TechRadar Reviews

Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay: one-minute review

There’s something deeply satisfying about the way Glorious goes about speccing its gaming peripherals. The company has a sharp eye for nonsense, and ruthlessly strips it out of the mice and, now, the headset that it brings to the gaming market. Behold, then, the GHS Wireless InfinitePlay, a wireless gaming headset featuring precisely zero RGB, built around normal-sized 40mm drivers, just quietly getting on with giving you multiplatform audio with infinite battery life and two mic options for $230.

With one swappable battery pack placed in the base station, it’s charging ready for use while you have the other one of the pair in your headset. Each one offers 85 hours of use from a full charge, and in case that wasn’t enough, a ‘guardian’ 45mAh built-in battery handles the changeover so you don’t need to turn the headset back on again after you swap. Handy.

That same ‘you won’t need it, but just in case…’ ethos is evident in the mic spec. You’ve got a detachable 70Hz-10KHz noise-cancelling mic for when you’re seated, locked in and ready to absolutely bellow at your team-mates away from prying eyes, and a built-in mic to use when you’re out and about using the Bluetooth connection to a mobile device or Nintendo Switch, and don’t fancy looking like an air traffic controller. Yes, it has 2.4GHz and Bluetooth 5.4 connections, swappable with one button press.

(Image credit: Future)

And that’s a very impressive feature set at any price, but especially for $229.99 / £199.99 / AU$239.99. It’s not even super clear where the concessions have been made to hit the price point. The audio quality is simply good rather than audiophile-grade, but that’s totally in line with what this headset is for: gaming. It’s trying to articulate useful audio cues, not trick your ears into thinking they’re in the expensive seats at an IMAX cinema.

Similarly, the construction materials are almost exclusively lightweight, brushed black plastic rather than anything showier, but that serves the sprightly 360g headset weight.

One area of that headset build and design I did run into issues with is the headband. Your experience will vary depending on your head size, but I found a degree of pressure that becomes slightly uncomfortable during longer sessions. This being an elasticated suspended band design, it’s possible that this may ease as the band slackens over time, but during the month I’ve been using my unit I do still notice discomfort.

Besides that, there’s very little to grumble about. The power button isn’t clearly labelled, and the Bluetooth button can easily be confused for it, but this is a one-time issue. Once you know what’s what, that moment of unintuitive design becomes moot and you can enjoy the fantastic feature set of these cans.

Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay: Price and availability

• List price: $229.99 / £199.99 / AU$239.99
• Swappable batteries like the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, for less
• Packed with useful extras

The extremely competitive pricing of this package is certainly one of its biggest assets. Packing a dual swappable battery design for less than Steelseries’ Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is a great way to announce one’s presence in the headset market, and Glorious backs that head-turning spec up with a number of handy additions that justify the price point.

Namely, a choice of mics (detachable or built-in) and a ‘guardian’ built-in battery that kicks in when you swap between the rechargeable packs, along with some serious configuration flexibility offered by the base station and dongle.

In this challenging economy, to put it mildly, you’d simply expect to see this package priced higher. The construction materials aren’t comparable with ultra-high-end models like the Audeze Maxwell 2 or the Logitech Astro A50 X, but they’re sturdy and finished to a high standard.

Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay: Specs

Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay

Price

$229.99 / £199.99 / AU$239.99

Weight

360g / 0.8lbs

Battery life

85 hours per pack

Compatibility

PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Android, iPhone

Connectivity

Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, USB-C wired

Microphone

16-bit/48KHz

Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay: Design and features

• Black and orange design is Valve-esque
• Prioritises light weight over looks
• Battery packs look like retro FPS keycards

There’s a duality here to Glorious’ headset stylings. On the one hand, it's extremely restrained with the brushed black plastic on the base station and headset, an elegant amount of orange contrast trim on the whole package, and battery packs that look like they’d unlock a door in a ‘90’s shooter.

On the other hand, the company’s fundamental branding is based on a joke that got old quite a while ago. The brand's name references the glorious PC gaming master race meme and subreddit, which worked as a self-aware joke about PC gaming elitism in 2008 and 2011, but in 2026 works… less so. Look, this could just be an age thing, but to me the GabeN-like brand logo and ‘GGWP’ text on the lower-left earcup feel just a few steps away from a ‘Keep out mom, I’m gaming!’ poster. Given that this headset works with PS5, PS4, Switch and mobile devices (there’s no Xbox version), it’s also just confusing branding at this point.

With that chiding out of the way, I do like the look of this headset. The orange trim feels Valve-esque in the right way, like someone very clever sat and thought about this for a long time. The base station is compact and smart, with indicator lights to show when it’s connected to your headset and the charge status of the battery pack slotted into it. Two USB-C ports to the rear connect to a wireless dongle which sits flush with the base station when connected, and a USB-C-to-USB-C cable to connect to your PC or console. A USB-C to A adapter is also provided.

(Image credit: Future)

The base station, dongle, cables, and Bluetooth connection create tons of setup configurations. You can ditch the base station and just use the dongle if you like, although that does mean you don’t have a spare battery charging while you use it. You can even ditch the dongle too and connect the headset with the USB-C cable, although I haven’t found a use case yet where that makes sense, since the built-in battery has a few hours of life even when both swappable packs are depleted.

The headset itself is pretty lightweight for a wireless model with a battery pack, eschewing flashy finishes for an all-plastic body with a fabric headband on suspended elastic, and breathable fabric earcups covering reasonably plush memory foam cushions. If you love that pulsing, sealed-in feeling of closed-back headphones like the HyperX Cloud, these aren’t your cans. They’re certainly closed-back, but the fabric around the earcups does affect the way you experience the audio from its 40mm drivers, producing a flat, detailed but not very low-end heavy response that’s reminiscent of Steelseries’ excellent Arctis Nova 7 and upwards.

I don’t get on with the physical control layout here, though. The location of the (unmarked) power button on the upper-left earcup threw me initially, and I think this control and its right-hand earcup mate are trying to do too much. Both are rotary dials as well as buttons, and while the left controls chat mix, profile swapping and battery status, the right controls volume and media controls. I’m all for minimalist design, but try navigating that while you’re concentrating on something in-game. It took me a couple of weeks to memorise how to perform all those actions.

Just one more gripe – the battery status readout would be much better if it gave you a percentage rather than simply an ‘ok’ or ‘charge now’. Maybe one for a future firmware update.

(Image credit: Future)Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay: Performance

• Tuned for gaming performance
• Good suite of software tweaks
• Battery life true to claims

We all know by now that buying a mouse, keyboard, or headset doesn’t turn you into a Faze Clan member, and the gaming performance gains in the headset vertical are especially marginal. That said, if you’re listening out for footsteps in PUBG Battlegrounds and your 2014 cans with their 60mm grotesquely tuned drivers are too busy making a far-off gunfight sound like a drum and bass gig, you might notice a bit of an advantage when you update your audio hardware.

That’s why it’s important that these drivers are tuned with a nice flat EQ response. That means that they don’t strongly emphasise one particular area of the EQ spectrum, unlike the aforementioned early 2010s models with their ‘scooped’ profiles that boosted the lows and highs like a sound engineer at a Metallica gig.

Sticking with a roughly even volume distribution along the spectrum means that the GHS Wireless InfinitePlay gives all frequencies space to voice and be heard. It might not sound mind-blowing like Audio-Technica or Audeze drivers, but it’s well-suited to games that reward a keen ear, from competitive shooters to singleplayer titles.

I find headsets tuned this way really useful in racing sims too, where I need to hear brake lockups and tire squeals as early as possible, and as prominently in the mix as I can.

Over in Glorious Core, the accompanying software, there’s a welcome and well-judged suite of options including a sidetone toggle, EQ tuning including some basic provided profiles, mic settings like noise cancellation toggling, and several options to tweak the headset behaviour, like when it auto-powers down and whether it gives you voice prompts. I don’t love that it’s taking up 0.99GB of my SSD space to do that, though, and would much prefer a browser-based tuning app.

