plans score: 9/10

Should you use FastestVPN?

FastestVPN is a strong budget option for those looking for basic security and privacy without breaking the bank. It's not the fastest VPN, despite its name, and it doesn't have the largest server network. That said, its affordability and core privacy features make it a solid choice for if you're a casual VPN user who's willing to compromise on some performance for a significantly lower price point.

However, if you require a VPN with high-speed performance, global streaming access, or advanced security tools, premium services like ExpressVPN or NordVPN may be better options.

FastestVPN alternatives

1. NordVPN – from $3.39 per month
The best VPN overall
There's no better VPN in the industry if you need a fast and secure provider with global server access. With a variety of security and performance features, including a built-in virus scanner and double-hop servers, NordVPN is great value for money.View Deal

2. ExpressVPN – from $3.49 per month
The best VPN for beginners and the most secure
ExpressVPN offers fantastic blocking capabilities with a nearly unparalleled set of locations to choose from. ExpressVPN guarantees high-speed obfuscated connections with its own proprietary VPN protocol, Lightway, as well as a high-quality server bank and audited no-logs server technology.View Deal

3. Proton VPN – from $3.49 per month
A superb all-round VPN and online security alternative
Proton VPN is the best free VPN out there, with a truly unlimited bandwidth plan across three different locations. Built by the minds behind Proton Mail, Proton VPN also provides a range of privacy-first features which make it a great choice if you're concerned about your internet data. The standout of these is Secure Core, which allows you to chain your VPN connection through multiple servers for better security.View Deal

FastestVPN FAQsAre all VPNs required to have a no-logs audit?

No, most VPNs do not provide proof of a no-logs audit. FastestVPN is one of the few VPNs on the market to have contracted a third party to audit its privacy policy.

Allow me to introduce the new Philips 34B2U5900C. On paper, it's pretty much the ultimate non-OLED 34-inch 5K2K ultrawide productivity monitor for PCs and Macs.

If that sounds like a rather convoluted classification that amounts to faint praise, it's not meant to be. OLED monitors certainly have some clear advantages. But you simply can't get one that matches this Philips' core specification of 34-inch ultrawide with a 5K2K resolution.

That's important, because this display offers a level of pixel density and therefore text and image sharpness and clarity that no current 34-inch ultrawide OLED monitor can match.

What's more, even up against the traditional LCD competition, the Philips 34B2U5900C looks pretty special. The full 5,120 by 2,160 native resolution is supported at 120Hz refresh and there's even a 2,560 by 1,080 alt-mode resolution at 240Hz.

Intriguingly, this is a VA panel as opposed to the IPS type you might have expected from a 5K2K model, which is why the contrast is quoted at an impressive (for an LCD monitor) 3,000:1. Notably, the full 5K2K at 120Hz is supported over all three video inputs: DisplayPort, HDMI and USB-C. While we're talking connectivity, it's positively comprehensive, with dual HDMI to accompany the aforementioned DisplayPort and USB-C and the latter providing an outstanding 140W thanks to supporting USB-C Power Delivery version 3.1.

A KVM switch likewise means this monitor is perfect for sharing across two machines, perhaps a PC and a Mac or a laptop and a desktop. There's plenty more in the huge feature set, including sensors for both light and user proximity, the former designed to adjust the screen's brightness to suit ambient conditions, the latter allowing this monitor to dim when you step away from your desk.

For the record, this is a DisplayHDR 400 certified panel, which means it's on the very lowest rung for HDR support and capability and doesn't offer local dimming, let alone the per-pixel lighting control of an OLED panel. But, again, this class of 5K2K panel simply isn't available with OLED technology. On paper, the Philips 34B2U5900C looks set to feature strongly among the best business monitors you can get.

Philips 34B2U5900C: Design and featuresFutureFutureFuture

• Slightly dated design
• Fantastic feature set
• USB-C with 140W power delivery

Specs

Panel size: 34-inch

Panel type: VA

Resolution: 5,120 x 2,160

Brightness: 550 nits

Contrast: 3,000:1 (static)

Pixel response: 2ms

Refresh rate: 120Hz (240Hz aat 2,560 x 1,080)

Color coverage: 95% DCI-P3

HDR: DIsplayHDR 400

VESA: 100mm x 100mm

Connectivity: HDMI 2.1 in x2, DisplayPort 1.4 in x1, USB-C with 140W PD in, USB hub with 3x USB-A and 3x USB-C, ethernet, 3.5mm headphone

Immediate impressions of the Philips 34B2U5900C are of a slightly clunky, dated old thing with a particularly thick lower bezel. An ultra-slim OLED it most clearly is not.

But it's well put together and exceptionally ergonomic. The latter attribute is thanks to the combination of a base that swivels through fully 360 degrees and clearly labelled and easily accessible ports on the rear. If you're fed up with battling with hard-to-access monitor ports, you'll love the Philips 34B2U5900C.

Speaking of connectivity, along with the dual HDMI ports, there's a DisplayPort socket and USB-C. The latter supports the latest PD 3.1 spec and so can deliver fully 140W of power delivery to an attached laptop. That's well up on the 96W of previous generations of USB-C single-cable connectivity and means that you use a single cable to drive this display and fully power many high-spec desktop replacement portables.

There's also a KVM switch, which makes it simple to share this monitor and, say, an attached keyboard and mouse combo, across two computing devices. The inclusion of an ethernet port means you can share networking across the devices, too. What's more, there's a multiview option allowing both machines to display on the monitor at the same time. Nice. Rounding out the connectivity is a three-port USB hub on the left bezel, with two USB-A ports and a single USB-C, plus a headphone jack.

Along with a light sensor that enables the 34B2U5900C to adjust its brightness according to ambient conditions and a proximity sensor that dims the brightness when you step away from your desk, perhaps the most unusual feature in a productivity context is the dual resolution mode. By default, the 34-inch panel runs natively at 5,120 by 2,160 pixels at 120Hz. That alone is pretty impressive for a productivity monitor with such a high resolution.

But Philips has also fitted this monitor out with a secondary dual-mode using pixel doubling to enable a resolution of 2,560 by 1,080 at 240Hz. It's the sort of feature that you'd expect on a gaming monitor. Exactly what the use case is for productivity, content creation or day-to-day computing isn't clear. But it hardly counts as a demerit to find it included.

Finally, color coverage of 95% of the DCI-P3 gamut is reasonable, but not really the stuff of professional content creation. That said, the 34B2U5900C is at least Calman Ready for rapid automated calibration using a colorimeter.

Philips 34B2U5900C: PerformanceFutureFutureFuture

• Super sharp image quality
• 120Hz at native resolution
• Surprisingly good response

The central appeal of the Philips 34B2U5900C is its 5K2K resolution. On this 34-inch ultrawide panel, that native resolution of 5,120 b 2,160 pixels works out to a pixel density of 163DPI.

That's exactly the same as a 27-inch 4K monitor and, indeed, this ultrawide 5K2K format is essentially a 16:9 4K 27 incher taken out to the 21:9 aspect. Add in a gentle 1500R curve, and you have a fantastic combination of widescreen ergonomics for multitasking and media immersion, plus super-sharp image quality and excellent text quality.

That applies to both Windows and MacOS operating. What's more, among the comprehensive selection of color spaces in the 34B2U5900C's OSD menu are both sRGB and Display-P3. So, you have immediate presets to suit the native color spaces of both operating systems.

This panel looks particularly good with MacOS. The pixel density isn't quite Retina class. But the font quality is still excellent and the ultrawide proportions allow for running as many as three application or browser windows side-by-side, a use case that obviously applies to Windows, too.

It's something of a surprise to find Philips using VA panel technology for this new 5K2K display. IPS is more typical. But this is one of the best VA screens we've seen for a long time. First, you get excellent inherent contrast for an LCD panel at 3,000:1. So, there's noticeably less light bleed than a similar IPS panel.

Even better, despite VA's reputation for poor pixel response, Philips has included three levels of configurable overdrive, the middle setting of which delivers very, very good response for this type of monitor. Motion clarity is very much in line with the 2ms quoted response performance and, in subjective terms, you're giving nothing away to the IPS competition, albeit OLED panel tech is nearly a full order of magnitude faster.

Speaking of speed, the 120Hz refresh rate is a very welcome feature. This isn't a gaming monitor and triple-digit refresh rates are not really a particular requirement for most productivity or content creation workflows. But 120Hz still makes for slicker and more responsive day-to-day computing.

The 240Hz 1080p dual-mode of more questionable utility outside of gaming. Enabling it makes for clearly compromised clarity, that's for sure. But it's there for the occasional fast-paced gaming session, if that's your thing on the side.

If you're looking for limitations, there are two obvious if hardly debilitating weaknesses. First, HDR support is capped at the entry-level DisplayHDR 400 tier. That means a peak brightness of 400 nits and no local dimming. So, this isn't a true HDR display. But then even LCD monitors with mini-LED dimming struggle to deliver a consistent HDR performance. You need OLED and perfect per-pixel lighting for that.

The other marginal shortcoming is color coverage. You'll do better than 95% of the DCI-P3 gamut this monitor offers with an IPS panel. So, if maximising color accuracy for pro content creation workflows is critical, you may find the 34B2U5900C slightly wanting.

Philips 34B2U5900C: Final verdictFutureFutureFuture

If you're looking for a fantastic all-rounder that combines crisp image quality with ultrawide multitasking ergonomics, great connectivity and even some surprising speed, look no further than the new Philips 34B2U5900C. It ticks so many boxes.

The 5K2K resolution on the 34-inch ultrawide panel is the main attraction. And certainly makes for both super sharp visuals and lots of desktop elbow room. In this application, the VA panel tech works really nicely too, delivering excellent contrast for an LCD monitor. Add the 120Hz refresh at 5K2K native and surprisingly nippy pixel speed and you have a very quick and slick productivity monitor, to boot.

Then there's the excellent connectivity. The highlight is the USB-C interface with 140W capability thanks to Power Delivery 3.1 support. It means you can keep a very powerful desktop replacement laptop fully juiced, which isn't something the previous USB-C PD standards could achieve.

All told, this is comfortably one of the best monitors of 2026. It absolutely nails its high-DPI productivity brief and adds a surprising turn of speed that makes it a versatile display, even if gaming isn't exactly central to its all-business remit.

FutureFutureFuture

For more displays, we've tested the best monitors and the best 5K and 8K monitors.

Glassdoor is the site Google always takes you to when seeking information about potential employers, particularly salary ranges for specific positions at a company. It aggregates information provided by current and former employees and delivers it to interested candidates, helping them know what to expect if they join a company.

Want to know how much a company pays for a role, the benefits, and remote work policies? Glassdoor offers the closest answers, provided by employees themselves.

It’s also a job board in its own right, connecting candidates to vast opportunities. What does Glassdoor offer, and how does it compare to rival sites? Where does it excel, and where does it still need improvement? I reviewed it extensively to answer these questions.

Glassdoor: Plans and pricing

Glassdoor is free for job seekers. Anyone can create a Glassdoor account to scour through job postings and view information about companies. You can check it out by clicking here.

The only catch is that Glassdoor often requires giving details about your company to unlock complete information for other companies, so while end users don’t pay money, there’s a little price to be paid.

On Glassdoor, businesses can also create Employer accounts, which let them respond to employee reviews, access employee insights, and build a Glassdoor profile, among others. Creating an Employer account is free, but Glassdoor charges money to access certain features, mostly around branding and recruiting.

Paid subscriptions allow enhanced profile customization for businesses, including the ability to feature employee reviews, add high-resolution media content, publish profile updates, and create up to five branded "Why Work with Us?" tabs highlighting a value proposition, leadership, and mission.

Paid plans also let companies remove competitors' ads from their profile and, if they wish, promote their profiles on pages of competitors not subscribed to a premium plan. This part feels a bit like paying to game the Glassdoor system, but such is it. Likewise, paying businesses also get access to detailed engagement data and can compare ratings, review trends, and brand impressions against industry rivals.

Note that Glassdoor doesn’t offer standard subscription plans for businesses. Instead, interested companies can contact Glassdoor’s sales team for a custom quote.

Prices are known to start at $5,000 per year (and go up to $20,000+ for some large enterprises), a steep amount that doesn’t favor smaller and medium-sized businesses. I’d advise a subscription only for major enterprises with budgets large enough to justify it as a marketing and branding expense.

Glassdoor: Setup

Glassdoor has a simple setup process. Anyone can create an account using an email address. For a smoother process, you can sign up with an existing Google or Apple account.

Employers can also easily create accounts, but understandably, this takes longer because of stricter verification processes.

Firstly, you’ll need a corporate email address matching your company’s official domain. Then, Glassdoor’s team will manually review your employer application, and this can take up to 3 days (all Employer account creations are manually reviewed).

If approved, you’ll receive an email confirmation and can begin managing the business profile.

Glassdoor: Features

At its core, Glassdoor is a platform that connects job seekers with company insights and potential opportunities. Suppose you want to work for a firm. You likely want to know about its compensation structure, benefits, interview processes, and working environment. Glassdoor is the right place to get this information.

On Glassdoor, you can view anonymous, transparent reviews about a company from employees. From these reviews, you’ll learn about the company’s culture, work-life balance, and general working conditions.

However, strike a balanced view when reading these reviews. Check multiple reviews to get a fair summary, not focus too much on specific negative or positive reviews. People can have different experiences working with the same company, so one review shouldn’t make you conclude.

Compensation data is a key benefit of using Glassdoor. Employees submit salary data for their respective job titles and years of experience. You can then explore this crowd-sourced data to get a clue about what a company pays for your desired role. The data isn’t always 100% accurate, as compensation often differs between employees in similar roles at the same company, but it’s as close as you can get.

(Image credit: Glassdoor )

Employees also talk about their interview experiences on Glassdoor, particularly questions commonly asked during their interviews. When seeking a role, you can use this information to prep for your interview. Familiarity with the interview process gives you a leg up over other candidates.

On Glassdoor, employees also discuss various topics related to their companies. You can peek into these discussions to learn a lot about a company. However, beware of the usual hearsay lurking in anonymous, community-based discussions. Don’t conclude based on one or two posts. Instead, seek information from multiple sources to get a balanced opinion.

Glassdoor provides a job board for candidates seeking various roles. You can search through millions of job postings, with advanced search filters to get exactly what you want. You can also upload your resume to Glassdoor’s database and get matched to prospective employers. Glassdoor is a job board in its own right, competing with the likes of Monster and ZipRecruiter.

Glassdoor also offers valuable features for businesses. As a business owner or manager, a Glassdoor profile lets you showcase your company story, mission, awards, certifications, and perks. Many prospective employees use Glassdoor to seek information, so you can deliver the right information directly to them.

For instance, you can highlight what your company does, the benefits employees enjoy, and post photos of your cosy workplace. If your company has earned a “Best Place to Work” badge, you can prominently highlight it for prospective employees.

With employer accounts, you can also respond directly to (anonymized) employee reviews. This presents an opportunity to clarify situations highlighted in negative reviews in a reconciliatory tone, and to respond to positive reviews in an appreciative tone. Avoid combative responses, as they look unprofessional to prospective employees.

(Image credit: Glassdoor )

Employer accounts can also track key statistics like employee sentiment and page visitor behavior, and benchmark their performance against competitors. However, Glassdoor requires a subscription to access the most advanced analytics tools.

I think Glassdoor offers great value to both job-seekers and employers. Job-seekers can access opportunities and vast amounts of information about potential employers.