The battery life really is as long per pack as Glorious states, and swapping them out is easy while you’re mid-session. Just take the spent one out, let the ‘guardian’ battery take over until the end of the round or the next quiet moment, then swap in the other pack.

I didn’t run into any setup issues when I used this with PC, PS5 or Switch, and found that the dual-wireless is pretty rock solid. It’s less suited as a console headset, particularly the Switch, since it really needs the base station to be connected in order to keep a battery pack charged and ready. But as a multiplatform solution (marketing types like to call these ‘battle station’ setups), it offers a no-fuss means to switch between devices.

(Image credit: Future)Should you buy the Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay?Buy it if...

Running out of charge = death
This is a hilariously extreme three-battery solution to the age-old wireless dilemma, and it works.

You play on a few devices
The base station and dongle configuration options make this ideal for multiplatform use.

You’ve got a thing for retro shooter keycards
These battery packs are unspeakably satisfying to swap in and out. You’ll feel like Doomguy every time.

Don't buy it if...

You need Xbox compatibility.
There’s a long list of devices this headset supports, but Xbox isn’t one of them. If that's what you need, you should look at other models by.

Tighter headbands tend to dig in and cause you discomfort
There’s some adjustability to this headband, but not loads. If this is a frequent issue, try before you buy.

The old PC master race meme makes you cringe
When you build your brand on a meme that predates Skyrim, high cringe levels in 2026 are inevitable.

Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay: Also consider

Not feeling like swapping in this wireless headset? Consider these premium wireless alternatives.

Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay

Audeze Maxwell 2

Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless

Price

$229.99 / £199.99 / AU$239.99

$349.99 / £329.99 / AU$520

$349 (£329, AU$649)

Weight

360g / 0.8lbs

490g / 1.1lbs

0.75lbs / 339g

Battery life

85 hours

80 hours

36 hours

Connection type

PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Android, iPhone

2.4GHz wireless, digital wired (USB-C), analog wired (3.5mm audio jack), Bluetooth

Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless

Compatibility

Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, USB-C wired

PC, Xbox (Xbox version only), PS5 (PlayStation version only), Switch, MacOS, iOS, Android

Playstation 4/5, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
Featuring Steelseries’ unique dual-battery charging solution, premium looks, plus ANC implementation, the Nova Pro Wireless is a premium headset option with few faults. No Xbox version, though, sadly.

For more information, check out our full SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless review

Audeze Maxwell 2
Goodness, these headphones sound great. The raw audio fidelity out of the box is benchmark-setting and the build quality is audiophile-grade, but Glorious’ model is in the same conversation for a lot less.

For more information, check out our full Audeze Maxwell 2 review

How I tested the Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay

• One month of use on PC, PS5, Switch and mobile.
• All configurations tested
• Tested with shooters, battle royales, racing games and more

Something about the black and orange design of this headset and base station gave me an overwhelming urge to replay Half-Life 2 episodes 1 and 2, so that is where I began. Hearing those familiar audio files through new drivers is a good reference point, actually, which helps to suss out how good the GHS Wireless InfinitePlay is at positional audio.

I’ve also been playing PUBG Battlegrounds, Counter-Strike 2 and F1 25 with this headset, and putting the mic through its paces with amateur found footage horror simulator, Content Warning.

Since it offers an array of connection types – with or without the base station, wired connection – I’ve spent some time playing on all of them, across my PC, Switch, and PS5.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed April 2026.

Photo Studio Ultimate 2026 is seen as ACDSee’s competitor to Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, combining many image editing tools of both into a single package.

For those looking for one of the best Photoshop alternatives, it's definitely up there. Although not quite as powerful as Adobe's dominant software or photo organizer Lightroom, it's a good place for those that want loads of advanced features without the pro-grade complexity found in Adobe's suite.

I took the latest version for a spin to see what the newest features bring for photo editors.

ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2026: Pricing & plans

(Image credit: Future)

• Good value for one-off purchase and subscriptions
• Windows-only

First off, the bad news: in a move that feels quite atypical in this day and age, Photo Studio Ultimate is Windows only, so if you run a different type of computer, you’re stuck looking for alternatives.

Now for the good news: unlike an increasing number of companies who only allow you to rent their software, ACDSee give you a choice: subscribe to Photo Studio Ultimate for $8.90 a month or $89 a year, or buy it outright for $150 (discounted to $69.95 as of this writing).

There are restrictions with the latter: you can only install it on a single machine, and once a new major version is released, you’ll be stuck with the old one until you choose the upgrade (just like the good old days).

Subscribing has additional perks, such as recording and video editing software, the ability to install the program on up to 5 machines. You also get free software upgrades, but once you stop paying, you lose it all.

There are positives and negatives for both options; it just depends which you’re more happy to live with. But kudos to ACDSee for actually offering customers a choice.

As a comparison, Adobe offers Lightroom for $12 a month on a yearly contract, making it $55 more expensive than ACDSee’s option.

If you’re curious, a free 16 day trial of the software is available, so you can be sure it does exactly what you expect it to do.

• Pricing & plans: 4.5 / 5

ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2026: Interface

(Image credit: Future)

• Lots of features inside a single application
• Intuitive once you’re used to it
• Initial tutorial should not be skipped

Photo Studio Ultimate doesn’t copy your photos into a new library for you. Instead, it enables you to access all the shots you have stored on your computer. You also have the option of getting the software to focus on a default folder, where you can organize your images as you please.

However, that won’t prevent you from accessing stills stored elsewhere - that default link is just there for your convenience, to avoid you having to navigate to that folder each and every time you launch the app.

Once you’ve set that, you’ll be graced with a pretty busy interface. There are sidebars on both sides of the interface, a series of menus top left, a set differentiated with a larger font size top right, with the central section reserved for your shots. That’s a lot to handle, and it’s much busier than Photoshop and Lightroom, but that doesn’t mean it’s hard to find your way around.

The first time you launch the software, you’ll be taken through a series of labelled screenshots explaining what most of the interface does, and it’s well worth spending a few minutes with them to familiarise yourself with the software. After that, you’ll get comfortable with where everything is in next to no time.

Photo Studio Ultimate is essentially divided into 5 sections, represented by the larger menu top right of the interface. Put simply, ‘Manage’, ‘Media’ and ‘View’ are three ways to see and organize your portfolio, ‘Develop’ focuses primarily on color correction, and image fixing (such as lens correction and straightening), while ‘Edit’ offers more Photoshop-like tools, such as sky replacement, image repair, and even allows you to work with multiple layers.

• Interface: 4 / 5

ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2026: Tools

(Image credit: Future)

• Well-stocked feature-set
• Comparable to Photoshop and Lightroom

So everything’s pretty well organized. That’s good. But what’s more important is what you can do with this software.

For instance, ‘Manage’ is there for you to search for specific images based on their metadata, oh and speaking of, the Properties tab on the right is where you get to add as much information about your selected image, or groups of images, making the search tool more accurate as a result.

‘Media’ is designed to explore specifically selected photos in greater detail. You can group them by date or based on specific properties, and also have a couple of viewing options.

Meanwhile, ‘View’ focuses on one selected image at a time (you can bring in multiple ones, but these will appear as a filmstrip at the bottom, as a single shot takes up most of the interface at any one time. Interestingly enough you can also view PDFs and Microsoft Office documents in this mode.

So that’s the cataloguing and organising sorted. But what’s more interesting would be the tools at your disposal to make alterations and improvements. And in its next two modes, ‘Develop’ and ‘Edit’, Photo Studio Ultimate has got them in spades.