On the other hand, employers can create branded profiles to reach out to prospective employees and maintain a positive brand. However, for employers, Glassdoor locks many valuable features behind a paywall.

Glassdoor: Ease of use

(Image credit: Glassdoor )

Glassdoor gets a good score when it comes to user-friendliness. Despite its numerous features and complexities, the interface is arranged in a way that makes things easy to navigate.

Whether you’re searching for jobs, reading company reviews, seeking interview prep information, or scouring salary data, Glassdoor has distinct menus that you can easily switch between.

Similarly, when using an Employer account, Glassdoor also provides distinct menus that you can navigate from your dashboard. The platform helps by providing on-screen onboarding guides for first-time users. You can access Glassdoor from a web browser or download the iOS or Android smartphone app.

Glassdoor: Support

Glassdoor provides decent support resources. The official Help Center lists guides, how-tos, and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Glassdoor, making it the ideal go-to spot when experiencing issues.

I like that there are separate Help Centers for job-seekers and Employer accounts, an ideal arrangement because both interact with vastly different features. This way, you can easily find help for issues related to your account type.

Employers with paid subscriptions can contact Glassdoor’s support team via live chat. Job-seekers seeking direct help can fill out a support ticket and await an email response, which takes anywhere from 24 to 72 hours.

Understandably, instant live chat support is restricted to businesses that pay thousands of dollars in annual subscriptions to maintain enhanced Employer accounts.

Glassdoor: The competition

Glassdoor has formidable competition as a job board, particularly Monster and ZipRecruiter. These rival platforms aggregate vast job opportunities and make them easy to scan through. Users can also upload resumes and get connected to fitting employers through these platforms.

However, Glassdoor outshines rivals when it comes to finding information about companies. It offers the broadest database of salary data, interview prep tips, and employee reviews amongst fellow job portals.

Glassdoor: Final verdict

If you want to learn about prospective employers, Glassdoor is the go-to spot. It provides a vast amount of information about companies and the roles you’re interested in. It’s also a good hub for finding job opportunities, although it has formidable competition in this sector.

Employers can also build a strong Glassdoor profile to boost their reputation with prospective employees, but Glassdoor demands money to access some valuable tools that help them do so.

For more picks, we've tested the best recruitment platforms and the best job sites.

Monster is one of the most popular job boards and, more so, is a pioneer of the online job board industry. It began back in 1994, making it one of the earliest job sites still up and running.

Over three decades after its founding, Monster still maintains a large user base, although later rivals like Glassdoor and Indeed have overtaken it in terms of number of users.

Is Monster a good job board for you? What does it offer for job-seekers, or employers seeking job candidates? What are its key features, and how does it stack up against rival job sites? I thoroughly used Monster to answer these questions, so read on to learn what it offers.

Monster: Plans and pricing

Like most popular job boards, Monster runs a business model where it’s free for job-seekers, but businesses pay to advertise job listings, access the resume database, and unlock other advanced features. You can check it out by clicking here.

Anyone can create an account to access job listings. You can filter listings by location, title, remote or hybrid, and other factors, and also upload your resume to Monster’s database for employers to find you. Access is completely free for job-seekers.

On the other hand, Monster charges businesses to access its resume database, promote job listings, and message job candidates right on the platform.

The Monster+ Pro plan costs $299 per month, or discounted to $2,990 if paid annually ($598 less than paying month-to-month).

This plan unlocks complete access to the database of resumes uploaded by job-seekers and the ability to message candidates about job offers. It also includes 299 monthly credits, which are spent when candidates click on a company’s job postings and when the company views a resume or contacts a candidate.

Monster also lets businesses promote job listings like ads, with budgets starting from $8 per day. You’ll only pay if a candidate clicks, taps, or swipes to view your job listing, not based on views like some job boards.

Large enterprises can also negotiate custom deals by contacting Monster’s sales team. For example, a company with 500+ employees and a rapidly growing headcount can get significant discounts compared to the standard Monster+ Pro plan to promote job listings and find the best candidates.

Monster’s pricing isn’t the most affordable, considering the use of limited credits to interact with the resume database. However, job seekers have nothing to worry about because they can use Monster without paying a dime.

Monster: Features

Think of Monster as a pairing system between job candidates and employers. For job seekers, it’s the go-to platform for finding opportunities in diverse industries.

From healthcare to software development, logistics, professional services, retail, hospitality, and more, Monster hosts numerous job listings. You can filter these listings by your preferences (remote status, date posted, full-time, part-time, city, region, country, and specific keywords).

Scouring job listings can get tiring, but you don’t always have to do that. Monster lets you upload a resume, and this resume is scanned to get paired with the right jobs. Employers can find your resume and contact you for a fitting role.

(Image credit: Monster)

I like that Monster doesn’t just let users upload resumes but also offers a tool that assists in creating resumes. I got AI recommendations for refining my resume, particularly optimizing keywords to align with specific job applications.

Many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATSs) to scan resumes for specific keywords, then filter the matching resumes out of the many ones submitted, and optimization increases the chances of getting past ATS filters.

Monster does more than curate job listings. I also found interview prep guides, cover letter templates, and salary data that helped inform job applications. Particularly, the Monster Salary Calculator let me look up average pay ranges for specific job titles, experience level, skills, and locations.

Monster curates this data from various sources, including employee submissions. The salary data isn’t as detailed as that of Glassdoor, a major competitor, but it’s still helpful.

I’ve dwelled on Monster from a job seeker’s perspective, so let’s now look at it from an employer’s perspective. As a business seeking to hire candidates, Monster offers a vast pool to choose from. Its database hosts millions of resumes that you can scan to find the right fit.

Of course, scanning through this database manually will be very hectic, so Monster uses algorithms to pinpoint resumes that match your job descriptions.

(Image credit: Monster)

Suppose your business needs a graphic designer specializing in Adobe Illustrator, and this role is based in Miami, Florida. From the database, Monster’s algorithms will identify graphic designers whose resumes indicate they’re based in Miami and work with Adobe Illustrator. You can then contact the candidates considered the best fit, but note that Monster charges credits for each contact.

Monster+ Pro plan costs $299 per month (or a discounted $2,990 annually), and it includes 299 credits. Viewing a resume costs 2 credits, and contacting a candidate costs another 2 credits, so use them efficiently. Credits expire monthly and do not roll over. If exhausted, Monster bills for additional credits used at a rate of $1 for 1 credit.

Your company can also promote job listings on Monster, and the listings will be shown to candidates matched by the platform’s algorithms. The listings are like running ad campaigns, where you’ll select your daily budget and how long you want it to run. Monster bills based on how many candidates interact with your job listings, not based on views, so there’s some certainty of getting candidates.

Likewise, your business can create a custom Monster page to highlight employee benefits, workplace events, and other information that compel candidates to apply for jobs.

Overall, Monster offers valuable features for both job seekers and employers. As a job seeker, you’ll get access to immense job listings and can upload your resume to connect with the right businesses. Employers unlock access to a vast candidate pool and can contact qualified candidates right on Monster. The platform excels at pairing job candidates with the right opportunities.

Monster: Ease of use

Monster offers a modern, intuitive interface. I particularly like the fusion of purple and white colors with minimal clutter, as it makes navigation quite enjoyable. From registering to scouring job listings and applying, I didn’t find any issues with the workflow.

Users can easily access Monster from the web interface or download the official iOS or Android smartphone app. There’s no native Monster desktop app, but most job boards don’t have a desktop app, so it isn’t really a competitive disadvantage.

Monster: Support

I found Monster’s support resources to be sufficient, beginning with the Help Center. This Help Center contains detailed information about commonly encountered issues plus user guides for Monster’s features.

I found it helpful as a newish user. I’ve used Monster before, but some things changed since I last reviewed the platform, so I needed help understanding them.

The Help Center also contains detailed user guides for paid business accounts. For direct help, businesses can contact Monster’s support team via telephone or by filling out a support ticket and expecting an email response. Overall, Monster offers good support resources compared to the competition.

Monster: The competition

Monster has formidable competition. Glassdoor is one, known for its rich database of salary data, interview prep tips, and company reviews. Monster offers some salary data and information about companies. However it’s not as detailed as what you’ll find on Glassdoor.

If you’re researching compensation, company culture, and interview tips, Glassdoor serves you better. However, I’ll say Monster is as good as Glassdoor in terms of scouring job listings.

ZipRecruiter is another notable competitor. For job seekers, it offers a vast database of available opportunities on par with Monster. However, I think ZipRecruiter is a more budget-friendly option for businesses, as a subscription (starting from $419 per month) unlocks unlimited access to the resume database, unlike Monster that offers exhaustible credits.

Also, any job posting a business makes on ZipRecruiter is syndicated to over 100 other job boards. Monster does some syndication too, but it isn’t as broad as what businesses get on ZipRecruiter.

Monster: Final verdict

I consider Monster a good option for job seekers, particularly for its vast job database, but it kind of lacks an edge when compared with rivals like Glassdoor and ZipRecruiter. Sure, it offers a rich job database, but so do several other platforms, and its salary data isn’t the most detailed.

For more picks, we've tested the best recruitment platforms and the best job sites.

Potensic Atom 3: One-minute review

Many have tried and failed to produce drones to rival DJI's, but the Potensic Atom 3 is a DJI drone alternative that's actually worth considering — and not just on paper, but in actual flight conditions.

The folding quadcopter impresses with level 5 wind resistance and a 10% bigger battery than its predecessor, the Atom 2, making for robust flight performance even in tricky conditions. It's gargantuan RC PTD 2 touchscreen controller (in the pricier bundle) feels top-drawer, too.

Its 3-axis gimbal camera isn't half-bad, either — being equipped with a 1/1.3-inch sensor and offering 4K video up to 60fps in standard, HDR or Log profiles, slow-motion recording, and up to 50MP stills in RAW and JPEG.

The larger sensor, higher 4K video frame rates and bitrates, plus improved battery life and transmission range are all meaningful upgrades on the Atom 2, and make the Atom 3 a compelling DJI Mini rival, especially given Potensic's competitive pricing.

Despite a few handling issues (which I'll get into below), the Atom 3 could have pinched top spot in our beginner drones guide... six months ago. The bad news for Potensic is that the DJI Lito X1 is now in the picture, raising the bar for any would-be challengers.

For practically the same money, the Lito X1 is the slightly more polished drone overall — and it features object sensing, which the Atom 3 lacks, delivering this incredibly useful feature at a new-low price point (compared to DJI's Mini 5 Pro). Ultimately, the Lito X1 gives consumers so much for the money that the fight here feels unfair.

Would I still recommend the Atom 3? Absolutely. It's way better than the Ruko U11Mini 4K, which we recently tested, and the next best thing for consumers who don't want, or can't buy, a DJI drone (US pricing is displayed on the Potensic website, suggesting it's available there, unlike new DJI products). Ultimately, Potensic's best drone yet is a highly capable beginner option — but it remains one big step behind the DJI competition.

The Atom 3 feels very much like a DJI Mini drone (Image credit: Tim Coleman)Potensic Atom 3: Price and availability

• Priced from $429.99 / £339.99
• Touchscreen RC3 controller bundle costs $424.99 / £499
• Available now direct from Potensic and via Amazon; not available in Australia at launch

The Potensic Atom 3 is available now directly through Potensic's website and via Amazon in the US and the UK, but it's yet to hit stores in Australia.

Pricing varies considerably depending on the region and the bundle. In the UK, the base package costs £339.99, with the price rising to £579.99 for the Fly More Combo with RC PTD 2 bundle (which I tested), which includes two additional batteries, a charging hub, case, and the touchscreen RC PTD 2 controller in place of the standard smartphone-based remote.

US pricing starts at $429.99, though at the time of writing only two of the five bundles are available there — it seems as though the touchscreen RC PTD 2 controller is not available directly through the Potensic site in the US. The Fly More Combo, which is available and includes the standard smartphone-based remote, costs $549.99.

At the time of writing, the Potensic Atom 3 is not available in Australia, but Potensic does have a dedicated Australia website which is the best place to check for future availability.

DJI's Lito X1 is the Atom 3's obvious rival, and it costs from £359 at Amazon UK, so just a little extra money gets you that drone's massively useful object-sensing feature. However, like other DJI drones, the Lito X1 is not available to buy in the US.

• Price score: 4/5

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)Potensic Atom 3: SpecsPotensic Atom 3 specs

Potensic Atom 3

Camera:

12.5MP 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor (with 50MP mode)

Video:

4K 60fps

Flight modes:

3x speeds, 7x Quickshots, 3x AI tracking

Storage:

MicroSD card slot, no internal storage

Battery:

2,590mAh / up to 40 minutes flight time

Charger type:

USB-C / Battery Charging Hub (Fly More Combo)

Weight:

249g / 8.8oz approx (C0 EU class)

Dimensions:

148 x 91 x 62mm / 5.83 x 3.58 x 2.44 inches (folded)

Potensic Atom 3: Design and build quality

• Folding mini design, weighing under 249g
• USB-C charging and MicroSD card slot, but no internal storage
• Optional touchscreen RC PTD 2 controller is huge

The Atom 3's hard-plastic design is strikingly similar to recent models in DJI's Mini and Lito series of sub-250g folding quadcopter drones. It's a familiar formula — the drone folds down to a coat pocket-able size and, like most beginner models, weighs under 249g. Sub-250g drones are exempt from the strictest drone registration requirements in most regions, including the UK and US.

At the rear of the drone is a USB-C slot for charging the device directly, and for transferring images from the inserted microSD card. The card slot is also at the rear — there's no internal storage.

I was able to transfer files directly onto a MacBook Pro via that USB-C wired connection, but when I tried connecting the memory card directly my computer was unable to read it. Another option for file transfer is to download the desired files through the Potensic app, which is a reliable albeit slower process.

The Fly More Combo with RC PTD 2 bundle — the priciest of all the bundlesTim ColemanThe drone with its protective coverTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim Coleman

A clip-on cover ably protects the camera and gimbal mechanism when the drone isn't in use, and this is locked in place with a rear clip by stretching an elasticated band that connects the two (see above).

The Fly More Combo (with RC PTD 2 remote controller), which Potensic supplied for this review, comes with a padded zipped case that holds the drone, the charging hub with its two additional batteries, and the sizable controller. The case is notably larger than the one for the equivalent DJI Mini 4K bundle.

The touchscreen controller feels high-quality; the screen is huge, detailed, and provides a 1080p feed up to 60fps, with Potensic's latest PixSync 5.0 video transmission system boosting the range from 10km to up to 16km, and reducing latency to 150ms. In short, the on-screen feed is smooth and immersive beyond distances that you'll ever realistically fly over.

I found certain movements of the controller's joysticks a little jerky, which spoiled some of my footage, but with practice I was able to find the sweet spots of those controls for smoother moves.

The USB-C and microSD card slots at the rear of the Atom 3Tim ColemanThe 3-axis gimbal cameraTim ColemanPotensic supplied me the dedicated ND filter kit. However, the lens guard in the press sample I received was glued in place, so I couldn't use these filters. Potensic assured me that retail units will be fine. Tim ColemanThe RC PTD 2 remote controllerTim ColemanTim Coleman

• Design score: 4.5/5

Potensic Atom 3: Features and flight performance

• Battery life quoted at up to 40 minutes; the drone typically lasted around 20 minutes in real-world testing
• No object sensing, just the usual downward-facing sensors for landing and takeoff
• Decent selection of flight and tracking moves, but some have frustrating restrictions

Potensic quotes a battery life of 40 minutes for the Atom 3, which is an improvement over the Atom 2, thanks to a 10% (approx) higher-capacity 2,590mAh unit, and on paper, this performance beats the comparable DJI; however, I didn't get close to this in real-world use.