All alterations are non-destructive, and range from the basic yet detailed color correction to more advanced features. That includes reducing noise, tuning skin tone, or applying masks with either the Brush, Gradient, Luminance, and color Range tools. You’ll also be able to correct lens distortion, correct red eye or other blemishes too.

One feature I particularly liked is the ability to save Snapshots of your work as you go, allowing you to go back to any saved state at any time, and going in a different direction from there.

‘Edit’ is where you’ll find the more Photoshop-like tools. We all know how gargantuan Photoshop is, and ACDSee’s product doesn’t go anywhere near that level of complexity.

But what’s included enriches the portfolio of available features greatly. You’ll be able to apply edits to specific areas, or even add objects, like circles and arrows, to your image, as well as be able to work with multiple layers.

• Tools: 4.5 / 5

ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2026: AI

(Image credit: Future)

• AI tools work well
• But they were slow in my experience

Now these days, an image editing software package wouldn’t be worth its salt without some AI-branded tools, and so Photo Studio Ultimate has you covered on that front as well. Some of the new features for the 2026 version, include AI Denoise, Hair Masking, Face Edit and a few Presets available in the ‘Develop’ section.

And let’s not forget those that were already available, such as AI Sky Replacement, which does exactly what it says on the tin, and comes with a wealth of different skies for different feels, such as blue sky, sunset, storm, and more.

In my experience, these worked very well, although the newest AI tools felt like they took forever to do their job, but that might be more due to the age of my trusty PC than anything else.

There’s one last thing I’d like to mention: ACDSee has a mobile app known as ‘ACDSee Mobile Sync’. With it, you can link your phone to your copy of Photo Studio Ultimate, to transfer files from your device to your computer.

Once the very simple setup was done, moving files over was essentially effortless, and an excellent companion to an app stuffed to the gills with features.

• AI: 4 / 5

Should I buy ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2026?FutureFutureFutureFuture

Buy it if...

You’re on the lookout for a photo editing app crammed with features, including a sprinkling of very useful and powerful Photoshop-like tools, and a useful assortment of AI.

Don't buy it if...

What comes bundled with your computer is sufficient for your needs, or you are wedded to Adobe’s subscription plans, or you own something other than a Windows PC.

For more creative tools, we tested the best photo editors.

The Shards is guaranteed to have audiences talking, for better or for worse, as Bret Easton Ellis' controversial semi-autobiography comes to the small screen.

But, in my opinion, Ryan Murphy teaming up with Ellis has given him the chance to shine once again. Fans of Murphy's work were left disappointed and baffled in recent months after his abysmal Hulu series All's Fair aired, which has a seriously low Rotten Tomatoes score of just 6%.

Thankfully, The Shards feels closer to what Murphy was doing with the anthology series American Horror Story, and the result is an addictive, bloody and over the top series which shows that Murphy and Ellis are an excellent creative duo.

The Shards is certainly not for everyone, but I'm sure it will find a dedicated audience among Hulu subscribers. Those who can put up with intentionally insufferable protagonists are rewarded with a stylish, tasty peek into life as a privileged student in the 1980s, set in a sunny LA neighborhood.

The nine-part series follows a fictionalized version of Bret Easton Ellis, who is 17 and in his final year at the elite Buckley prep school. Igby Rigney, known for his work on Netflix's Midnight Mass, plays this version of the thriller author.

We open with Bret going to see The Shining, smoking a cigarette and driving a convertible, as he narrates all the luxury clothing he's wearing. Rigney's almost bored-sounding narration would feel out of place anywhere else, but here it fits perfectly as he talks about his life, one that many viewers will never have and might desperately covet. Despite having everything, there's no enthusiasm to his voice at all.

Opposite Rigney, Homer Gere stars as Robert Mallory, a new arrival at Buckley whose unsettling presence coincides with the activities of a serial killer known as The Trawler. Gere is fantastic in The Shards, dominating every scene he's in, and making us feel very uncomfortable from the moment we see him.

The unsettling dynamic between Bret and Robert forms much of The Shards, supported by an equally good cast playing fellow students around them. Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber), is a popular girl and cheerleader who soon develops a thing for Robert, much to the annoyance of her long-term boyfriend Thom (Graham Campbell).

Bret's girlfriend, Debbie (Hayes Warner), is a teen rebelling against her movie director father, adding to the already complex layers of this dysfunctional friend group.

The first two episodes were released together, but unfortunately it's a weekly release from then on. I have a feeling some people might be gutted they can't binge-watch it because it's easy to become invested in what's happening. The Shards is a dazzling experience where you feel like a fly on the wall watching these spoiled teens, wondering what's going to happen to them next, even if you probably should look away.

It's a visceral, no-holds-barred look into this 80s society which finds itself rapidly torn apart, sometimes literally. Indeed, those looking for Bret Easton Ellis' brand of gratuitous violence will find it here, making The Shards an interesting blend of teen drama and horror movie, with some grisly results.

Even if you haven't read The Shards, if you know you're a fan of Ellis' other works like American Psycho, I think this will be right up your alley. It ticks all the right boxes for what we'd expect from him, after all.

At the time of writing, The Shards season 2 has not been confirmed, which means the season finale's ending will prove frustrating if we don't get more. Though Ellis' book has a similar ending, I'm hopeful that The Shards will choose to take the story further as it feels like it's been written with a second season in mind.

As a standalone season though, it's entertaining and shocking in equal measure. The Shards is a welcome addition to Ryan Murphy's filmography, and I hope he does more like this because I have certainly missed him when he's at his bloody best.

Sony Inzone M10S 2: Two-minute review

The Sony Inzone M10S was one of the best gaming monitors of 2024, offering uncompromising performance and a suite of practical tournament-ready features that made it the perfect choice for both professional and aspiring esports players.

Now Sony is back with the Inzone M10S 2, a successor that delivers a number of small but nevertheless impactful upgrades while maintaining everything that made the original so good. It’s the same 2560 x 1440 resolution, but feels even snappier thanks to an increased 540Hz refresh rate and a lower 0.02ms response time. There’s even a dual mode, letting you bump the resolution down to 720p for a staggering 720Hz picture — invaluable for Counter-Strike 2 or Rocket League.

If that wasn’t enough, it’s now even brighter, coming in at up to 1,500 nits rather than 1,300, with the same rich colors and impressive contrast. There’s a new anti-glare coating on this model as well, which does a fantastic job of keeping glare at bay. You barely see any kind of reflections, even in a brightly lit room with ring lights and lamps pointed directly at the screen, preventing possible distractions in a tournament setting.

I did note that the matte texture makes it prone to smudging and quite hard to clean, though, which might be a little frustrating if you accidentally touch the panel while setting up.

(Image credit: Future)

Like its predecessor, the Inzone M10S 2 is packed with handy esports features like a dedicated 24.5-inch display mode, the ability to set up on-screen timers and crosshairs, or an option to display a frame rate counter to check your performance.

They’re all accessible via the monitor’s options menu, or the easy-to-use Inzone Hub software. The software even lets you import and export your setup, meaning you can take your at-home profile to a competition and access the exact same settings every time.

As this is a Sony product, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that it also has a dedicated PlayStation 5 mode, which is activated automatically when the system is plugged in and optimizes the picture for console play.

It’s all brought together by a market-leading stand. The base included with the original Sony Inzone M10S is one of the best I’ve ever used, with a low-profile disc-shaped base that fits underneath your keyboard, plenty of vertical adjustment, and a full 360 degrees of rotation. The version that comes with the Inzone M10S is even better, benefiting from an additional few degrees of tilt to ensure a comfortable viewing experience no matter how you’re seated.

(Image credit: Future)Sony Inzone M10S 2: Price and availability

• Costs $1,099.99 / £1,199 / roughly AU$2,300
• Same price that the original M10S launched at
• The older model is now cheaper, though

The Sony Inzone M10S 2 is far from cheap, but it’s not really competing with most other gaming monitors. You can easily find capable 4K screens for far less than this price, such as the Gigabyte M32UC, which is going to be a better fit for those seeking to play cinematic games like Horizon Forbidden West or The Last of Us Part 1 on PC or console.

The Inzone M10S 2 is instead positioned as an alternative to models offered by dedicated esports brands such as BenQ Zowie. The Zowie XL2586X+ is a good point of comparison, as it’s very similarly priced at roughly $1,000 / £1,150 / AU$1,799. That model features a 600Hz 1080p TN panel designed for the best possible motion clarity. While technically faster, you lose out on the higher-resolution picture, more vibrant OLED colors, and stylish design of the M10S 2.

If you’re looking at the Inzone M10S 2, then the original Sony Inzone M10S, which is still sold alongside this newer model, is also a viable alternative. The M10S is now easy to find around $900 / £990 / roughly AU$1,600, so it comes in a decent chunk cheaper — though you do lose the spec upgrades.

Sony Inzone M10S 2: Specs

Sony Inzone M10S 2

Price

$1,099.99 / £1,199 / roughly AU$2,300

Panel size

26.5in / 67.3cm

Panel type

OLED

Resolution

2560 x 1440

Brightness

1,500 nit

HDR

HDR10

Pixel response

0.02 ms gray-to-gray

Refresh rate

540Hz (or 720Hz HD)

Sony Inzone M10S 2: Design and features

• Sleek and attractive
• Brilliant included stand
• Wealth of ports

The design of the Sony Inzone M10S 2 hasn’t changed that much from the original M10S — but that’s certainly not a bad thing. This is a sleek and attractive-looking monitor that comes bundled with a fantastic stand. Its base is a low-profile, 4 mm thin metal disk that fits comfortably underneath a keyboard and connects to a robust stand that keeps the monitor impressively stable.

You get the same full 360-degree rotation too, so you can freely show your screen to teammates in a match. The large power button and the thumbstick used to edit settings are still as intuitive and easy to use as before, and it retains smart design features like a power indicator LED that’s set off to the side so that it doesn’t shine in your eyes as you play.

The ports are identical to the original M10S as well: DisplayPort, two HDMI 2.1 ports, an upstream USB Type-C alongside two downstream USB Type-A ports for peripherals, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a single USB Type-A port reserved for software updates (accomplished with a USB stick). Its major software features are also unchanged, so you still get support for Nvidia G-Sync, HDR, and a suite of visual modes including an FPS Pro+ mode developed in collaboration with esports team Fnatic.

This isn’t the best looking aesthetically, but it makes it far easier to see key visual cues like the red dots that indicate rival players in a match of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 or even obscured enemies in Valorant.

In terms of what’s actually new, it’s a subtle distinction but the M10S 2 benefits from a wider -5 to 35 degree tilt range (its predecessor tilted at -5 to 25 degrees), which allows for even more flexibility in your seating position (the monitor also supports a 100 x 100 mm VESA mount, if you would prefer to use a third-party arm).

The Inzone M10S 2 is also coated with a new ‘Super Anti-glare Film’. It’s incredibly effective, and means you can play unimpeded with a literal torch pointed at the display. The matte texture does make it very prone to picking up smudges, though.

FutureFutureSony Inzone M10S 2: Performance

• 540Hz refresh rate is incredibly smooth
• Beautiful, vibrant colors and strong brightness
• Perfect for competitive games

The Sony Inzone M10S 2 looks pretty dim and unimpressive out of the box. The culprit? The power-saving mode is on by default. Once you turn that off and crank the brightness up to about 80%, the vibrant OLED colors are absolutely lush and look gorgeous. The sRGB profile is a good choice if you want color accuracy, and is usually my preference when using monitors, but I found the slightly poppier appearance of the standard preset very appealing.

The enhanced brightness of this model is immediately noticeable compared to the original M10s and, along with the effective anti-glare coating, ensures that the picture remains visible in even harsh lighting conditions like direct sunlight or with the display positioned next to a desk lamp.

In games, the performance is simply perfect. The 540Hz refresh rate is beautifully smooth, and motion is impressively clear. It elevates titles like Counter-Strike 2, where the enhanced smoothness genuinely helps with target tracking. The 0.02ms GtG response time certainly helps everything feel snappy, and sits among the fastest on the market.

(Image credit: Future)

Although my Nvidia RTX 4080 Ti-powered rig didn’t break a sweat achieving a stable 540fps frame rate at 1440p, you can comfortably lower the resolution to 1080p and maintain a decent level of picture quality — especially in the dedicated 23.5-inch display mode. Things feel even better if you take advantage of the dual-mode feature and crank it up even further to 720Hz at 720p, though this does come at a noticeable cost to picture quality.

Competitive first-person shooter titles are what this monitor was made for, but that doesn’t mean that it delivers poor performance in other genres. The grim world of Warhammer: 40,000 Space Marine 2 looked absolutely gorgeous with expressive colors and strong contrast, while Forza Horizon 6 benefitted hugely from the smoothness of VRR.

Even if I wouldn’t recommend buying the Inzone M10S 2 exclusively to play those kinds of games when cheaper 4K options are available, it’s good to know that you will still be able to enjoy a wide range of titles if you’re an aspiring esports player who picks one up for both practice sessions and home use.

Should you buy the Sony Inzone M10S 2?Buy it if...

You need the best esports performance
The Sony Inzone M10S 2 is perfect for competitive play thanks to its smooth 540Hz refresh, excellent motion clarity, and suite of tournament-ready software features.

You want a versatile display as well
When you’re not practicing for your next tournament, the Sony Inzone M10S 2 is still a capable display with vibrant OLED colors that benefit a wide range of genres.

You’re after top-tier design
Although the design of the Sony Inzone M10S 2 is almost identical to its predecessor, that’s not a bad thing. Its stand is still one of the best on the market

Don't buy it if...

You’re not serious about competitive play
When you’re spending this amount of money on a display, you need to be serious about competitive play. Otherwise, there are cheaper 4K options available that are better suited to general use.

Also consider

Here’s how the Sony Inzone M10S 2 stacks up against the original model, plus a 4K alternative for those that want something for more general use.

Sony Inzone M10S 2

Sony Inzone M10S

Gigabyte M32UC

Price

$1,099.99 / £1,199 / roughly AU$2,300

~$900 / £990 / around AU$1,900

$799 / £681 / around AU$1,500

Panel size

26.5in / 67.3cm

26.5in / 67.3cm

32in / 81.3cm

Panel type

OLED

OLED

LCD

Resolution

2560 x 1440

2560 x 1440

3840 x 2160

Brightness

1,500 nit

1300 nit

350 nits

HDR

HDR True Black 400

HDR True Black 400

HDR True Black 400

Pixel response

0.02 ms gray-to-gray

0.03ms gray-to-gray

1 ms

Refresh rate

540Hz (or 720Hz HD)

480Hz

144Hz

Sony Inzone M10S
The original Sony Inzone M10S is now available for a bit cheaper than the M10S 2. You lose a few key upgrades, but it’s worth considering if you want to spend a little less on an otherwise capable esports display.

Read our full Sony Inzone M10S review

Gigabyte M32UC
The Gigabyte M32UC is the monitor I point to when I recommend something for general use. It’s 4K at 144Hz and perfect for PS5 and PC. It’s not a good fit for esports, but it’s much cheaper than the Inzone M10S 2.