The best battery performance I got during testing was more like 25 minutes on a calm day, while in windy coastal conditions I rarely, if ever, got more than 20 minutes. The drone's level 5 wind-resistance rating (19-24mph) seems fair, though — I used the Atom 3 in such conditions, and I found flight to be impressively stable and smooth, even if headwinds further drained the battery as I fought to bring the drone home when power was low.

When battery life drops to 10%, the drone automatically initiates landing (avoiding it simply dropping from the sky), so that's something to bear in mind, especially if you're flying over risky areas such as bodies of water.

The Fly More Combo includes three batteries and a charging hubTim ColemanBattery capacity has been upped to 2,590mAhTim Coleman

The Atom 3 has downward-facing sensors for takeoff and landing, with the useful Return to Home feature, but there are no front-, side- or rear-facing sensors, like you get with pricier drones equipped with omni-directional object sensing.

Six months ago I wouldn't have expected any more from a drone at this price point, but DJI has since brought object sensing to the much more affordable Lito X1. If Potensic is to go up a level, adding this incredibly useful feature is the logical next step for the Atom series.

Return to Home (RTH) worked flawlessly, with the drone automatically updating its position at takeoff — there's also an on-screen guide indicating where the RTH position is in relation to where the drone is in the air. It's possible to update the RTH position mid-flight, say if you move to a different location during flight and want it to land at your new location.

Downward sensors assist takeoff and landing, but there are no other sensors for obstacle avoidanceTim ColemanTim Coleman

For regular flight, there are three speeds to choose from, with the Sport Mode being the quickest at 16m/s (horizontal), 5m/s ascent and 4m/s descent. It's not the quickest drone around, but it's zippy enough for beginner use.

I really did miss object sensing, given that I regularly fly in object-packed areas to capture dynamic footage, so I needed to be extra cautious about where I flew the drone. It is possible to get smooth and stable-looking footage, though, after much practice to get a feel for the controller's joysticks.

There's a good selection of DJI-style 'QuickShot' flight moves, which perform an automated move using a selected subject as the reference point. To do this, you drag a box over the subject using the controller's touchscreen (or your smartphone's screen if using the basic controller). There are seven automated moves in all, including pull-away, rocket and boomerang.

I was happy to see three tracking modes too: Follow, Parallel and Spotlight, each of which keep your subject in the center of the frame as they move. 'Follow' tracks your moving subject from behind (though remember there's no object sensing), while 'Parallel' does the same but from the side. 'Spotlight' simply keeps the subject central as they move around the frame.

The tracking modes are hamstrung by several frustrating limitations, while the omission of object sensing further limits where you can fly. For example, to initiate Follow, the angle of the camera needs to be pointed down a certain degree — in other words the drone needs to be quite high up.

For me, the most dynamic 'follow' footage would be from a lower angle. It's possible to override the limit in the app's menu, which requires checking the option to say that propellor guards are installed (whether in reality they are or are not). Even with the options selected to free up the drone for tracking from a lower altitude, I regularly found that the drone reset itself, reimposing the restriction.

I also found that the tracking functions gave up altogether in less-open areas, when the GNSS (GPS/ GLOSNASS / Galileo / BeiDou) signal was weak. One example was trying to get tracking video of myself biking in my local woods — the drone kept stopping just a second or so into sequences. I had no such issues in the same scenario when testing the DJI Mini 5 Pro (which also has omni-directional object sensing).

Those flight moves are great to have, but adding object sensing, and addressing the other limitations, would make them way more useful for dynamic footage.

• Flight performance score: 3.5/5

Potensic Atom 3: Image and video quality

• 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, 4K video up to 60fps
• Wider 24mm f/2.8 lens (vs 26mm f/1.8 lens of the Atom 2)
• RAW stills and flat P-Log video color profile provide editing latitude

Video and photo quality are an upgrade from the older Atom 2, with the Atom 3's camera using a larger 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor that's comparable to those in the DJI Mini 4 Pro / Lito X1, rather than the Atom 2's 1/2-inch sensor. There's also a slight change to the lens — it's a wider 24mm f/2.8, where the Atom 2 uses a 26mm lens with brighter f/1.8 aperture, which somewhat counters the sensor-based advantage the Atom 3 has.

4K video recording up to 60fps can be done the easy way or the hands-on way, using the standard or detail-rich HDR profiles for ready-to-go footage, or the flat P-Log profile, which holds more detail in highlight and shadow areas, but which requires editing to taste later.

I tried all three profiles at 30fps and 60fps, and then took P-log footage to Adobe Premiere Pro for editing and compared the footage. There are incremental image quality gains when using P-Log, but on the whole I found myself happy with the quality of HDR footage, saving myself the editing hassle.

The 24mm f/2.8 cameraTim ColemanSame scene as before, but with the 2x digital zoom employedTim ColemanThe exposure here was too brightTim ColemanWhereas manually adjusting exposure using exposure compensation kept the highlight detailsTim ColemanTim ColemanThe minimum focus distance doesn't allow for selfies!Tim ColemanTim Coleman

In addition to 4K video, there's slow-motion capture up to 7x, but only in 1080p HD resolution. Meanwhile, stills are reasonable: 12.5MP as standard, or 50MP in the '8K' mode, with JPEG and RAW formats available.

Where photo quality impresses is in how much tonal depth is retained, although images benefit from a little sharpening afterwards. Another option for further increasing shadow and highlight detail is the 'bracket' mode, which combines multiple photos at different brightness values into one with a wider range of tones, but the standard mode already does a good job.

Interval and burst shooting modes are also included, while a panorama mode combines multiple images into one ultra-wide perspective that covers 180 degrees, with the drone automatically capturing multiple frames one after the other.

I'd say image quality is just about on par with the DJI Lito X1 / Mini 4 Pro, and it's clearly a cut above the recent Ruko model.

Tim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim Coleman

• Image and video quality score: 4.5/5

Potensic Atom 3: Testing scorecardPotensic Atom 3

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Price

Competitively priced, but matched by the overall better DJI Lito X1.

4/5

Design

DJI-like build quality, immersive touchscreen controller (optional), no internal storage

4.5/5

Features and flight

Stable flying, sticky controls, no obstacle avoidance, flight modes hit with limitations

3.5/5

Image and video quality

Smooth video even in windy conditions, decent 4K video quality, punchy HDR setting, and detailed stills. Digital-only zoom, though

4.5/5

Should you buy the Potensic Atom 3?Buy it if...

You're a US buyer and beginner pilot
With the Lito 1 and Lito X1 unavailable in the US, the Potensic Atom 3 gives budget-conscious American buyers another option to weigh against older DJI models like the Mini 4K.

You want attractive footage straight out of camera, plus the option of flexible editing
Attractive standard and HDR footage looks great, with no editing required, while a flat P-Log profile better enables editors to get the look they like from footage with wide dynamic range.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You plan to fly in places with lots of hazards
The Atom 3 has no obstacle-avoidance safety features whatsoever, but the similarly priced Lito X1 does. Some of its flight modes, such as Follow, didn't work for me in obstruction-filled areas such as forests, either.

You want a super-cheap 4K drone
The Atom 3 is the best DJI alternative for beginners, but the Atom 2 remains a decent buy for less, if you can live without the latest model's upgrades.

You want precise joystick control
Even the pricier RC PTD 2 controller by Potensic lacks the finesse I've experienced with DJI's alternative controller, making cinematic movements a challenge. View Deal

Potensic Atom 3: also consider

DJI Lito X1

DJI's Lito X1 is not available in the US, but for other regions it's the better pick over the Atom 3, for a similar price. Video and photo specs are similar, but the X1's flight modes are more polished and flight features are superior, including obstacle avoidance, which is lacking in the Atom 3. DJI has really made it tough for others to compete with the X1.

Read our in-depth DJI Lito X1 review

Potensic Atom 2

The Atom 3 is a solid upgrade over the Atom 2, with a larger sensor, high video frame-rates and 10-bit color depth with P-Log color profile. However, the Atom 2 offers a similar flying experience, and costs less.

Read our in-depth Potensic Atom 2 review

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)How I tested the Potensic Atom 3

• I tested the Atom 3 in a range of conditions — in daylight and at dusk, and in both calm and windy weather
• I shot video at every available resolution and frame rate combination, and still photos in all modes
• I assessed battery life and wind resistance over several flights in various conditions

Potensic sent me the Atom 3 Fly More Combo kit with the RC PTD 2 touchscreen controller. The kit included the drone, battery hub with three batteries, controller, ND filter pack, spare propellors and a USB-C to USB-C charging cable.

I conducted multiple flights in daylight and in low light at dawn / dusk, and in both calm and particularly windy coastal conditions. I tried the various flight settings and modes, and regularly ran the three batteries down, making notes of real flight times and flight stability.

I took the same video sequences in the various color modes; standard, HDR and P-Log, and at 30fps, 60fps and 6x slow motion, and compared the 4K footage. I also tried the various photo modes, including RAW & JPEG capture, panorama and 8K (48MP) modes. I edited photos in Adobe Camera Raw and videos in Premiere Pro.

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read more about how we test

Founded in Lithuania in 2015 to meet rising global demand for public web data infrastructure, Oxylabs has scaled into an industry leader. These days, the provider delivers access to a full array of virtually all types of IPs across 195+ countries.

Users can gain access to residential, mobile, datacenter (shared and dedicated), and ISP proxies, as well as Web Scraper API, Fast Search API, and comprehensive datasets (all scraped ethically from publicly available sources).

On top of that, Oxylabs supports HTTP(S), HTTP3, and SOCKS5 protocols, which is great for threat intelligence and cybersecurity. Then, there’s the Web Unblocker for real estate scraping and travel fare aggregation.

You can precisely target IPs by country, city, state, ZIP code, ASN, and even geographical coordinates, so access to localized data shouldn’t be a problem.

Oxylabs: Plans and Pricing

The residential proxies come in four monthly plans: Starter at $30/month ($6/GB for 5GB), Basic at $100/month ($5/GB for 20GB), Advanced at $500/month ($4/GB for 125GB), and Corporate at $2,500/month ($2.50/GB for 1TB). You can request a free trial, during which you can access the limited residential proxy pool and proxy IP addresses for web scraping.

ISP proxies start at $1.20 per IP for shared access and $2.50 per IP for Dedicated ISP proxies. The higher the number of chosen IPs, the lower their unit cost, with all plans featuring unlimited bandwidth under fair usage and SOCKS5 support.

The mobile proxies entry plan will cost you $3.50/GB under the pay-as-you-go model, with discounted per-gigabyte rates available on larger monthly commitment plans.

If you want regular datacenter IPs, the choice of payment is between pay per IP or GB. Bandwidth pricing kicks off at $0.59/GB, while shared IP pricing is $1.20 per IP at the cheapest. Oxylabs also offers a free tier with five free US datacenter IPs and 5GB/month of bandwidth. For dedicated proxy servers, the pricing starts at $2.25 per IP with unlimited bandwidth and 99.9% uptime.

To round out the enterprise-grade data collection infrastructure, Oxylabs also has a few additional goodies on offer. There’s the Web Scraper API at $49/month for up to 98,000 results ($0.50 per 1k results), following a 2,000-result free trial. Self-serve tiers reach $249/month ($0.40 per 1000 results), whereas enterprise plans cost from $499/month.

The AI-powered Web Unblocker automatically bypasses sophisticated anti-scraping defenses, CAPTCHAs, and IP blocks through a standard HTTP proxy endpoint. The pricing begins at $5.64/GB via a success-based model where users are billed solely for successful data responses.

Finally, for projects requiring complex interaction with dynamic web applications, Oxylabs provides a managed Headless Browser tool starting at $4.70/GB, built to support AI agents and browser automation frameworks like Playwright and Puppeteer.

Oxylabs: Features

Oxylabs simplifies workflow setup through a unified web dashboard accessible via standard credentials or Google Single Sign-On. From this central interface, teams can manage proxy deployments, view bandwidth analytics, configure scraping tools across categories, and more.

(Image credit: Oxylabs)

Let’s dive deeper into the features:

Residential proxies

Residential proxies are real IP addresses offered by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). They’re tied to real devices in physical locations, allowing you to bypass geo-restrictions for different purposes.

For example, price comparison sites need to scrape localized data from different websites to offer good deals to users. However, retailers are often against price scraping and use geo-restrictions to prevent their sites from being scraped.

A residential proxy lets price comparison sites bypass these geo-restrictions and harvest the required data. Because the residential proxy is tied to a legitimate device, the price comparison site operator can visit a website like any normal user.

Retailers also often have different prices for different locations. Residential proxies let price comparison providers visit localized versions of a retail website. Oxylabs provides access to over 175 million residential IPs across 195 countries, including over 10 million in the US, more than 5 million in China, 3.5 million+ in Germany, and about the same amount in the UK.

You can precisely target IPs by country, city, state, ZIP code, ASN, and even geographical coordinates, which makes it easy to get localized data. Oxylabs' developer-friendly documentation and integrations make integrating these IPs into your app as smooth as possible.

Oxylabs’ IPs are legitimately sourced, which is important in a proxy sector that constantly grapples with illegitimately acquired IP addresses that expose customers to risks. It gets its residential IPs from consenting device owners who agree to join the network in exchange for a benefit, e.g., a VPN service.

ISP Proxies

For all their reliability across a wide span of use cases, residential proxies have limitations regarding large-scale data scraping. Usage restrictions, such as bandwidth limits and available time per day, make them unsuitable for scraping massive amounts of data.

Oxylabs mitigates this situation by providing proxies leased directly from ISPs like AT&T, British Telecom, Comcast, Lumen, Orange, and Frontier. You can request a shared ISP proxy (shared by up to 3 users) or a dedicated proxy, which is more expensive.

Oxylabs provides ISP proxies for enterprises with unlimited duration sessions, unlimited bandwidth under fair usage, or dynamic IP rotation. All ISP proxies support HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocols. These ISP proxies are well-suited for heavy traffic loads, such as mass data scraping, app testing, and ad verification.

Mobile proxies

Behaving much like mobile devices, mobile proxy servers enable users to bypass geo-restrictions and general website blocks. For instance, many websites use CAPTCHA to prevent web scraping bots from accessing their data. But with Oxylabs, you can use real mobile IP addresses to bypass CAPTCHA and scrape the needed data.

The platform provides access to a huge mobile proxy pool with 20 million+ addresses in 140+ countries. You can filter these IPs by country, state, city, ZIP code, ASN, and coordinates to find precisely what you want. Its largest proxy pools are available in the US, Germany, France, Canada, the UK, and Mexico.

A mobile proxy is also a great tool for ad verification. Companies use them to monitor whether their ads are displayed to real traffic rather than bots. Likewise, businesses can combine Oxylabs’ mobile proxy service and scraping API to gather and respond to real-time reviews.

Data center proxies

Moving on, Oxylabs offers datacenter proxies that aren't sourced from ISPs, but come from secondary cloud service providers. As such, they offer enhanced anonymity and private IP authentication across a pool of 2 million+ IPs in 188+ countries.

(Image credit: Oxylabs)

Datacenter proxies are high-speed and perform well, which makes them a highly suitable option for massive data scraping. You can buy them on a pay-per-IP or pay-per-GB basis, starting at $0.44/GB for rotating shared, $0.70/IP for shared, or $1.20/IP for dedicated, compared to their more expensive residential and mobile counterparts.