Read our full Gigabyte M32UC review

How I tested the Sony Inzone M10S 2

• Tested for over two weeks
• Used as primary display
• Evaluated with a wide range of games

I tested the Sony Inzone M10S for more than two weeks, using it as my primary monitor for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. Throughout my time with it, I tested a wide range of titles, ranging from esports favorites Counter-Strike 2, Rocket League, Fortnite, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege to popular shooters such as Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

I also tried a selection of more traditional games, such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Stellar Blade, to elevate its more general performance. During my time with the monitor, I endeavored to test each of its available features using both the built-in settings options and the compatible Inzone Hub software.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2026

Chuwi UniBook: 30-second review

The Chuwi UniBook is a 14-inch Windows laptop built around Intel's newly launched Core 3 304 processor, part of the Wildcat Lake family and the first Series 3 chip to appear in a laptop at this price. It weighs a claimed 1.2 kg, comes housed in an anodised aluminium chassis, and pairs a 16:10 IPS display with 8GB of memory and a 256GB SSD.

Positioning this model directly against Apple's MacBook Neo, undercutting it by around $250 while offering a larger screen, the same memory and storage as the base Neo configuration, and a far wider set of ports. Early benchmarks of the Core 3 304 from other devices suggest genuinely strong single-core performance for a chip this cheap, which makes the UniBook one of the more interesting budget launches of the year on paper.

The critical caveat is that macOS runs reasonably well with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, where Windows 11 is a singularly less spectacular experience.

While you can upgrade the storage to any Gen 3 or 4 NVMe 2280 drive, the amount of RAM isn’t able to be expanded.

Price is therefore the trade-off, which means the UniBook isn’t ideal for substantial tasks, even if it's acceptable for light work. One side benefit of not being especially powerful is that the battery will last easily more than a working day, and it might even stretch to two.

From a value perspective, the Chuwi UniBook looks like an excellent deal, but the specification precludes it from being one of the best business laptops.

Chuwi UniBook: Price and availability

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• How much does it cost? From $450
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from Chuwiretailers

Chuwi initially opened pre-orders for the UniBook at $449 US dollars, positioning it as the cheapest laptop yet built around Intel's Wildcat Lake platform. At the time of writing, using the Global Chuwi store, it's priced at $449 for US customers, £335 for the UK and €449 for Europeans.

Given that this is a fully functional laptop with RAM and storage, and new processor technology, that price seems remarkably good.

However, there is only a single SKU that offers one processor, the Intel Core 3 304, 8GB of RAM (not upgradable) and only 256GB of storage.

I’m only aware of two other laptop makers with products built around this platform. They would be HP with the OmniBook 3 AI 14" Laptop and Lenovo’s ThinkPad E16 Gen 4.

The HP is available in the UK through Currys for £799, for a model with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

The version of the ThinkPad E16 Gen 4 that uses the Intel Core 3 304 costs £954.60 in the UK direct from Lenovo, but does come with 16GB of RAM and Wi-Fi 6E. At the time of writing, both these models have yet to be launched in the US.

The UK pricing we have strongly hints that Chuwi's pricing is remarkably competitive, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were raised in the coming months.

It will be interesting to see how other brands price hardware based on this platform.

For those wondering, Apple's MacBook Neo sells for £699 in the UK and $699 in the USA, for a machine with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, without a charger.

• Value: 4.5 / 5

Chuwi UniBook: Specs

Laptop:

Chuwi UniBook

CPU:

Intel Core 3 Processor 304, Series 3 Wildcat Lake (5 Cores, 5 Threads, up to 4.3 GHz, Intel 18A process)

GPU:

Intel Graphics, Xe3 architecture, up to 2.3 GHz, 9 TOPS

NPU:

Intel NPU 5, 15 TOPS

RAM:

8GB LPDDR5, 6400 MT/s not upgradable

Storage:

256GB PCIe 3.0 SSD, single M.2 2280 slot rated up to PCIe 4.0 x4

Screen:

14.0-inch IPS, 1920 x 1200 (16:10)

Ports:

2x USB C (5 Gbps, PD, 4K@60Hz video), 2x USB A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB A 2.0, 1x HDMI 1.4b (4K@30Hz), 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x TF card slot, 1x 3.5mm audio

Camera:

720p webcam with physical privacy shutter

Networking:

Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2

Dimensions:

314.5 x 221 x 16.4 mm

Weight:

1240g

OS:

Windows 11 Pro, pre-installed

Battery:

53.38Wh Lithium Polymer

Power supply:

65W USB-C PD charger

Chuwi UniBook: Design

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• Anodised aluminium alloy chassis
• Lightweight and thin
• Lots of ports

The chassis on the UniBook is made from anodised aluminium alloy, and Chuwi quotes a weight of approximately 1.2 kg and a thickness of 16.4 mm. Those figures put the UniBook among the lighter 14-inch Windows laptops at this price, assuming they hold up on a scale. The hinge opens to 180 degrees, and the marketing page states an 88% screen-to-body ratio thanks to narrow bezels around the 16:10 panel.

The specification lists two full-function USB-C ports, two USB-A 3.2 ports, one USB-A 2.0 port, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, a TF card slot, and a 3.5mm jack, which, on paper, is a generous selection for a budget machine. What’s odd, when I think about it, is that more expensive laptops tend to have fewer ports, forcing the owners to consider using docking stations to add those connections.

The inclusion of a LAN port is a definite advantage, especially in that awkward new Windows PC phase where Microsoft attempts to download all of human knowledge in the full knowledge that it needs almost none of it.

The USB-C and two USB-A ports are only 5Gbs, which is slightly disappointing not to have one that is 10Gbps, but there is HDMI out and a MicroSD card reader.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The keyboard is full-size and has two-level backlighting. It’s not ideal for creating dissertations, but for small input jobs it’s fine. The provided review hardware was a US layout, which I assume is the one most buyers will get.

Since I know how the UK layout maps to the US one, this wasn’t a huge problem for me, except that this keyboard annoyingly doesn’t have a PrtScn key. That made screen capture slightly more convoluted.

As trackpads go, this one is on the smaller side, measuring approximately 120 mm by 70 mm, and it uses the flexible-click methodology.

Overall, considering the low cost of this device, its construction is much better than I’d anticipated. The use of metal skins and a simple but effective style works well. What it lacks is a fingerprint sensor or a Windows Hello camera. But with so many USB ports, it could easily use a security fob if you want to add extra protection.

However, given the specifications and price, I see this device being more oriented towards education than business, and I have some thoughts on its suitability for that in the next section.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• Design: 4 / 5

Chuwi UniBook: Hardware

• Wildcat Lake Intel Core 3 304
• NPU and GPU short of Copilot Plus certification
• 8GB of RAM can’t be upgraded

Wildcat Lake is Intel's answer to a question that has irked it for years. How do you bring modern chip design to the cheapest laptops without pricing them out of the market they serve? The family was announced quietly at CES 2026 alongside the much bigger Panther Lake launch, and its job is to replace the ageing Alder Lake N and Twin Lake chips that have powered budget laptops, mini PCs and Chromebooks since 2023.

Where those older chips relied on Gracemont efficiency cores alone, Wildcat Lake borrows directly from Panther Lake's playbook. It pairs Cougar Cove performance cores with Darkmont low-power efficiency cores, adds Xe3 graphics and an NPU 5 neural engine, and builds the whole thing on Intel's 18A process.

In effect, Intel has taken its flagship architecture and squeezed a scaled-down version of it into a chip built for machines costing a few hundred dollars rather than a few thousand.

Well, that’s the promise, and on paper it sounds perfect for the budget consumer. Modern architecture at 18A should bring a genuine efficiency jump over the older Intel 7 process used by the N-series chips, and early single-core benchmarks on Wildcat Lake devices back that up, with some results landing close to flagship phone silicon. For a family aimed squarely at browsing, office work and video calls, single-core strength matters more than raw multi-core muscle ever would.

However, in the time-honoured Intel tradition of grasping potential defeat from the jaws of victory, this series has become more about what Intel chose to cut.

Wildcat Lake uses a simpler organic substrate and flip chip packaging rather than the advanced packaging found on Panther Lake, which keeps costs down but limits how far the platform can scale. Core counts are modest across the board, topping out at six, and GPU configurations are similarly trimmed.

None of that is a flaw exactly, since this was never meant to compete with premium silicon, but it does mean the ceiling was made low by design.

The Core 3 304 sits right at the bottom of that stack. It carries five cores across five threads, just one Cougar Cove performance core paired with four Darkmont low-power efficiency cores, and turbo clocks reaching 4.3GHz. That single performance core is notably light even by Wildcat Lake standards, since every other chip in the family carries two. Graphics come from a single Xe3 core rated at 9 TOPS, alongside an NPU rated at 15 TOPS.

What it lacks is just as telling. There is no second performance core to lean on for heavier multitasking, no multi-core Xe3 graphics block, and no ray tracing.

Combined NPU and GPU output falls well short of Microsoft's 40 TOPS Copilot Plus threshold. The dedicated NPU is rated at 15 TOPS Int8. Combined with the GPU's 9 TOPS, that gives a platform total of 24 TOPS. Microsoft's Copilot Plus certification requires 40 TOPS from the NPU alone, so despite Chuwi's AI Laptop branding, the UniBook does not qualify and will not run Copilot Plus-specific features.

Memory is 8GB of LPDDR5 running at 6400 MT/s, a healthy speed for this class of chip even if the capacity is modest. Is it enough for Windows 11?

The fact is that when you fire up the machine with the default installation, 6.3 GB of RAM has already been eaten before the first app is launched. Launch a browser and open 10 webpages; the system starts paging, and things get jerky from that point onwards. Where it really struggles is multitasking, since there is only a single performance core, alongside the four efficiency cores.

There may be ways to reduce Windows 11's memory usage, and you’ll need to use them all if you intend to run multiple apps and not find yourself waiting on this system. In times long gone, you would open the laptop, find the 8GB SODIMM, and replace it with a larger one, but that’s not possible with this design.

The very week I wrote this review, Microsoft threw a few of its disposable developers at members of the press to talk about changes they intend to make Windows 11 work better with less memory. Technically, the minimum memory requirement is 4GB, but Microsoft have focused apparently on improving the 8GB experience. While these updates are not yet launched, and when they will be is unclear, these are clearly driven by the catastrophic price hikes in RAM cost.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

I need to point out that Windows 11 launched in 2021; therefore, for five years, Microsoft sat on its overly profit-padded backside, ignoring users who complained that their operating system wasn’t an efficient user of memory.

But a few PC makers whine that they need to reduce the RAM complement to 8GB from 16GB on some of their lines, and those in Redmond leap into action? The poor optics of these announcements won’t surprise many.

It’s also interesting to note that this machine was built to compete with Apple's MacBook Neo, and that comes with the same 8GB+256GB entry-level profile, but nobody is complaining that it doesn’t work smoothly with macOS.

This would be less of an issue for laptops in general if the makers all hadn’t chosen to make memory non-upgradable. A choice they made, not the people buying them.

The only upgrades available here are the M.2 Wi-Fi adapter and storage, and getting to them is relatively easy if you remove the 11 screws that hold the underside in place.

If anyone is reading this and has this system, just be aware that 8 of the screws are short and three are long, and getting them mixed up could have dire consequences when you reassemble the system.

There is only one M.2 2280 for storage, so you will need a USB caddy to do a drive cloning, and there isn’t room for a drive with a heatsink inside.

One major disappointment I noticed is that the pre-installed drive is only PCIe 3.0 x4, where the slot is rated for PCIe 4.0 x4. And, as the drive is only 256GB, finding a 500GB or 1TB replacement drive that’s PCIe 4.0 would be a good upgrade.

Overall, this system is cut to the bone in some critical areas, specifically RAM, making it less than ideal for those who like to load multiple apps and multitask between them.

It needed those Microsoft efficiency upgrades yesterday, or it's likely to be a contributing factor in the switch to Linux for those owning this hardware.

• Hardware: 3.5 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Chuwi UniBook: Performance

Laptops

Chuwi UniBook

Chuwi CoreBook X 7430U

CPU

Intel Core 3 304

AMD Ryzen 5 7430U

Cores/Threads

5C 6T

6C 12T

TPD

15W

15W

RAM

8GB LPDDR5

16GB DDR4 (1x 16GB)

SSD

HOGE H750L 256GB

512GB Wodposit WPBSNM8

Graphics

Intel UHD Graphics (Gen 12.2)

AMD Radeon Graphics

NPU

Intel NPU (15 TOPS)

N/A

3DMark

WildLife

5,198

4,581

FireStrike

1796

2085

TimeSpy

830

836

Steel Nomad.L

590

716

CineBench24

Single

N/A

63

Multi

N/A

254

Ratio

N/A

4.05

GeekBench 6

Single

1962

1442

Multi

5338

4848

OpenCL

6006

11015

Vulkan

7304

10122

CrystalDIsk

Read MB/s

2315

3588

Write MB/s

2087

1852

PCMark 10

Office

4351

4676

Battery

20h 26m

9h 30m

Battery

Whr

55.38

46.2

PSU

65W

65W

WEI

Score

8.1

6.6

It was difficult for me to find laptops I’ve reviewed that would make a suitable comparison, since most of them use much more powerful chips than the one in the UniBook.

In the end, I found that the results for the Chuwi CoreBook X 7430U are reasonably comparable, especially with respect to GPU performance. However, one massive advantage that the CoreBook X 7430U had was 16GB of RAM, even if it was DDR4. That allows it to share more with the GPU, which is why the scores for that hardware improve as the graphics challenges increase.

One unexpected casualty of the 8GB memory capacity was the CineBench24 benchmark, which failed to run due to the amount of RAM allocated to the Intel UHD Graphics (Gen 12.2) GPU.

Another disappointing result is the NVMe drive's speed. But this is exactly what happens when you use a cheap Gen 3 drive in a Gen 4 slot. The battery performance is thankfully a more positive story.

Chuwi's own promotional material quotes up to 13 hours of 1080p video playback from the 53.38Wh battery, tested at 50% brightness and volume with Wi-Fi on, Bluetooth off, and Best Efficiency Mode engaged.

However, you can use this machine with the screen much less bright, and in my testing, it lasted over 20 hours at full capacity on its 55.38Wh battery. Easily the best result of these tests.

That’s a couple of busy days at least, or one dawn-till-dusk exercise. That capacity can be replaced on the provided 65W charger in a little over 2 hours, enabling a quarter of the capacity to be recovered in just 30 minutes.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The screen performance levels that Chuwi quotes are 100% sRGB and 300-nit peak brightness. While the 300nit value is reasonably accurate, the colour gamut of the screen on the supplied UniBook sample came nowhere near 100% sRGB. It managed just 63% of sRGB, 43% of AdobeRGB and 34% of Rec2020.

Gamut is certainly a weakness, but contrast, uniformity (brightness and colour) and tone response are all decent. My conclusion was that this isn’t a bad screen, unless you are specifically looking for colour accuracy.

Those looking for a performance laptop won’t be interested in this hardware, which is nailed down by a processor with only five cores and only 8GB of RAM running on a PCIe 3.0 SSD.

When using this system, keep your expectations low, and keep the number of web pages open small.

I was almost tempted to put a PCIe 4.0 SSD drive in the review unit, and put a modern Linux distro on it to see how much better the experience might be, but time was against me.

In short, this system is cheap for a reason, and even with Intel’s new silicon, the performance is undermined on numerous other fronts.

• Performance: 3 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Chuwi UniBook: Final verdict

UniBook is a genuinely interesting proposition on paper. It is the first widely available laptop built around Intel's new Wildcat Lake platform; it undercuts Apple's MacBook Neo on price while offering more ports and a bigger screen, and early third-party benchmarks of the Core 3 304 hinted at unusually strong single-core performance for the money.