Oxylabs provides shared and dedicated datacenter IPs, the latter of which will cost you more. Shared IPs and dedicated IPs both support HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocols. Shared pools offer pay-per-GB or flat-rate options, while dedicated plans feature unlimited bandwidth.

Web Unblocker

Almost a staple among enterprise-minded vendors, a Web Unblocker specializes in bypassing anti-bot systems. Many websites use advanced systems to stop scraper bots in their tracks, but thanks to Oxylabs’ solution, you can elegantly circumvent these hurdles and scrape the data you require.

It uses dynamic fingerprinting to simulate human-like browsing, with the same headers, cookies, and JavaScript rendering as a web browser. You’ll use a proxy, but the websites think it’s a legitimate user, and it serves the required content without hassle.

Web Unblocker also uses machine learning techniques to select and rotate proxies, and decide what works best on a specific site. If your scraping request fails, the tool automatically rotates proxies to send another request. This process occurs until the request is finally fulfilled, with billing based strictly on successful responses.

Scraping APIs

It’s no secret that data scraping is a frequent use case (if not the primary use case) of residential, ISP, mobile, and datacenter proxies. Companies employ them to scrape data manually, a process that gets cumbersome when dealing with massive amounts of data.

At that point, turnkey extraction solutions, including Web Scraper API and Fast Search API, come into play. They automate data scraping and deliver structured JSON/HTML information from search engines, marketplaces, real estate portals, and a whole bunch of other places.

It works like this: you select the type of data you want to scrape (text, images, prices, ads, social media likes, etc.) and choose your target website. Then, the API goes to work, scraping the data as you focus on other tasks. You’ll be alerted once your data scraping task is complete.

(Image credit: Oxylabs)

That’s not all, since Oxylabs throws in a few supplementary dev tools for good measure. These include a managed headless browser for scraping and automation, AI Studio that itself contains various low-code and no-code AI-powered apps for data extraction using natural language, and pre-collected structured Datasets ready for immediate use.

Oxylabs: Ease of Use

Oxylabs offers an intuitive interface that’s easy to navigate. All features are neatly arranged on the dashboard, with the menu on the left and the viewing pane beside it.

The interface sports a white background, purple and black text, and contrasting colours that look visually appealing. The dashboard allows users to manage proxy sub-users, view detailed usage statistics, whitelist IP addresses, and generate custom proxy endpoints via a built-in Endpoint Generator.

It’s obvious that Oxylabs has put considerable effort into its proxy integrations, as it has provided ready-to-use code snippets in multiple programming languages (Python, cURL, Node.js, Go) and step-by-step setup guides for major third-party antidetect browsers and tools.

If user-friendliness was the only criterion for this review, Oxylabs would get a perfect score.

Oxylabs: Customer Support

The platform provides 24/7 support for customers. You can start a live chat with a support agent for near-instant responses, or send an email and expect a response within a few hours to 24 hours. Enterprise clients also get dedicated account managers for tailored onboarding and account maintenance. Oxylabs’ support team was active and highly willing to resolve inquiries during our test.

Customers can also access complementary support resources, primarily comprehensive documentation for its features. On Oxylabs’ website, you can find detailed guides and user manuals for all types of proxies, along with an interactive API playground, which makes them easier to configure.

There’s a ‘Scraping Experts’ hub featuring web scraping video tutorials. This section provides valuable knowledge from Beginner to Advanced levels, and teaches the ins and outs of website scraping. The section is continuously updated with new videos and includes on-demand Q&A sessions to learn directly from scraping experts.

However, we noticed a drawback. There’s no direct phone support hotline for customers, though users can book consultation calls with Oxylabs experts via calendar links for sales and account inquiries.

Oxylabs: The Competition

There’s no shortage of rivals to Oxylabs. The main competitors we’d like to highlight are Bright Data, Decodo, and SOAX.

Bright Data is excellent for residential, mobile, static ISP, and datacenter proxies. It also offers Web Scraping APIs, a Web Unlocker, and structured Datasets like Oxylabs. The difference is that Bright Data operates an enormous 400 million+ IP pool and offers more customizability, though it carries higher enterprise starting costs.

Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) is another reliable proxy server provider, with its datacenter and residential proxies supporting the SOCKS5 protocol just like Oxylabs. It features a pool of 115 million+ residential IPs, alongside an AI Parser and scraping APIs, though Oxylabs maintains a larger IP pool of 175 million+ proxy addresses.

SOAX provides an extensive proxy IP pool (155 million+ residential addresses) as well, and has web scraping APIs and a Web Unblocker like Oxylabs. Nevertheless, it appeals to mid-market users with flexible subscription structures and user-friendly dashboard controls.

Oxylabs: Final verdict

Oxylabs thoroughly earns its rating as a top-tier proxy provider that is slowly morphing into a web data intelligence platform. A rather sizable pool of over 175 million residential IPs, 2 million datacenter proxies, and 20 million mobile nodes plays a major role in delivering exceptional global reach, paired with target precision down to individual ASNs and ZIP codes.

Beyond raw proxy infrastructure, Oxylabs follows up with several useful tools, featuring an AI-driven Web Unblocker, developer-centric Scraper APIs, cloud headless browsers, an entire suite of AI apps, and ready-to-use Datasets. Its premium pricing may reflect its enterprise focus, but there’s no doubt that Oxylabs is accessible to teams of all sizes.

We've also highlighted the best proxy and best VPN

A comprehensive, user-friendly cloud backup and cloud storage service, iDrive can back up all of your PCs, Macs, mobiles, and tablets from the convenience of a single account.

Personal plans come in 5TB and 10TB forms, and Team plans are available for anywhere between five and 100 users, offering 1TB per person. Larger companies will benefit from the Business plan, offering as little as 250GB or as much as 50TB per person, with unlimited users.

The flexible and tailored pricing strategy makes iDrive a very reasonable proposition, although the cost goes up for those who need the business features—such as server backup. At the higher tiers, it becomes a more expensive solution than Google Drive and Dropbox, though it does offer a more comprehensive set of features to justify the higher price tag.

iDrive: Plans & pricing

The iDrive cloud storage service offers up to 10GB of free cloud storage, one of the best free offerings among cloud services. Only Google Drive does better than this at 15GB of free storage. iDrive’s free 10GB of storage is much more generous than the likes of Dropbox or Proton Drive, which offer only 2GB and 5GB of free storage, respectively.

The paid plans offer plenty of options to choose from. If you're an individual, you have two choices: the Mini plan or the Personal plan. The Mini plan is meant for a single user, whereas the Personal plan allows you to use your storage across multiple computers.

You can get started for as little as $0.25/month with the 100GB Mini plan. There's also a 500GB storage option for $0.83/month. This makes iDrive one of the most affordable cloud storage services available.

(Image credit: IDrive)

The Personal plan gives you five storage options to choose from: 5TB at $6.99/month, 10TB at $10.49/month, 20TB at $17.49/month, 50TB at $34.99/month, and 100TB at $69.99/month. This is by far one of the largest selections of plans we have seen across the industry, especially in the personal category.

If you're multiple people, you have two plans to choose from: Teams and Business. The Teams plan starts with 5TB of storage for five computers and five users, priced at $6.99/month. This scales all the way up to 500 computers and 500 users, offering 500TB of storage for $699.99/month. There are several tiers in between, including plans for 10, 25, 45, 100, and 200 users.

Lastly, there's the Business plan for enterprise-grade organizations, offering 500GB of storage for $13.99/month. This plan lets you add unlimited users, as well as multiple servers and computers. It scales all the way up to 100TB, which costs $1,621.66/month.

All of these plans are billed monthly. While we understand that having so many options can be confusing, it's better to have them than not. You can simply choose the plan that best suits your needs while ignoring the others.

iDrive: Features

iDrive doesn't skimp on features. For example, there's an Express service that lets you put your data on hard drives and actually post them off, as well as the ability to create full disk images in case you need to rebuild a computer from scratch.

iDrive also supports snapshots and versioning. Unlike other platforms, which retain versions only for a specified period, iDrive allows you to restore up to 30 previous versions. The Snapshot feature comes in handy for point-in-time recovery.

If your data becomes corrupted or you fall victim to a ransomware attack, you can simply select the desired date and time, and iDrive Snapshot will restore your drive to its state at that point. From there, you can choose the files you want to recover.

(Image credit: iDrive)

All paid users get access to these physical backups via a temporary storage device, which is especially handy for those with poor Internet connectivity. This is capped at once per year for Personal customers and three times a year for Team and Business subscribers, though subsequent requests are always available at the cost of $59.95.

Then there's also some less obvious functions, including that iDrive only uploads modified parts of files to reduce bandwidth usage, the way data gets retained until you specifically delete it, or the extensive set of activity logs and reports you can access. For team managers, there are multiple user management and remote backup services.

As expected, iDrive focuses heavily on backup functionality, which is why it has also introduced cloud-to-cloud and SaaS backup capabilities. You can now back up your entire Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Box data to iDrive. Each of these services is available as a separate add-on that can be bundled with any plan you choose.

(Image credit: iDrive)

Cloud-to-cloud backup comes in really handy for businesses that rely on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 to manage their emails, files, documents, and other business data. While these platforms already offer robust data protection measures, you’re never too far away from accidental deletions, ransomware attacks, or client-side errors. Backing up critical business data with iDrive ensures longer retention and more granular recovery options than those offered by the native platforms.

While the editing and collaboration ecosystem in iDrive is not particularly advanced, it does offer basic functionality. You can create, edit, collaborate on, and manage Microsoft Office and PDF files stored in your iDrive cloud storage. This allows you to open Microsoft Office files directly from your cloud drive without switching tabs, and any changes you make are automatically synced to the original file.

(Image credit: iDrive)

This is all on top of the core functionality, which backs up an unlimited number of various devices – computers, mobile phones, servers – to a single account. If necessary, it can also back up data from mapped drives on a network. Meanwhile, the iDrive web portal makes short work for managing all of these devices together in one place. While it is filled with function, the basic and frankly uninspiring user interface does leave users feeling somewhat shortchanged.

In addition to the standard features that will appeal to everyone, there are several aimed at organizations with larger, more complex requirements (including server cloud backups covering Linux, Oracle, Sharepoint, MS SQL, Exchange Server and more). iDrive includes bare-metal disaster recovery, which is the business-grade solution to ransomware. Help with new data standards can be found as well, via encryption and date stamping for those in the medical, accounting, and legal professions.

iDrive: Interface

(Image credit: iDrive)

Cloud storage can be accessed through the browser portal, but for the full experience including device backup, the relevant program or application should be installed. Handily, iDrive supports all major device types, though the desktop clients are more impressive than the mobile apps in terms of polish and features.

You can have iDrive backup your entire hard drive (or mobile device) or just specific files and folders, and run backups manually or on a schedule. The goal here is very much ‘set and forget’ – get everything set up the way you like, and then let it work quietly away in the background.

iDrive’s web portal has also expanded, particularly for business users. Admins can now track storage quotas, team roles, and active devices from a centralized dashboard, while also setting custom policies for functions such as backups and restores.

(Image credit: iDrive)

Another useful feature is folder syncing, for keeping certain files consistent across all of your devices. There are intuitive menus and settings screens that make it clear how to create the configurations you need. It’s also great that it is simple to use, so you don't need to have an IT degree or to even consult the help pages to figure out how to do the vast majority of tasks.

The iDrive programs have a ton of settings as well, though iOS versions are less impressive. While the Android client is able to back up things like your SMS messages, iPhones and iPads are limited to contact, calendar, photos and videos (however this is more of a limitation set out by Apple than iDrive). The desktop client allows granular adjustments for bandwidth throttling, file and folder exclusion, data verification, and more. You can even pause a backup if the battery level on your laptop or your phone drops below a certain level.

Uploading and backing up files is just as quick as big players in the cloud storage game, such as Google Drive. That said, initial uploads and backups are notably slow. In our testing, a 1GB test file took around two hours to upload during the initial seed phase. This is probably due to iDrive’s commitment to deduplication and block-level indexing. As such, it’s unlikely that iDrive will be the bottleneck here, and the primary restriction will come from your ISP’s upload speeds which, in most cases, is slower than the download speeds.

It's worth noting that browser downloads redirect to a new tab, and the process of opening the new location can be slow. In the case of our 1GB test file, opening the new tab took up to six times longer than the actual download process, which can prove both time consuming and rather annoying. The entire download process isn’t quite as slick, and took several minutes more than Google Drive for our 1GB file. Fortunately, this is less of a problem when using the desktop client.

One feature we are particularly impressed with is that the account password is required to delete any file, helping to prevent any accidental deletes as the user unconsciously navigates the portal on autopilot.

Due to the nature of the service, iDrive is intended more as a backup drive than a cloud space from which to work, so editing documents online is a no go. This means downloading and reuploading your files as and when necessary, so it’s crucial that you take into account the somewhat convoluted downloading process mentioned above before committing.

Having reached out to iDrive, it is confirmed that there is no maximum file size limit, which is great news to teams and businesses working on large projects such as video editing.

iDrive: Security

On top of two-factor authentication, iDrive provides end-to-end encryption for your data. Be cautioned that this requires a private key known only to you, so don’t you forget it, or you can't get anything back. It also means that you won't be able to share files and folders with other people, as this will break the end-to-end encryption protocols.

Another option is standard encryption, which isn't quite as secure, but will still protect your data against most potential breaches. In this scenario, iDrive stores the encryption key, and can help you restore your data if needed as well as potentially hand over your files if compelled to by law enforcement. The other advantage is that you get to use the file and folder sharing features with this setting.

(Image credit: iDrive)

Besides this, iDrive has also achieved SOC 2 Type II certification, underlining its commitment to safeguarding customer data and account information. It also holds ISO 27001:2022 certification, highlighting iDrive’s systematic approach to managing sensitive customer information while ensuring integrity, availability, and confidentiality. These certifications add another layer of credibility to iDrive’s security practices.

iDrive: Our tests

We performed three tests on iDrive using a Windows 11 virtual machine running the desktop client. The virtual machine was connected to the internet through fiber broadband and a VPN server, demonstrating an average upload speed of 2300 Mbps. The tests assessed the sync speed, file recovery, and versioning.

• Test 1: Sync speed

I used the iDrive desktop client to upload a test folder with 228 files spread across seven folders to the iDrive cloud. The total size of the files was 589MB. I was pleased to see that the app displayed the number of files remaining and the progress of the upload.

The app confirmed that all files had been successfully uploaded in just 16 seconds. You read that correctly: iDrive uploaded 589MB in 16 seconds.

(Image credit: Future)

• Test 2: File recovery

After uploading our test folder to the iDrive cloud, we accessed the web portal and selected “Delete” to remove it from the cloud. Before doing so, we were asked to enter our account password. Upon opening the Trash, we immediately saw the folder's contents; each file could be restored by clicking “Restore.” Unfortunately, we could not find a way to fix the entire folder in one easy step.

Files in Trash are automatically deleted after 30 days, or you can delete them manually. This process did not offer a one-click solution.

(Image credit: Future)

• Test 3: Versioning

During our final test, we wanted to determine if iDrive would allow us to review and restore previous versions of the same file. We uploaded a simple Microsoft Word document to iDrive using the desktop client, then made some edits on our end and uploaded it again using the desktop client.

When we clicked "Restore," we could locate the modified file and view a list of versions. This enabled us to restore any version of the file that we wanted.

(Image credit: Future)iDrive: Alternatives

iDrive is one of the most complete cloud storage platforms, with a heavy focus on data backup and recovery. That said, there are a few alternatives worth considering.