However, a Windows 11 system with 8GB of RAM that can’t be upgraded and a storage drive that undersells the socket it sits in combine to undermine what could be a much more useful system than it ultimately is. The overselling of its AI capability doesn’t help either.

What is good about this system is the excellent battery life and the wide number of ports, even if the best it can offer is USB 3.2 Gen 1.

None of that rules the UniBook out. It simply means the value case pivots on the purchaser's use case, and it needs to be modest. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend this to a student, as they’ll discover its limitations on the first day of use.

Should you buy a Chuwi UniBook?

Value

Competitively priced for the specification

4.5/5

Design

Lightweight chassis with plenty of ports

4/5

Hardware

New Intel Wildcat Lake platform but only 8GB of RAM

3.5/5

Performance

Only suitable for light tasks due to Windows 11

3/5

Overall

Inexpensive hardware suitable only for light tasks

4/5

Buy it if...

You need a low cost Windows 11 machine
The best aspect of the UniBook is its price; considering the build quality and screen size, it looks like a bargain. However, there is no ‘free lunch’ with this machine, and it does have some limitations that mean it's only useful for light tasks.

You expect all-day battery life
In a continuous test, the UniBook lasted over twenty hours, and that’s with the screen brightness turned down somewhat. Even the makers quote more than thirteen hours of continuous video playback, making it suitable for a long journey.

Don't buy it if...

You need multiple apps open
With only 8GB of RAM, most of which Windows 11 has already earmarked, running multiple apps or those with high demands isn’t practical on this hardware.

You use external SSDs
The lack of a Gen 2 USB port means the fastest file transfers from the Chuwi UniBook can achieve are capped at 500mb/s. Using 1,000mb/s rated external SSDs or even faster options won’t operate to their full potential.

If the clue is in the name, it's not hard to clock who the BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U is aimed at. This is a very well specified 27-inch 4K IPS monitor that's been carefully optimised for creative workflows while hitting an accessible price point.

For sure, there are still much cheaper 27-inch 4K monitors. But not with the suite of connectivity and colour management features offered here.

On the connectivity side, that includes Thunderbolt 4, an integrated KVM switch and display daisy chaining support. If anything, however, the features for creative workflows are even more comprehensive.

That starts with excellent colour coverage given the price point and extends to factory calibration and hardware calibration support, Pantone Validation, Calman certification, specific support for MacOS devices and more. There are also some neat extras, including a wireless control puck that makes it as quick and easy as possible to switch between colour modes and inputs.

The one obvious feature omission is true HDR capability. There is HDR10 support. But without local dimming hardware, the actual HDR performance is very limited. But then this monitor is not intended to replace an HDR reference monitor, which is a very different market with monitors costing upwards of 10 times the price.

On paper, then, the BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U looks set to take its place as the affordable display of choice for creative pros among the best photo editing monitors we've tested. But does it actually deliver?

BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U: Design and featuresFutureFutureFuture

• Slick design
• Excellent connectivity
• Creator-centric feature set

Specs

Panel size: 27-inch

Panel type: IPS

Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160

Brightness: 400 nits

Contrast: 1,000:1 (static)

Pixel response: 5ms

Refresh rate: 60Hz

Color coverage: 99% DCI-P3, 99% Adobe RGB

HDR: HDR10

VESA: 100mm x 100mm

Connectivity: HDMI 2.0 x1, DisplayPort 1.4 x1, Thunderbolt 4 x2 with 90W PD and daisy chaining, USB hub with USB-C x1 and USB-A x3

The BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U looks familiar and that's no bad thing. It sports BenQ's premium design ethic of the last few years and it remains a cut above much of the competition in terms of both visual appeal and overall build quality.

The part metal construction and gun metal colorway is certainly more appealing than the often creaky feeling and anonymous black plastic of much of the monitor market, that's for sure. OK, Apple's displays including the latest Studio Display XDR, feel quite a bit better built still. But then they're much more expensive, too.

If styling is ultimately a subjective call, what can't be objectively denied is the BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U's excellent all-round feature set that's been fully optimised for creative professionals.

First up, there's good color coverage, including 99% of both DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB. Those figures are better than you'll find on cheaper 4K IPS monitors, which tend to be around the 95% to 97% range. The PD2732U also comes factory calibrated with sub-2 DeltaE across the board and further supports hardware calibration.

(Image credit: Future)

What's more, it's Pantone Validated, Pantone SkinTone Validated, and has Calman Verified certification. When you factor in the wide Adobe RGB coverage, this monitor is particularly well suited to digital-to-print workflows and photography, including SDR color grading.

It's also well specified for SDR video workflows, though with a peak brightness of 400 nits and no local dimming, it's far less optimised for HDR content, albeit with HDR10 and HLG support, it can at least accept an HDR signal.

Connectivity is another major part of the PD2732U's appeal, starting with a main Thunderbolt 4 interface and 90 W of power delivery. That's supported by a Thunderbolt out port, allowing for display daisy chaining and dual-monitor setups via a single cable. Incidentally, all of the primary connectors hook up perpendicularly on the rear as opposed to up from the bottom, which is generally a plus in terms of ease of use and access.

There's also Smart KVM, allowing you to use a single keyboard and mouse with two computing devices, handy if you regularly switch between, say, a Mac and PC. Speaking of Apple Macs, BenQ has included its M-Book color space mode, which BenQ says, "minimises the visual differences between the monitor and the connected MacBook series product."

Exactly how it differs from the P3 mode which BenQ also includes and aligns with the default P3 operation of MacOS isn't clear. But the results are good, all the same. With M-Book mode enabled, this display is an excellent visual match for MacBook displays.

Rounding out the main features both physically and figuratively is the BenQ Hotkey Puck. It's basically a wireless controller that simplifies settings access via shortcut functionality. It offers three customisable keys for quick access to Color Mode, Input, KVM, or app launch. It also has a rotary dial for precise control over brightness, contrast, and volume.

BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U: PerformanceFutureFutureFuture

• Good color coverage
• Nicely calibrated
• Limited SDR brightness

If you want a really succinct summary of the BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U's performance, what you're looking at is a 27-inch 4K IPS monitor with some added color coverage and capability.

Out of the box, it's very nicely calibrated, both in sRGB mode on PC or in M-Book mode with a Mac. In both cases, color rendering is accurate and pleasing. The one potential snag is brightness in SDR mode.

For most serious professional SDR content creation workflows, this is not going to be a problem. You'll likely be targeting a brightness level well below 200 nits, which this display will easily achieve. But it won't do the full 400 nits in any of its SDR modes.

If anything, what the capped SDR brightness does is underline that this monitor isn't an ideal choice for generic computing remits, where you might want a bit more day-to-day pop. You can pay less and get more in that regard from what you might call a standard 27-inch 4K monitor.

That said, you can see the full capability, in brightness terms, of the PD2732U in HDR mode. Indeed, if you then crank up the brightness of SDR content in either the MacOS or Windows display settings, the result is actually nicely calibrated SDR colors and plenty of visual punch. But that's ultimately something of an aside given that this monitor lacks local dimming and has very limited actual HDR capability.

It's also worth noting that the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz. Again, for the content creation remit, this is not a technical limitation. It's just that if you are used to 120Hz-plus displays, 60Hz doesn't feel terribly slick or responsive. It's a day-to-day feel issue rather than being relevant to the vast majority of content workflows.

Of course, as a 27-inch 4K monitor, you also get decent pixel density and thus good image detail and crisp text rendering. The pixel density of around 160DPI isn't up to full Apple Retina display standards, which would require something above 200DPI and a native resolution of 5K on this display size. But it's still pretty sharp.

BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U: Final verdictFutureFutureFuture

The BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U is either very sharply priced or not great value depending on what you're looking for. As a general computing display it's both pretty expensive and slightly flawed.