For instance, if real-time collaboration is your main priority, you could opt for a service like Google Drive. In addition to offering 15GB of free cloud storage, it integrates seamlessly with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, allowing remote teams to collaborate on projects in real time, with changes reflected almost instantly. That said, Google Drive can be a little more expensive, with its 100GB plan costing $19.99/year, compared to iDrive’s $0.25/month.

If you are a large business looking for a lifetime plan, you could consider options such as IceDrive or pCloud. While IceDrive offers lifetime plans starting at $199 for 100GB of storage, pCloud offers 500GB of storage for the same price.

If you’re looking for a bundled product rather than just cloud storage, you could consider Proton Drive, which includes secure Proton Mail, Proton Pass, and a high-quality VPN alongside end-to-end encrypted cloud storage. That said, Proton is a bit more expensive.

iDrive: Verdict

iDrive gets high scores for the sheer breadth of services offered – from backing up the photos on your smartphone and files on your computer to backing up a company's databses and servers.

For those who have many devices with data that needs to be secured at reasonable prices, iDrive could well be the service for you. Its great feature set covers a lot of ground, with enough security protection and extra features such as folder sync and bandwidth controls to satisfy the majority of users.

Its cloud-to-cloud backup service is particularly useful for businesses that want to maintain secure backups of critical business data stored in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. The free 10GB plan only makes sense for users looking to store documents in the cloud, as space is too limited to perform major backups of computers, phones, and tablets.

The best thing about iDrive is its extensive selection of plans, which caters to both personal and business users. You can choose anywhere from 100GB of storage to as much as 500TB, depending on your needs.

• You can sign up for IDrive here

Not long into Marvel's Wolverine, protagonist James "Logan" Howlett is joined by fellow mutant and Team X member Mystique. The blue-skinned shapeshifter is eager to share a shocking discovery with him: a sinister secret hidden behind a closed door. But I ignore her request, instead continuing down the hall to soak in the game's stunning visuals.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5 Pro
Available on: PS5
Release date: September 15, 2026

It's the natural-looking rain streaming down a window that initially catches my attention. But beyond the pelting precipitation, I also spy equally impressive smoke, flames, and burning embers spewing from a fiery explosion – the apparent fallout of Wolverine's enemy-eviscerating entrance.

The destruction below is contrasted by beautiful moonlight above, which is occasionally punctuated by eye-pleasing flashes of lightning.

Production values as sharp as Wolverine's claws

(Image credit: Sony)

Of course, if you've played any recent first-party PlayStation game, these realism-rivaling effects probably won't come as a huge surprise. As expected, Insomniac Games' latest superhero romp is obscenely pretty, polished, and packing the sort of production values that've come to define Sony's single-player, story-driven output.

Best bit

(Image credit: Sony)

Nearly invincible with indestructible claws to match, Wolverine begins the campaign as a feral, vengeance-fueled force of nature. But he somehow becomes even more powerful, leading to combo-fueled combat encounters that encourage you to creatively chain together a growing arsenal of epic, blood-spewing specials. From turning Logan's claws into a spinning tornado to spiraling him through enemies like a human drill, there's no shortage of ways to deal death with style – and entrails – to spare.

This level of quality extends to Wolverine's characters and storytelling as well. Supported by incredibly layered, emotional performances (Liam McIntyre and Troy Baker especially stand out as Logan and Nathaniel Essex, respectively), the former features unmatched facial details and visual fidelity.

And while the game's narrative doesn't quite achieve the extreme highs of its technical and artistic excellence, it works surprisingly well, spinning an engaging tale that'll please Marvel enthusiasts while also welcoming complete newcomers into this potentially complex universe.

There's a ton of familiar characters, both friends and foes, that fans will love spending time with. But the game's pre-X-Men tale also does a great job introducing these favorites without boring the established audience or relying on exposition dumps.

In Wolverine's universe, for example, Logan and Jean Grey meet for the first time, challenging its writers to not only introduce these well-known characters to each other, but to a potential new audience. The task is handled elegantly, however, in an early mission at Team X's HQ that sees the pair naturally sharing personal details while searching for drawings a mischievous mutant child has hidden for them.

Snikt!-fueled style over substance

(Image credit: Sony)

Similar sentiments can be applied to Wolverine's non-combat content as well. You'll spend most of your time in this globetrotting adventure painting cities and towns – across Canada, Japan, Madripoor, and more – plasma-red, but when not shish kebab-ing baddies, you'll retract your claws for some less violent activities.

In addition to the excellent story interludes, Logan does some investigating, chases fleeing enemies – on foot and while straddling a motorcycle – and a surprising amount of platforming.

None of these tasks are optional and, while they don't offer anything particularly special, they do deliver the occasional fun distraction. The bike chases, for example, are practically on rails, but it still never gets old slashing a pursuing vehicle's tires with your claws.

The platforming sections, meanwhile, generally get the job done, but sometimes kill the immersion when the mutant – who can often scurry up trees like a cat – suddenly can't scale a fence, crate, or wall.

(Image credit: Sony)

Wolverine makes no apologies for being a linear, scripted action-adventure, a quality that often works to its benefit. But it can also be a detriment, like during those fickle platforming moments. This heavily directed approach does afford players some freedom, encouraging them to sniff out collectible bottles of whiskey and timed challenges accessed in Logan's creepy "Nightmare Cabin." These mini-games, unfolding in his haunted memories, also shed a bit of light on his dark, foggy past.

Whether hunting for booze or conquering these timed tasks, you'll collect DNA strand-altering "Adaptation" points, a currency that feeds another character progression path. But these passive perks don't feel all that meaningful among Logan's already considerable arsenal. Toss in the fact that these cabin-diving diversions have you partaking in the same gameplay you're already doing on the critical path – only against a clock – and they feel like an undercooked attempt at optional content.

Suit crafting feels similarly half-baked. The game contains 30-plus costumes and accompanying claws, a fantastic, fan-pleasing inclusion. But the suits are purely cosmetic, and accessed by investing the same "materials" hidden around the world.

Donning Logan with a cowboy hat or dropping him in this hyper-realistic world as his anime-inspired Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls persona is awesome, as is the permanent health bump you receive as you buy more suits. But with just the same single resource used and no gameplay effects added, calling it "crafting" is a stretch.

(Image credit: Sony)

As a linear, single-player action-adventure, Wolverine works brilliantly, delivering a visually striking, cinematic blockbuster supported by engaging characters and emotional storytelling. It's also brimming with stylish, blood-soaked combat that kept a smile stretched across my face until the credits rolled.

When it strays from its heavily scripted path, however, attempting to layer strategic depth into its arcade-y encounters – as well as engaging, optional activities into its carefully crafted world – it does reveal some undeniable cracks in its adamantium armor.

Should you play Marvel's Wolverine?Play it if...

You've always wondered what it would be like to unleash Wolverine's claws
An action game at its core, Wolverine's focus – first and foremost – is ensuring every slice, dice, hack, and slash feels rewarding as hell. Varied, violent, and soaked in enough viscera to rival a slasher movie, combat encounters are a thumb-blistering blast that puts you behind the mutant's unique skills like no game before it.

You're a fan of linear, single-player, story-driven games
If you're tired of open-worlds or overwhelmed by all the freedom RPGs offer you, Wolverine is just what the mad scientist ordered. Linear, scripted, filled with set pieces and incredibly cinematic, it paves an engrossing, action-packed story path – and guarantees you never stray from it.

You're a Marvel enthusiast craving a fresh take on the fan-favorite X-Men member
Wolverine is largely an original, standalone story set before Logan was a member of the X-Men. It's an accessible tale for newcomers, but it's also packed with plenty of familiar characters – friends and foes – as well as settings and story beats that existing fans will enjoy. It also includes a ton of cool call-outs, deep-cut references, and Easter eggs Marvel enthusiasts will eat up.

Don't play it if...

You're expecting an experience similar to Sony's Spider-Man games
While Wolverine is the latest superhero collaboration between Sony Interactive Entertainment and Insomniac Games, it is not another Spider-Man game reskinned with adamantium. Where the Spidey games were open-world romps packed with a ton of combat and traversal options – as well as massive maps brimming with optional activities – Wolverine is a linear, heavily scripted story experience with more straightforward hack-and-slash action and far less to do.

Accessibility features

Marvel's Wolverine includes an impressive suite of accessibility assists, beginning with plenty of options to tailor the blood, gore, violence, and profanity to any player's comfort level.

Beyond that, there are various difficulty settings, as well as ample gameplay assists to further tweak and tailor the challenge within those defaults. In addition to the expected inclusions for customizing subtitles, UI, and HUD elements, a huge selection of audio and visual assists are also available.

While a variety of high-contrast modes and color customizations are included, dedicated protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia selections seem to be absent.

How I reviewed Marvel's Wolverine

I spent just over 25 hours with Wolverine, completing its campaign before replaying many missions to seek out collectibles and attempt optional time trial challenges.

I played the game on my PS5 Pro using my budget TCL 4K 65" TV, with HDR enabled. For audio, I tested with both the display's onboard stereo speakers and Sony's PlayStation Pulse Elite headset.

First reviewed September 2026

The best parental control apps, like Bark, are becoming increasingly popular as the web gets increasingly dangerous for young people – and with features like screen time management, website and app blocking and location tracking available, it’s no wonder.

Bark was founded by Brian Bason, the current CEO, in 2015. It’s grown to become one of the biggest names in the parental control space, with 7.5 million children covered by its services – and, admirably, it’s detected millions of potential self-harm and bullying situations alongside loads of other threats.

Should you consider Bark for your parental control needs, though, or should you look elsewhere? Let’s find out.

Plans and pricing

Bark’s core service, its monitoring app, is available with two different plans. The more affordable plan, Bark Jr, costs $5 per month or $49 per year and allows parents to control screen time, filter websites and apps and monitor for appropriate content. It also offers location tracking and check-in features.

The more expensive plan, Bark Premium, costs $14 per month or $99 for a year and adds social media, email, and YouTube monitoring on phones, tablets, and computers. That pricier product also includes advice and tips from child psychologists and web search monitoring.

Bear in mind that right now the app only works in the US, Guam, South Africa and Australia. Bark’s size and popularity mean that the company has branched out beyond the app, too.

The Bark Phone integrates many of the app’s features into a kid-friendly smartphone with automatic monitoring capabilities. The Starter Plan costs $29 per month and doesn’t allow apps, social media or browsing, so it’s ideal for younger children. The Advanced Plan costs $39 per month and adds those features – with parental controls – for older children.

The Bark Watch monitors texts, tracks locations, manages contacts, and includes an emergency SOS button. It costs $15 per month and includes a Bark Premium subscription.

Finally, there’s Bark Home, which is a small device that connects to your home internet to monitor screen time, content and apps for every device in your home. It costs $6 per month.

Features

We’re here to discuss the Bark app, though, and there’s no denying that there’s plenty to talk about.

Firstly, it’s essential to note that, like many parental control tools, Bark can monitor various services and apps on both Android and iOS devices. While there are still differences between the features available on both platforms, Bark is still better than the likes of Boomerang when it comes to iOS functionality.

On Android, Bark currently monitors 30 different apps. The list includes big social media names, like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X and TikTok, alongside messaging services like WhatsApp, Kik, Slack and Discord. It covers cloud storage services like OneDrive and Google Drive, apps like ChatGPT, Spotify and Steam, and gaming platforms like Roblox.

(Image credit: Bark)

Beyond that, Bark on Android monitors Google Chrome, Firefox, and the device's default browsers, email clients including Outlook, Gmail, AOL, Comcast, and iCloud, and the device’s texts, photos, and videos.

On iOS, add Yahoo Mail to the list. On Apple’s platform, Bark only includes complete monitoring for 16 apps, and that list does not include TikTok, Snapchat, Skype or Discord. That said, Bark can still monitor some social media apps like WhatsApp, X, and Reddit on iOS.

When a potential event is detected, the parent gets a real-time alert to intervene, and different alerting methods are available, including texts, emails, or push notifications.

(Image credit: Bark)

Bark also offers comprehensive features to limit children’s online time, including blocking websites and controlling screen time with a range of granular options. Bark allows you to set up your child’s schedule throughout the week, choosing from options like School, Free Time, and Bedtime.

For instance, you can block games and social media apps from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. while still allowing your child to access educational apps. You can also set time limits for specific apps with Bark (however, this is a Bark Phone-exclusive feature and is not available in the app).

A particularly handy feature is the ability to pause internet access on your child’s device with the click of a button. This automatically cuts off access to apps that require an internet connection to work (provided they do not find an alternative, such as public Wi-Fi). As with any other parental control application, you can also block certain websites or apps that you deem inappropriate for your child.

What we liked about Bark is that it includes predefined content categories such as gaming, sexual content, social media, and streaming services. You can simply toggle a button to block all websites within a category instead of blocking each website manually.

You can also require safe search on browsers such as Google and Bing while blocking all other search engines that do not support the feature. It's worth noting that a complete website history is not available. Bark will only update you if it’s flagged for your chosen topics.

(Image credit: Bark)

But, with Bark, that’s the idea. It’s not a keylogger or a tracker, and relies on a certain level of trust between parent and child – so you get alerting and reporting, but not a complete picture.

A similar approach is deployed for Bark’s location tracking. You get alerts when your children are at specific locations, rather than 24/7 tracking. If they drive, you get a summary of their travel and top speed.

You can also choose to lock your child's phone while they are driving to help them stay focused on the road. Parents can also request in-app check-ins to confirm that their child has reached a destination safely.

(Image credit: Bark)

Unlike Net Nanny, Bark allows you to drop pins on a map and set a radius of up to 200 meters (0.12 miles) to create a predefined geographical boundary. Every time your child enters or leaves this boundary, you’ll receive an instant alert. However, the radius is a bit too small. Competitors like Norton Family allow you to set a two-mile radius, which is a much more practical approach to geofencing.

Despite offering such a wide range of parental control and monitoring features, Bark stays true to its philosophy of being non-intrusive. This is why you cannot read your child’s conversations in real time. Instead, Bark notifies you only when its algorithms detect a potential issue.

Bark can detect instances of anxiety, bullying, depression, drug- or alcohol-related conversations, hate speech, profanity, sexual content, violence, and weapon-related conversations.

Another handy feature is that Bark alerts you if your child attempts to create an alternative account to circumvent its monitoring. This helps prevent them from creating secret accounts to hide their online activity.

Bark’s machine learning is great at catching the latest trends and slang words, and it can spot if your child is using VPNs. To play into the trust involved here, children can uninstall Bark – albeit with a warning. If they try to install risky apps, parents will get a warning and parents can block, but that’s not automatic.

Interface and in-use

Setting up Bark is straightforward and takes around 10 minutes per device to connect your child’s phone with your own. Simply follow the setup checklist presented when you first log in.

One thing we liked about Bark is its "alerts, not logs" philosophy. Since Bark uses AI to filter your child’s activity, parents are not bombarded with endless notifications and are alerted only when there is a genuine concern.

(Image credit: Bark)

Each alert is detailed, providing information about the platform where the incident occurred, the time it was detected, and even suggestions on what your next steps could be. Parents can review each alert and take the appropriate action, either dismissing it as a false positive or escalating it for further review.

Bark’s apps and desktop interfaces are excellent: clear, straightforward, and attractive. A dashboard provides a summary of the rules you’ve set for your children and their activity over the last seven days, and parents get a weekly report via email too.

Support

Bark offers email and live chat support, online guides and forums, and an AI assistant can provide easy access to articles and triage basic issues.

On the Bark website you’ll find how-to videos that explain the app’s key features, and plenty of support articles.

There isn’t any phone support, though, which may be a dealbreaker for parents who want quick responses while talking to a real person.

The competition

Bark faces plenty of competition as one of the larger names in the sector. Qustodio is one of the other big names, and it suffers from some of the same issues: it’s far more powerful on Android than on iOS, for starters.

One of Qustodio’s biggest advantages is its pricing, which is much more affordable than Bark’s. The basic Qustodio plan is priced at around $5/month, the same as Bark Jr., but it also includes the ability to pause internet access. Qustodio’s complete plan costs around $9.16/month, roughly $5 less than Bark, while offering similar features alongside AI-powered search and messaging alerts.

Elsewhere, Google Family Link is free, even if it’s a bit more basic than Bark, and Mobicip is a good alternative if you want real-time activity monitoring and location tracking.

Mobicip is also more affordable than Bark, with plans starting at just $2.99/month and supporting up to five devices. Even on this budget plan, you get similar features such as screen time limits, schedule management, activity reports, and app blocking.

Bark: Final verdict

Bark has adopted a modern approach to parental controls, promising to remain non-intrusive. This philosophy is clearly reflected in its feature set, which gives children a greater degree of freedom and privacy. Parents cannot read their children’s text messages directly. Instead, they are notified only when something suspicious or inappropriate is flagged by Bark’s algorithms.

In addition to the essentials, such as website blocking, app blocking, and location tracking, Bark offers several additional utilities that add value to its parental control suite. You can receive alerts whenever your child attempts to create a second account to circumvent Bark’s controls. Additionally, Bark offers pre-built content categories, allowing a single toggle to block all websites within a selected category, saving you a lot of manual setup time.

That said, Bark is a bit on the expensive side, costing around $14/month for its full feature set. If you’re looking for cheaper alternatives, apps like Qustodio, Mobicip, and Norton Family are all worthy options.

• We've picked out the best free parental control software

The internet is littered with hundreds of parental control apps that claim to give you complete visibility into your child’s online activities. However, in doing so, many of these apps invade your children’s private space and blur the lines into surveillance.

This is where HeyPolo stands out. Launched by the team behind Surfshark VPN, HeyPolo is a separate product that takes a consent-based approach to location sharing. It allows you to see the approximate or real-time location of your loved ones at any point.

The best part is that users can control who they share their information with, what information they share, and for how long. HeyPolo also says it will never sell, monetize or exploit users' location data, with location data encrypted while in transit.

If you’re looking for a lightweight, easy-to-use, and inclusive location-tracking application, HeyPolo might just be the right pick. Read on as we explore its various features and pricing, and compare it with the best parental control apps so that you can make an informed decision.

HeyPolo review: Plans and pricing

HeyPolo offers one of the simplest parental control pricing plans we've seen. The monthly plan costs $5.99/month, while the annual one is just $1.99/month. The only difference between the two plans is the duration of the subscription. Everything else is the same, meaning both plans come with everything HeyPolo has to offer.

One good thing is that a single plan covers your entire family, with unlimited devices and no per-person pricing. Exactly what Surfshark VPN is known for, too. You also get a 30-day money-back guarantee, which means that if you don't like how HeyPolo works, you can get a refund.

Next, although HeyPolo’s website says that it doesn't offer any free trial, that's not entirely true. Sure, if you purchase through the website, you don't get a free trial. But if you download the app on your iOS or Android device and purchase a subscription through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, you do get the option of a 3-day or 7-day free trial.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)HeyPolo review: Features

First up, there’s real-time location sharing, where you can view your contacts’ location details, which are updated every five seconds. Users can choose whether to share their exact location or a general area, giving them better privacy control.

Location sharing can either be left on indefinitely or for a specific time period. Users can also set arrival and departure alerts for specific places, such as school, work, or home.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

There’s also an SOS emergency alert, where any family member can send an instant SOS alert that notifies the recipient of their real-time location. This could come in handy for elderly people living alone, children travelling solo at night, a car breakdown, or any other emergency situation.

You can also set up low-battery alerts, alongside location and emergency alerts, so you can know when a family member's phone is running low on power.

Similarly, there’s group location sharing, which allows users to share their location with several people at once within specific groups or circles.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

What stands out is that while most location-sharing apps only allow the person who created the group to control it, HeyPolo gives every member a certain degree of control over what they share. Each plan comes with unlimited groups, and everyone can join for free. One person can belong to multiple groups simultaneously, each with different sharing settings.

You can choose between three different levels of location sharing: Exact Location, which shows your live location; General Area, which shows the neighborhood you're in; and Private Mode, which turns off location sharing completely. You can also choose to share your location for a one-time period or during repeating periods, rather than having it constantly enabled.

So, you’ll get a notification every time your child reaches school or leaves it. The same goes for workplaces too. You can also share trips with people in your group. This shows where you travelled, when you travelled, your route on a map, and the length of the trip.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

Lastly, HeyPolo saves detailed location history, allowing you to check where you or any member of your group has been, including past routes. However, this history is stored for only seven days, after which it is automatically deleted.

HeyPolo review: Interface and in-use

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

HeyPolo is very easy to install. Simply download the application from the Google Play Store or iOS App Store, and you’re good to go. You only need to set up a profile, purchase a subscription, and then invite the family members or friends whose locations you want to track.

People can be invited either by sharing a link or using the short code displayed on the screen. Note that only one person in the group needs an active subscription; everyone else can join for free.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

An important caveat worth mentioning is that you won’t be able to move ahead with the app until you opt for a free trial or purchase a subscription, which means there is no demo mode offered by HeyPolo.

However, once you’re inside, you’ll see an interface with a live map showing everyone in your group as icons. Each icon is labelled with a status such as “Active”, “Arrived Home”, “In Private Mode”, or “Left Work”. People who are on the move will have a tag such as “On the Move (47 mph)”, showing their current speed.

We also like how the reviews for the HeyPolo apps have been overwhelmingly positive. The app is rated 4.35 stars on Google Play and a whopping 4.9 on the App Store. Most users describe the setup as uncomplicated, and the application itself is minimal and low-clutter, which is consistent with HeyPolo’s positioning as a lightweight, consent-first alternative to surveillance-heavy family trackers.

HeyPolo review: Support

HeyPolo has one of the fastest support services we've seen across the industry. There are two ways to reach customer support: email and live chat.

We tried out the live chat function by clicking on the small chat icon at the bottom right of the screen. To our surprise, it wasn’t an automated AI chatbot where you have to fight through several menus before getting an answer.

A live human agent was there to help us almost immediately, and resolving any queries was as easy as typing them out and asking whatever we needed. Overall, the chat was very swift, and we got straightforward, to-the-point answers to our questions.

Just keep in mind that live chat support is available from 9am to 5pm CDT. But there’s a good collection of FAQs, blogs, and articles on the website should you need help with common queries outside these hours.

HeyPolo review: The competition

HeyPolo is very good at what it does – tracking the real-time location of your family members. However, it's pretty limited in functionality and does not extend to other parental control features. If that’s what you’re looking for, here are a few alternatives you can consider.

mSpy is one of the best keyloggers in the industry, offering extensive insights into your child’s device and allowing you to see every word they type on their devices.

It also comes with robust location tracking, just like HeyPolo. You can monitor various social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and even TikTok, and block certain apps on your child’s phone that you do not approve of. There’s also a screen-recording function that captures the child’s phone activity at set intervals.

That said, mSpy is a bit intrusive and does not follow the same consent philosophy as HeyPolo. Not to mention, it can also be pretty expensive, costing $11.19 per month on the annual plan.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

Life360 is perhaps the closest substitute to HeyPolo, offering similar location-sharing features. However, it comes with better ancillary features than HeyPolo, such as 24/7 roadside assistance, crash detection, emergency dispatch, and free towing for up to 50 miles.

You also get $1 million in reimbursement for stolen funds, medical assistance, stolen phone protection, and more, depending on the plan you choose.

Life360 also offers a 7-day free trial, allowing you to check out the application and see if it suits your needs. That said, it's again a bit expensive, with its Silver plan priced at $9.99 per month.

HeyPolo review: Final verdict

HeyPolo is a straightforward, no-nonsense location-tracking application that helps you know the exact location of your loved ones at any moment.

It's ideal for families that believe in complete transparency. HeyPolo allows members to choose what data they share, with whom, and for how long, giving them greater control over their privacy. Users can see real-time locations updated every five seconds, as well as location history going back up to seven days.

You also get a 3-day or 7-day free trial when you purchase a subscription on the mobile apps. Along with this, the subscription is very affordable, at just $1.99/month.

That said, HeyPolo isn’t a full-fledged child monitoring app and is limited to location tracking. If you need other features like social media tracking or screen-time management, mSpy can be a good alternative.

• We've also featured the best parental control software

If you’re looking for a comprehensive online security suite for your family that also includes parental controls, Bitdefender is one of the best options right now. It's a well-known security provider offering an award-winning antivirus program, along with a password manager, VPN, and identity theft protection.

But does its parental control offering, which is bundled with its Family plans and not available via a standalone subscription or even a dedicated app, compete against the best parental control apps?

Read on as we dissect the various parental control features it offers, what they cost, how easy the dashboard is to use every day, and what the top competitors offer.

Bitdefender parental control review: Plans and pricing

Bitdefender no longer offers its parental control features as a standalone subscription. You’d have to get one of its four family plans. But note that its entire suite of parental control features is available with each of these four plans.

The Total Security Family plan starts at $79.99 for the first year and covers up to 25 devices across five family members. At this price, the cost boils down to around $16 per member per year, which is more affordable than many other parental control applications. Not to forget that, for the price, you also get 24/7 real-time antivirus protection for up to 25 devices, as well as a password manager.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Next is the Premium Security Plan, which costs $99.99 for the first year and also comes with scam protection, AI-based scam protection, and a VPN with 4,000+ servers in 50+ countries. The Ultimate Security Family Plan and the Ultimate Security Plus Family Plan cost $119.99 and $199.99 for the first year, respectively.

The former comes with dark web monitoring and identity theft protection features such as an identity protection score and real-time breach notifications, while the latter also includes $2 million in identity theft insurance, three-bureau credit monitoring, and other bank, credit card, and investment alerts.

Bitdefender parental control review: Features

One of the standout Bitdefender parental control features is the ability to set screen-time schedules for your children, who would only be able to access their devices during the allowed time intervals.

Along with this, Bitdefender also offers several preset routines: Focus Time, Family Time, and Bedtime, which you can customize as per your child’s daily activity and schedule.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

There’s also a pretty handy internet time management feature, which allows you to control how much time your child spends on the internet during a day. A nice addition is the ability to reward extra screen time for your children for responsible online use.

In addition to internet scheduling, parents can also choose to cut off internet access directly on their child’s device using Bitdefender’s Stop Internet feature.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Bitdefender also offers predefined age-appropriate filtering categories to help you filter out inappropriate content such as porn, betting, or online gaming for your children. As with screen time, you can also fine-tune these filters to better suit your child’s day-to-day use.

Apart from category-level filtering, parents can also allowlist or blocklist specific URLs individually, in case you want to go beyond the category selection.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Parents can set up to five child profiles, each with the child’s name, photo, and birth date. Bitdefender automatically applies age-appropriate filtering as soon as the profile is created, which parents can then edit as per their needs.

Along with this, there’s also location tracking, which helps you know where your child is on an interactive map at all times.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Lastly, there’s Safe Search, which lets you remove explicit and harmful results from search engines, as well as YouTube restrictions, which ensure your child only views age-appropriate videos on the platform.

However, note that content filtering and safe browsing require an active VPN connection to function, as per Bitdefender’s listing on the Google Play Store.

Bitdefender parental control review: Interface and in-use

Bitdefender parental control works across Android, Windows, iOS, and macOS. That said, Windows and Android get full, unrestricted enforcement of every feature, whereas macOS and iOS are noticeably more limited, largely due to Apple’s own platform restrictions.

For instance, iOS content filtering runs through Apple’s Screen Time and not Bitdefender’s own engine. Parents have to create a child account through Apple ID, then Bitdefender’s app hooks into Apple’s Screen Time restrictions rather than doing its own independent content filtering.

However, the setup is pretty simple. You just have to download the app on your child’s own device. Unlike other parental control applications, you can’t download the app on your child’s phone remotely – you’ll need physical access to the device to do so.

One thing worth noticing is that, after the 2025 overhaul, parental control is no longer configured within the Bitdefender Central mobile app, but from the Bitdefender Central web dashboard, which can still be accessed through the mobile application.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Once you’re on this dashboard, day-to-day use is genuinely easy. Bitdefender’s Activity Dashboard is filled with several graphs and charts, which allow you to check your child’s phone activity at just a glance.

For example, there’s a bar chart showing their daily internet time over the past few days, as well as a pie chart showing their current day’s internet usage along with their remaining time. The dashboard also gives parents visibility into what’s actually being blocked and when.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

The Prevented Content Access panel is a running log of every link blocked on the child’s device over the past 7 or 30 days. This allows you to see whether your filtering settings are actually able to catch anything, or whether your child is repeatedly trying to search for restricted websites on their device.

Bitdefender parental control review: Support

Bitdefender offers one of the most extensive support options we’ve seen across the industry. For starters, there are hundreds of articles, blogs, and how-to explainers on its website, neatly categorized based on different products.

If that doesn’t solve your problem, you can contact Bitdefender support using 24/7 live chat, phone, or email. However, to do so, you’ll first have to go through a few selections, such as the exact help you need, the type of issue you’re facing, and the product you need help with.

The support section features various phone numbers for different regions. The email support requires you to enter your own email address along with the problem you’re facing and doesn’t hand out direct email addresses to the consumer.

Beyond all this, Bitdefender also has an active expert community where you can get answers and solutions from other users across the world. Overall, Bitdefender’s support infrastructure is pretty solid, and you’ll never be left wanting for answers.

Bitdefender parental control review: The competition

Bitdefender is billed as a complete security suite and not a standalone parental control app, which is why it does lack a few advanced, dedicated parental control features.

For instance, Parentaler offers social media monitoring, allowing you to view your child’s WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok accounts, and see what they’re posting or with whom they’re chatting.

There’s also text and call monitoring with Parentaler, allowing you to read your child’s incoming and outgoing texts, including deleted messages. We also like its keyword alert function, where you can get instant notifications if your child uses certain controversial words or slang in their conversations.

Another notable feature missing from Bitdefender is geofencing. While it allows you to check your child’s location, it doesn’t offer alerts based on allowed or restricted zones on a map.

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive all-in-one package, Aura is another strong option. It combines parental controls with identity protection, antivirus, VPN, and a password manager, making it more of a complete digital security solution than a standalone parental control app.

If you still need a standalone parental control app but need something more affordable, try Google Family Link, which is entirely free to use and offers comparable features such as screen-time management and content filtering.

Or, you could try FamilyTime, starting at just $2.41 per single device per month. In addition to screen-time scheduling and internet schedules, you can also block apps or games on a child’s device that you don’t approve of.

It also comes with an SOS panic button that your child can use during an emergency. It’s also a great choice for households with several children, thanks to its affordable family plans that can cover up to five devices.

Bitdefender parental control review: Final verdict

Bitdefender’s family packages are ideal for parents looking for all-round security protection for their children rather than a dedicated, comprehensive parental control app.

But there’s still lots to like. You get robust screen-time management and internet-time management features, along with predefined age-appropriate filtering categories and location tracking. That’s all in combination with an antivirus with real-time protection, a password manager, an unlimited VPN, and identity theft protection, depending on the plan you choose.

The pricing is pretty affordable too, with the monthly cost working out to around $1.33 per member on the entry-level plan. However, if you’re looking for more advanced features, such as social media monitoring, keyword alerts, or geofencing, options like Parentaler or mSpy are more suitable.

• We've also featured the best parental control software

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: two-minute review

In August 2026, Tineco launched its most advanced floor washer to date — the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum. With a suction power of up to 25,000 Pa, it’s one of the most powerful wet-dry vacuums on the market, picking up fine materials like flour in a single pass and large materials like 8-12 leaves in less than a minute. With the lie flat design, you can reach further under furniture. Side edge cleaning doesn’t get better than this. You can clean along the front of the vacuum up to about one-half to one-eighth of an inch. With a battery that lasts 65-75 minutes on Auto mode and up to 100 minutes on Quiet mode, you can clean most houses in a single go.

Thanks to four cleaning modes, including a dirt detect mode, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum soared through our various cleaning tests from dry debris to wet messes and stubborn stains. A HydroBurst sprayer that can spray solution on tough stains is a great addition, but kind of unnecessary since the mopping power is exceptionally good. Not only does the wet-dry vacuum use hot water to clean (and continuously washes the brushroll as it mops), but the brushroll presses against the floor for a deeper clean and utilizes a streak-free scraper when the wet-dry vacuum goes in reverse. This helps to remove tough messes and prevent streaks or water stains.

(Image credit: Future)

The most notable upgrade, however, is the Smart Refresh Station. Tineco clearly took inspiration from robot vacuum bases and created a base that automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum with cleaning solution and clean water from a 5-liter water tank. This reduces the maintenance required, which is already impressive considering the base uses hot water and hot air to clean the brushroll. Maybe soon enough Tineco will surprise us with a base that removes dirty water and debris too.

Perhaps the biggest drawback to this wet-dry vacuum is the price. It’s one of the highest on the market. If you’re willing to do a little more maintenance, the Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro cleans just as well. Still, I can’t deny that the Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum might do better with larger debris and is a great investment for those with larger homes who want to clean their space on a single charge.

Keep reading for my full review of the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum and see why it’s currently my favorite on the market.

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: price and availability

• List price: $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660)
• Launch date: August 2026
• Availability: US

The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum launched in the US in August 2026 at a list price of $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660), making it Tineco’s most expensive wet-dry vacuum and a premium-priced wet-dry vacuum on the wider market. It’s sold through Tineco, as well as third-party retailers like Amazon and Walmart.

The price is not surprising, considering it may be the first wet-dry vacuum to offer a base station that auto refills the unit with water and solution. I’ve been testing wet-dry vacuums for years, and though this isn’t new technology (in that we see it utilized with wet-dry robot vacuums), it is new for wet-dry vacuum bases. Add in the exceptional battery life, solution sprayer, and streak-free scraper technology, and this price makes sense.

Perhaps during the holidays, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro will be discounted. For now, you could go with the equally exceptional Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum if you’re willing to refill the water tank by hand. It’s usually $849, but it’s discounted to $599, and I can say firsthand that it has a similar cleaning prowess as the S9 Scientist Pro.

• Value score: 4 out of 5

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: specs

Max suction

25,000 Pa

Dimensions:

9.5 x 10.25 x 43 inches (the unit), 12 x 11.25 x 17 inches (base only)

Water tank volumes

0.85 L on the unit, 5L on the base (clean) / 0.72 L (dirty)

Filter

HEPA filter

Max runtime

Up to 100 mins

Recharge time

Approx 3-4 hours

Tools

Brush to clean dirty water tank

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: design

• 180-degree lie-flat design for hard-to-reach places
• Four cleaning modes and a solution sprayer for tough stains
• Self-cleaning and clean water auto-refilling base

It took minutes to put the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum together. All I had to do was remove it from the packaging, slot the handle into the unit, and put it to charge on the base. A bottle of cleaning solution, extra brushroll, and a cleaning brush were provided in the packaging.

The first few things I noticed about the design were the thickness of the vacuum head and the sleek rectangular box design of the body. It looks almost robotic-like, and as I delved further into the design, it makes a lot more sense why the vacuum looks the way it does.

The Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is 30lbs, so it’s not lightweight, but thanks to a self-propel system, it doesn’t feel heavy. I liked that vacuum head and the body are flexible and twist and turn easily. The wet-dry vacuum can also lie 180-degree flat making it easy to reach under beds and sofas to clean. This is possible because the dirty water tank is on the back of the vacuum body and the clean water tank is on the top of the vacuum head — hence why the vacuum head is so bulky.

(Image credit: Future)

A streak-free scraper under the vacuum head lifts when you push the vacuum forward and drops when you pull it backwards, so that it can scrape excess water and tough stains. This results in a completely clean floor free of water stains and streaks. A white headlight helps to illuminate dark spaces, while a comb and scraper near the brushroll prevents the tangling of hair and other debris.

A small LED screen is placed on the handle with three buttons. The power button turns the unit on and off, while the change mode button lets you move between the four cleaning modes — Auto, Max, Quiet, and Suction. The mode in use and battery life appear on the LED screen. A HydroBurst button causes cleaning solution to spray from the front of the vacuum head onto tough stains.

Tineco has done something a bit different with the Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum in terms of the Auto Mode (or the dirt detect system). When using Auto Mode, a light blue digital ring on the front of the unit’s body appears. Parts of the ring turn red to notify you how dirty the floor is. The more red the ring is, the dirtier the floor.

(Image credit: Future)

While this digital display is intuitive, there are seven status displays in total that appear on the front of the vacuum’s body and not all of them are easy to remember. The seven displays are Dirt Level, Battery, HydroBurst, Self-Cleaning, Drying Mode, Malfunction, and Water Filling Indicators. Each one has a different shape and a different color indicator. This is probably the biggest design drawback for me, as I think Tineco could’ve displayed such indicators in an easier-to-understand method. With the voice commands, you’ll understand what each indicator means, but if you turn off the voice commands, you might find yourself slightly confused.

There is also a self-cleaning button on the top of the handle. It’s to be pressed when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base. Three buttons appear on top of the vacuum body when it’s on the base. The 'Hot Water Refill' button refills the wet-dry vacuum with hot water, while the 'Silent' button results in a longer brushroll drying period. The brushroll dries in five minutes if you press the 'Flash' button.

(Image credit: Future)

The base may be large, but consider this: it charges the wet-dry vacuum, self-cleans it with hot water and air, and auto refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank with water and cleaning solution. At the back of the base there is a cleaning solution compartment that can hold an entire bottle of Tineco cleaning solution. A 5-liter tank of clean water is then placed on top the cleaning solution compartment, so that when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base, the base can move hot water into the wet-dry vacuum hands-free.

While the design outshines other wet-dry vacuums on the market, I see some room for slight improvements in the future.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: performance

• Phenomenal cleaning capabilities with great edge cleaning
• Does a outstanding job suctioning liquids and large debris like leaves
• Front edge cleaning varies between ½ and 1/8th of an inch from the wall

From the get-go, I really liked how the handle of the the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum twisted and turned so easily. This especially helped when I laid the wet-dry vacuum flat to clean under my bed. I was able to reach around the legs of my bedframe easily.

The dirt detection system was fantastic, recognizing even the smallest amounts of dust. My home is very dusty because it’s historic, and I was glad to see that the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum suctioned up the dust rather than spreading it about or pushing it back into the air. The headlight illuminated dust and debris in dark spaces, though I would’ve preferred a green rather than a white headlight as green lights make dust and debris more visible. At least, I could trust the Auto Mode to 'see' hidden stains or dirt that I couldn’t see under the white headlight or with the naked eye.

(Image credit: Future)

The suctioning capabilities of the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum are beyond impressive, which isn’t surprising considering it has a suction power of 25,000 Pa. (Trust me, that’s massive.) I used the wet-dry vacuum to pick up a lot of dried leaves that had fallen around one of my plants. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wet-dry vacuum accomplish such a task in such a short time. Most struggle to suction one or two leaves, much less 10. Even the reverse cleaning was better than most wet-dry vacuums.

One of the first things I tested was the edge cleaning. There was no space between the wall and the side edge of the vacuum head. However, I noticed that there was about half an inch along the front edge of the vacuum head and the wall. That was a bit disappointing, until I realized that with certain things, like my really tall thresholds, the space shortened to about 1/8th of an inch. After some experimenting, I realized that if I approached the wall slowly with the front of the vacuum head, the front edge cleaning improved and I could clean closer to objects or walls.

Because the wet-dry vacuum’s head is so bulky, I couldn’t reach under cabinet overhangs. This has been my biggest gripe with wet-dry vacuums since they started putting the clean water tank on the top of the vacuum head because it means I have to go back through the house with a vacuum to clean those spaces.

The clean water tank lasted about 30 minutes (which is quite long), while the dirty water tank had to be emptied at about 40 minutes. These results are well above average.

While most people may use a robot vacuum or vacuum to clean daily, the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is a really great wet-dry vacuum to have on hand for weekly deep home cleanings and stubborn stains.

Cleaning tests

I ran several cleaning tests to see how well the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner cleans on Auto mode and was impressed with the results. I sprinkled flour, coffee, and crunchy oats on my laminate flooring, and spilled a variety of liquids like water, soy sauce, and barbeque sauce. I also place an egg on the ground and sprayed some chocolate sauce and siracha sauce and let them both dry slightly.

The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner picked up all the fine and large materials in a single pass, though some flour got stuck on the wheels when I reversed over the flour. The Suction mode did a fantastic job suctioning up the water. I used the Auto mode for the barbecue and soy sauces just to ensure the floor wasn’t sticky afterwards. It cleaned both sauces in a single go without any remaining residue.

FutureFuture

While the wet-dry vacuum picked up the slightly dry siracha sauce in a single pass, it took about four passes to pick up the driest and thickest parts of chocolate sauce on auto mode. The thinner areas of the chocolate sauce only took a single pass.

I test a lot of wet-dry vacuums throughout the year, and Tineco consistently beats every other brand in cleaning capabilities. The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner didn’t disappoint, and proves that this wet-dry vacuum cleans the most consistently and effectively (and with less effort!) compared to others on the market.

FutureFutureFutureMaintenance

The Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum stands out among all wet-dry vacuums because of its base which is outfitted with a 5-liter water tank and a solution bay (that can hold a single solution bottle). The base automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank in less than 30 seconds – and it’s pretty amazing to watch.

After each cleaning session, I placed the wet-dry vacuum on the base and ran the self-cleaning system which uses hot water to clean the brushroll. This hot water process is quite effective as the brushroll comes out super clean. I only found a very small amount of dust under the vacuum head when I removed the brushroll — far less than I have found with other wet-dry vacuums that I’ve tested.

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The base dries the brushroll and filter with hot air that’s 230 degrees Fahrenheit. Flash dry takes five minutes to dry the brushroll, while silent dry results in a quiet (40 dB sound rating) drying process. I wish I could say that the brushroll was completely dry when using either of these settings, but there was a very slight amount of dampness. On the flash dry setting, the brushroll was 95% dry, while the silent dry mode made the brushroll about 98% dry.

The only thing the base can’t do is empty the dirty water tank – so you have to do it by hand. A brush is provided by Tineco to remove debris. The debris catcher design could be better, but it catches a decent amount.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro: battery life

The battery life of the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is more than adequate for most homes. I was able to clean my 1,600-square-foot home in 30 minutes on Auto mode, and still have 50% of the battery life left.

Overall, the battery lasted between 65-73 minutes on Auto mode, which is in-line with Tineco’s predictions that the battery, on Auto mode, can last up to 75 minutes. Remember on Auto mode, the vacuum automatically increases the suction and cleaning power depending on how dirty the floors are. It could use more power and thus more battery life if your floors are especially dirty.

Battery score: 5 out of 5

Should you buy the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value for money

This wet-dry vacuum is a luxury buy, but it offers some high-tech features and an auto refill base that is one of the first of its kind on the market.

4/5

Design

A sleek unit that lies flat and is outfitted with an intuitive scraper. The new indicator system – lights and shapes on the vacuum’s body – notes dirty floors, low battery, or other features/settings.

4/5

Performance

Exceeds all expectations when it comes to vacuuming and mopping hard floors. Side and front edge cleaning are solid.

4.5/5

Battery

With 65-100 minutes of battery life, this wet-dry vacuum can clean small to large homes on a single charge.

5/5

Buy it if

You want something that can pick up tough stains and dirt and dust in hard-to-reach spaces

The dirt detect technology automatically increases the suction and mopping power when the vacuum recognizes a dirty floor. If need be, there is a HydroBurst function that sprays solution on sticky or tough stains to break them down more easily. Plus, with the vacuum’s ability to lie flat and a 25,000 Pa suction, you can reach far under your bedframe or sofas to clean dust, dirt, and small and large debris.

You have a medium-to-large house

When using the Auto Dirt Detect function, this vacuum can last between 65-75 minutes. Quiet mode results in up to 100 minutes of clean time. No matter which mode you use, you can likely clean your medium or large home on a single charge.

You like doing very little maintenance

You don’t have to fill this vacuum with clean water or cleaning solution because the base does that for you. It even cleans the brushroll with hot water and dries the filter and brushroll with hot air.

Don't buy it if

Your home has a lot of carpets

Some wet-dry vacuums can clean carpets or rugs, but not this one. It’s a better choice for those with hardwood, laminate, stone, or tiled floors.

You’re limited on space.

This wet-dry vacuum has one of the larger bases that I’ve seen, so it may not be ideal for those who are limited in space or don’t find the bulkiness conducive to their dwelling aesthetic. There are plenty of wet-dry vacuums that are better suited for those who live in an apartment or small home.

You’re on a budget

This is one of the most expensive wet-dry vacuums on the market, and while it does a fantastic job, you can find plenty others — even from Tineco — that clean just as well for half the cost.

How I tested the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro

Testing the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum occurred over multiple weeks during a Texas summer in my 106-year-old house that produces a lot of dust and has multiple high traffic areas with dirt and debris.

My 1,600-square-foot house is a mix of laminate and historic hardwood flooring, making it a great testing space. I ran a variety of cleaning tests with various liquids, barbeque sauce, eggs, flour, coffee, and dried chocolate sauce, making sure to utilize different cleaning modes and taking notes on things like edge cleaning, battery life, and maintenance requirements. For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed September 2026

Parental control applications help you keep tabs on and manage screen time for your children effectively. However, the market is flooded with thousands of applications, and picking the best parental control app for your specific needs can be quite a challenge.

This is why we’ve dug deep and conducted a comprehensive review of Parentaler – one of the most popular child monitoring applications today.

Along with extensive social media monitoring, the application allows parents to monitor their child’s texts across various platforms, track their location using GPS, and filter the kind of content they can view online.

But is Parentaler the right choice for your? Read on as we analyze its best features, pricing, and user experience, while also comparing it with the best in the industry.

Parentaler review: Plans and pricing

We’re not a fan of how Parentaler’s pricing isn’t prominently displayed on its website. You’ll have to answer a series of questions before you can find out how much it costs.

We’ve done some digging to find out that its monthly plan costs $42.69, whereas the quarterly plan comes at $24.40 per month. However, its most affordable plan is the annual package, costing $10.17 per month, billed annually at $121.99.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

The good thing is that there aren’t any plans to choose from, other than the subscription length. All the three packages offer the same set of features, which is everything Parentaler has to offer. This is the kind of simplicity we also lauded in HeyPolo – Surfshark VPN’s own parental control app.

What we also didn’t quite like about Parentaler is that it doesn’t offer a free trial or even a demo, which means you’ll have to buy a plan to see how it works for you. That said, the company does provide a 14-day refund policy, so if the app doesn’t meet your expectations, you can claim a full refund.

Parentaler review: Features

Parentaler offers three main categories of functions with its child monitoring app: text and call monitoring, location monitoring, and content filtering. Let’s dive into each of them.

Parentaler allows you to monitor various platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Telegram, Viber, Kik, and TikTok. Parents can also view messages their child sends and receives, calls made, links shared, and any media they might have sent or received.

Besides this, Parentaler also lets you keep an eye on the kind of content your children are sharing on a particular social media platform, say Instagram or TikTok, and this includes keeping you aware of their posts, stories, and more.

Its SMS and text monitoring is also pretty robust and works with iMessage on iPhone, allowing you to see both incoming and outgoing texts, including deleted messages. Of course, you can also monitor call logs on both platforms, including a list of contacts.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

Text monitoring also covers all major social media platforms. One caveat worth noting is that instant-message tracking, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, and Skype, along with Gmail and Wi-Fi network monitoring only works on Android if it’s rooted. That’s a bit of a bummer, in our opinion.

Next up is its GPS tracking technology, which allows you to check your child’s location right from the app’s dashboard on your device. You can even view detailed information such as the address, timestamps, and coordinates.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

Parents can also mark allowed and restricted zones on a map directly from the Parentaler app and get instant alerts if their child enters or leaves these geofenced areas. You can also set screen-time limits with Parentaler, designating time limits for certain apps such as social media or games.

On the flip side, you can also schedule downtime, during which your child can only use certain apps. For instance, you can set up downtime during school hours where only learning apps might be accessible to your kids.

Along with this, there’s a dedicated Focus Mode on Android, which can pause distracting apps at preset times. You can also view detailed time reports to see where your child is spending most of their time.

Parentaler also offers handy content-filtering options, allowing you to block content relating to specific topics such as adult websites, social media, or any other objectionable content you don’t want your child to access.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

The app allows you to view your child’s detailed browser history, helping you understand the kind of content they’re viewing online.

Additionally, parents can set up various keyword alerts, which might include commonly used slang or objectionable words. If your child ends up using them in their conversations, you’ll be able to view the alerts on the application’s dashboard.

Parentaler review: Interface and in-use

Parentaler works for Android, iPhone, and iPad, all of which come with a central dashboard accessible from any device or browser.

Parentaler’s compatibility policy page says that you don’t need physical access to the iPhone device to install the application if you already have the iCloud credentials and two-factor authentication hasn’t been activated.

However, if two-factor authentication is enabled or iCloud backup is disabled, you’ll need physical access to install the app on the target device. With Android, you’ll compulsorily need physical access for app installation.

Once the application is up and running, you’re greeted with an intuitive dashboard that lays out everything from call logs, social media monitoring, text messages, web history, and your child’s location on a single page. You can access various settings from the same dashboard and fine-tune them according to your requirements.

Overall, the platform is indeed very easy to use, with no major quirks or learning curve. That is, once you’ve successfully gotten past the installation hurdle.

Parentaler review: Support

Parentaler’s support options were honestly disappointing. We could only locate a “Contact Us” form on its website, where you need to enter your name, email, question, and message, and then wait for a response from Parentaler’s team.

Noticeably, the company’s marketing copy says that a 24/7 live chat option is available in various languages. However, we couldn’t locate any live chat button while navigating through its website.

It might be possible that you get a live chat option after you’ve purchased a plan, but the lack of proper support before committing to a purchase could be a major drawback for some parents. There’s no phone or dedicated email support either.

Parentaler review: The competition

While Parentaler is a solid parental monitoring and parental control app, there are a few features it lacks.

For instance, mSpy offers features like an anti-installation alert, where if your child uninstalls the parental monitoring app, you’ll get an instant notification. mSpy also offers remote camera and microphone access, allowing you to micromanage your child’s phone usage.

That means mSpy is great for anyone who needs a higher degree of control over what their child uses their devices for. It’s also one of the few parental control apps to offer extensive keylogging features, allowing you to see every word typed on your child’s device.

Another major shortcoming with Parentaler is that it doesn’t offer family plans. Even its annual plan, which costs around $121.99 per year, covers only a single device. This means that if you have more than one child to cover, you’ll have to buy separate subscriptions, which can quickly become expensive.

In comparison, Bitdefender offers value-for-money family plans, which start at just $79.99 for the first year, covering five accounts and 25 devices. Along with parental control features such as content filtering, internet time limits, GPS location tracking, and activity reports, you also get extra online protection tools, such as an award-winning antivirus, password manager, VPN, and decent identity protection features.

Parentaler review: Final verdict

Overall, we found Parentaler to be a decent parental control app for monitoring your children. It covers all the major bases when it comes to features, along with comprehensive text and call monitoring across various social media apps. You can also view extensive call logs and contact details on your child’s phone.

Its GPS tracking is also pretty well done, allowing you to set predefined geofencing limits. There are robust content-filtering options, so parents can keep a check on what their child views online.

That said, Parentaler doesn’t offer any family plans. While its annual plan is very reasonable at $121.99, this can quickly become expensive for households with multiple children.

It also misses out on certain features, such as remote camera or microphone access. Additionally, it doesn’t offer great support options, with only a Contact Us form available on its website. If you’re looking for more affordable or multi-device plans, Bitdefender and Mobicip can be good alternatives.

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Companies that make the best parental control apps need to make a philosophical choice when producing software: do you want to assume trust and give children some leeway about their behavior, or is it better to try and protect kids by tracking everything?

The developers behind mSpy have clearly opted for the latter approach, with a slate of features that monitors keystrokes, locations, chats, calls, pictures and more.

This parental control method won’t work for everyone, especially for parents who want to maintain trust in their familial relationships. But if you are keen to take a closer look at your kids’ online behavior, is this the app for you? Read on to find out.

mSpy review: Plans and pricing

If you’re a parent who wants to figure out how much mSpy actually costs, good luck: the app’s website makes it quite difficult to actually find this information.

The most affordable option is mSpy Premium. At the time of writing, it costs $11.67 per month on Android and iOS if you pay for an annual package. The 3-month plan costs $28/month, whereas the 1-month plan costs $48.99/month. Notably, there’s no feature variation between the three options – just the difference in subscription period.

(Image credit: mSpy)

That price gives you support for one child device and a broad array of features, although some of those only work on Android and some require users to root or jailbreak phones to get them working.

Then there’s the mSpy Extreme plan, meant for Android devices, costing $23.99 if you opt for the annual plan. The 3-month plan costs $45 per month, whereas the 6-month plan costs $33.99 per month.

This is the highest level of subscription available with mSpy and unlocks several features otherwise not available in the Premium plan, including remote camera access to the target device, ambient recording through the microphone, a screen recorder, and GPS location tracking.

However, one of the biggest advantages of Extreme is that you won’t need to root the target Android device to get the most out of it.

(Image credit: mSpy)

That said, we noticed several internal inconsistencies within mSpy’s support documentation that hint at the possibility that users might still need to root their devices to access advanced features such as keylogging, geofencing, and social media monitoring.

Even mSpy’s own page on its Extreme product offers paid support specifically for rooting the device.

Lastly, the Family Kit offers support for three devices and delivers all of the features available in mSpy Premium. However, the exact price isn’t actually listed on mSpy’s website, at the time of writing.

The pricing available on mSpy feels deliberately obscured, then, and those prices are also extremely high. Other parental apps don’t offer the keylogging and sheer detail of mSpy, but they offer lots of conventional parental access features at a fraction of the price. Plus, it’s worth noting that mSpy doesn’t offer any free trial, only a demo of its platform.

mSpy review: Features

So, what can you actually do with mSpy? Unsurprisingly, many of the app’s features revolve around information gleaned from keylogging.

Parents can see text messages, images sent and received over SMS, and Facebook Messenger activity – alongside chats from apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat, Kik, Telegram, Tinder, Viber, Instagram, iMessage and more.

You’ll be able to get information about who has texted your children and who they’re texting, including contact numbers and names. Unsurprisingly, mSpy’s logging and reporting is always comprehensive – access the parent app and you’ll be confronted with a fearsome amount of information.

Parents can rely on mSpy’s keylogger to see every stroke that’s typed on the phone – so you can check deleted messages, URLs and more. It’s also possible to get alerts if your children type specific words.

(Image credit: mSpy)

And because much of this functionality runs in the background, hidden on the target device, your children may not even know they’re being monitored – or, at least, they won’t find it so intrusive. In case your child does end up finding the app and deleting it, mSpy will send you a notification on your dashboard so that you can take appropriate action.

On the same dashboard, you can also see your child’s device’s battery levels. So, if they say they couldn’t text or call you because of low battery, you’d know right away if they're telling you the truth.

The app allows parents to monitor call logs and emails, including attachments and the ability to see emails they’ve sent and received. Parents can see browser histories, see data about how often sites are visited, filter based on categories and check their bookmarks – and even see what Wi-Fi networks children are using.

(Image credit: mSpy)

mSpy has also introduced AI chatbot monitoring, which keeps an eye on two of the most popular apps: ChatGPT and Gemini. Gone are the days when children used search engines like Google to enquire about their curiosities. A large chunk of this ‘search activity’ has now moved to AI chatbots.

However, since most parental control applications didn’t (still doesn't) include chatbot monitoring, it created a blind spot for parents. However, mSpy has this covered as well. It's, in fact, the only child monitoring app we know that offers this feature.

That’s not all: mSpy allows parents to block apps, see what apps are installed, and view photos and videos stored on the device. A screen-recording feature is also available so parents can get visual snapshots of child phone activity, even with disappearing message features that are now popular on many apps.

(Image credit: mSpy)

Parents can view their children’s current location using mSpy’s GPS-based functionality, and also use geofencing to get alerts when children enter or leave places where you want them to visit – or want them to avoid.

And if you pay for the Extreme version, you can also access their camera and microphone, record calls, and anonymously view Instagram.

(Image credit: mSpy)

It has a comprehensive set of keylogger-based features, but bear in mind that mSpy’s Android app is far more powerful than the iOS app. If you want to monitor an Apple device, you’ll need to do some jailbreaking to access mSpy’s whole range of features.

Rooting and jailbreaking is particularly concerning because it can, potentially, void your device warranty, prevent access to other apps and make devices more vulnerable to cybercrime.

However, mSpy's screen time management is basic, without the detail or granularity found in many other apps, and there’s no category-based website blocking or filtering – this is another area where the functionality is underwhelming. Other apps also offer more in terms of location-based features, including the option to track children’s driving habits.

mSpy review: Interface and in-use

Unsurprisingly, mSpy’s interface provides a comprehensive and in-depth look at your children’s device behavior. You can see everything, from message content and phone call logs to web histories and even the events in their calendar.

There are separate sections for browsing photos and videos, setting up keyword alerts, delving into the keylogger and viewing what apps your children have installed. The interface is clean, well-organized and easy to use, with straightforward menus and good organization. Once you’re set up, it’s easy to get started.

It’s a great interface if you want to delve into the data, but other apps make things a little easier to see summaries of daily and weekly activity – mSpy keeps things granular and specific rather than providing top-level reports.

(Image credit: mSpy)

There are three ways you could install mSpy on an iOS device. The first is iCloud Sync, which works on all iOS versions, for which you’ll need your child’s iCloud login details. However, if there’s no iCloud backup activated or two-step verification enabled, you’ll need physical access to the target device.

Secondly, there’s Wi-Fi Sync (iOS 13-16), where you’ll need to physically plug the target device into a Mac or PC for the initial sync. After that, updates will happen automatically when the phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as the computer.

Lastly, there’s the much-feared jailbroken method, where you’ll need a jailbroken device to install mSpy.

However, an important caveat worth noting is that non-jailbroken installation methods largely restrict which features work on the device and are limited to WhatsApp, SMS, call logs, browser history, calendar events, notes, Wi-Fi network history, and new app installation alerts.

Noticeably, you won’t be able to access features like keylogging, one of mSpy’s strongest selling points, screen recording, or camera and microphone access. In addition, tracking platforms like Telegram, Instagram, and Snapchat also isn’t possible with non-jailbroken iOS installations.

Keep in mind that even if you opt for non-jailbroken methods such as iCloud Sync or Wi-Fi Sync, you’ll still need physical access to the target device for a few minutes.

On Android, you’ll need to disable Google Play Protection to install the app and use most of its features, and parents need to root the phone to get access to every feature.

We’re pleased to see that mSpy provides installation guides for both platforms, but you get far more information if you pay extra for the Ultimate plan – a frustrating choice that feels particularly cynical.

There’s also an option to pay even more to get remote assistance with installation. But no matter what route you choose, mSpy setup is likely to be complicated, frustrating and potentially expensive.

mSpy review: Support

We found mSpy’s support options to be adequate for a parental monitoring application. First, there's a handy chatbot named Sparkle, which you can access by clicking the small chatbot icon at the bottom right of your screen and asking any questions you might have.

Additionally, there are several toll-free numbers listed across the website for various regions. Lastly, there’s also email support for non-urgent queries.

On top of this, mSpy also has a decent FAQ section on the website that answers several questions, although some answers can be a little underwhelming and might not really solve the issue at hand.

There’s also a dedicated mAssistant add-on, which you can opt for when subscribing to mSpy. It’ll come in handy if you face any issues installing mSpy on the target device. However, it's priced at a whopping $53.99, which is more than the cost of the core subscription itself.

mSpy review: The competition

mSpy faces tough competition from parental control apps that concentrate on conventional features rather than surveillance and keylogging.

Mobicip, for instance, is far more affordable than mSpy, with prices starting at just $2.99 per month, allowing you to manage up to five devices. Plus, Mobicip also offers a free basic plan for managing two devices, along with a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, none of which are offered by mSpy.

One of Mobicip's most notable features is its ability to manage your children’s access to specific categories of websites. Mobicip offers more than 20 categories, including adult websites, cryptocurrencies, and so on.

If you want a more consensual approach towards parental monitoring, you can opt for an app like Bark. It doesn’t include features such as a keylogger, screen recorder, or camera or microphone access, and doesn’t even work stealthily in the background, but it adopts a more transparent approach.

You get comprehensive screen-time and app and website monitoring capabilities, including pre-built content categories to filter. There’s also real-time location tracking and geofencing.

Bark also sells its own hardware, called the Bark Phone – a tamper-proof locked-down device for children – and Bark Home – a router-connected box that extends screen-time monitoring and content filtering to every device on the home network.

mSpy review: Final verdict

If you’re not concerned with ethical or moral questions around keylogging, then there’s no doubt that mSpy does a great job here – on Android, at least, it can monitor virtually everything that your child does using their device.

It comes with one of the best keyloggers we’ve seen across parental control applications and covers a wide range of platforms, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Tinder, and Discord. It even includes AI chatbot monitoring for ChatGPT and Gemini.

mSpy runs invisibly on the child’s device and comes with features like screen recording, camera access, and microphone access.

But for all of its keylogging prowess, it falls short in many of the more conventional areas of parental control such as screen-time management and content filtering and is also pretty expensive when compared to peers.

If you need something more affordable, Mobicip can be a good choice. Or, if you want to adopt a more transparent approach with your children while monitoring them, Bark can be an excellent choice.

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