You can get far cheaper 27-inch 4K IPS monitors than this. Indeed, you can have one with 144Hz refresh for under half the price. What you won't get for less money, or arguably even the same price as the PD2732U's $699 / £649 asking, is anything like the same feature set for content creation.

The combination of excellent color coverage, various validation standards, and good factory calibration makes this an excellent choice for a sensible-money monitor for SDR content creation of pretty much any kind.

Sure, it's arguably still more of a prosumer display than, say, a true professional class grading monitor. But even in a really demanding professional context, it wouldn't be at all shabby, which is impressive for the price.

Then factor in some neat touches, like the wireless control puck, and excellent connectivity and you have a recipe for one of the most compelling content creation monitors currently available at an affordable price point. That's very much the remit BenQ was aiming for and fair to say the company has nailed it.

FutureFutureFuture

For more displays, we've tested the best business monitors and the best monitors for video editing.

Looking after your photos, cataloguing them, colour correcting them, improving them and all round preserving them is a job onto itself, and you need an excellent application to sort all of this for you, and more.

Thankfully, there are a host of options for you to choose from out there, which creates a whole other problem onto its own: which one should you choose? I’ve looked at a few in the past, but now, it’s time to explore Zoner Studio.

It's effectively a Windows-only take on both Photoshop and Lightroom. An entry-level or intermediate photo editor and organizer that stacks up as one of the best Adobe Photoshop alternatives for those new to this type of software.

Zoner Studio: Pricing & plans

• 7-day free trial with no card details
• Fairly priced subscription plans
• Windows-only

You can check out Zoner Studio by clicking here.

First, system requirements. Zoner Studio is a Windows-only program, compatible with Windows 10 and 11, requiring a 64-bit Intel or AMD processor and at least 8GB of RAM, among other specs. Mac and Linux users, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to look for alternatives.

Like most in the creative software space, it has subscription-based pricing, costing $5.99 a month or $59 a year for the Individual Plan. You can also grab a Family Plan license for $9.98 a month or $98 a year.

The website states “everyone in the household”, and since the cost of living means our kids can no longer afford to move out, that Family Plan looks like a pretty good deal.

Compare this with ACDSee’s Photo Studio Ultimate which I reviewed recently, which costs $89 a year for a single licence, or even better, Adobe’s Lightroom, which you can rent for $144 a year, and even Zoner’s individual licence looks very attractive.

Your Zoner subscription guarantees new features twice a year, the ability to order 15 photo prints for free annually, and 20GB of online storage. These last two apply to each member of your Family Plan.

All this sounds good, and there’s a sweetener for those who aren’t sure if they’d want to commit to yet another subscription: you can download the full version, use it for free for 7 days. There isn’t even a need to give Zoner any payment details (so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to cancel an agreement you never wanted to make in the first place, and the company starts charging you regardless).

Zoner Studio: Interface

(Image credit: Future)

• Remarkably clean interface
• Crammed with features
• ‘Catalog’ import option is great for RAW users but can be slow

Minimum requirements

Operating system: Windows 10 or Windows 11 64-bit

Processor: Intel or AMD CPU 64-bit with SSE 4.2 support

RAM: 8GB

Storage space: 2GB

Screen resolution: 1280 × 800

If you compare Zoner Studio with some of its competition, like ACDSee’s Photo Studio Ultimate, despite having a similar set of features, Zoner’s interface feels more spacious in the same screen real estate.

Top right, you’ve got a menu for you to access the app’s various modules, you have sidebars on either side of the screen, one to browse through your portfolio of images, be they online or on local physical drives, while the other is your contextual inspector window. The centre of the interface is reserved for your shots.

Each module is dedicated to a specific function: Manage is where you organize and catalog your shots, Develop is for the usual color correction and overall fixing of an image, Editor is for more Photoshop-like alterations, allowing you to work with multiple layers, add text and such like, Print is where you create and have published books, individual prints and other, and Video is to turn your shots or your clips into short video projects.

(Image credit: Future)

As you can see, it’s full-featured, and yet I never felt lost navigating it. All the tools I needed were be easily found. If you do get lost, hover over any tool icon and a large tooltip will appear, offering detailed information about it, with some having a link to an article for a more detailed description. Zoner also has a wealth of tutorials on YouTube.

One thing worth mentioning is ‘Catalog’. Zoner offers two ways to browse through and work with footage: either directly, wherever they are currently stored, or by bringing a copy into its ‘Catalog’. Said ‘Catalog’ is always at the top of the left sidebar. The difference between these two options truly shines when you’re working in RAW.

Once in the ‘Catalog’, these RAW images are processed in a way that makes them accessible much faster, speeding up workflows immensely. That said, it can take a while for them to be ready when you import them into that ‘Catalog’, and the developers do suggest you grab a coffee or go out for a walk while your PC does the necessary computations. I haven’t noticed any speed difference when working with JPGs.

Zoner Studio: Tools

(Image credit: Future)

• Massive amount of tools, all well arranged, easy to find and use
• Work with layers, order books, create video projects

Such a rich app is hard to describe in a limited amount of space, so allow me to tell you how using the software felt instead, and I’ll also chat to you about some of the features which took me pleasantly by surprise.

All the tools you’d expect to make the alterations you need to a photograph are there, present and correct, from the basic, like straightening an image, to doing standard color correction. You’ll also find some more advanced options for greater precision, including specific AI-based selections, enabling you to work on just part of a shot.

I really liked the advanced ‘color Shift’ tool, which allows you to select a range of color and alter it using a very easy to use and alter color wheel.

This isn’t the first time I encountered Photoshop-like editing options in such a software package, but I increasingly like the idea. You no longer need two apps to manage your collection, and can do it all from one.

Granted you won’t get as many tools as you’d expect from dedicated image compositing software, but if your needs aren’t intricate, you will likely feel quite satisfied by what’s on offer with Zoner.

As for being able to design and order Books, Calendars, Prints and even Magnets and more, that’s a welcome inclusion. Yes, Adobe Lightroom offers something similar, but Zoner has gone into much greater detail here.

(Image credit: Future)

For instance, creating a book offers you 5 different hardcover sizes, you can change the number of pages, choose a format for any text you might wish to apply, you get to see how much the book will cost you upfront, and add it to your cart once you’re ready. Incredibly easy and satisfying.

And finally we have Video, which is an unexpected option for an image editor, but at the same time, why wouldn’t you want to turn your stills into a short animated video complete with background music, keyframe effects and cool transitions?

As a video editor by trade, I wasn’t expecting much, and yet, clips snap to each other making building an edit a breeze, the transitions are impressive looking and easy to add, you can work with multiple layers, and the shortcuts above the playhead (in a blue box) are actually more useful than they look.

You can also add video clips - obviously - and although the default size for any new project is HD, you can work in anything from the tiny 620x480 up to 4K. The only downside I could find was the overly small timeline, making it tricky if you work on a longish project.

Should I buy Zoner Studio?

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

You’re new to photo editing and organization, and you want a versatile, highly capable image cataloguing and editing software with more features than you can shake a stick at, and appreciate its affordable subscription price.

Don't buy it if...

You don’t have a Windows PC, your image editing needs are too light for such a powerful and versatile piece of software, you don’t like subscriptions, or you’re too wedded to the Adobe hegemony.

FutureFutureFutureFuture

Garmin Cirqa: One minute review

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve spent a week with the Garmin Cirqa screenless fitness tracker, wearing it constantly during sleep, exercise and rest to determine how comfortable it is in everyday life, and measuring it against an electrical heart rate monitor and other wearables to determine accuracy.

After all my testing, I can confirm the Whoop and Google Fitbit Air have got serious competition. While some people will still want the AI-powered coaching from Whoop and Google Health, and others will want the screen-based interaction and notification features available on the best smartwatches, most users looking for a simple but high-quality screenless fitness tracker will be just fine getting the Cirqa.

If you’re reading this review wondering how it compares to the likes of the Whoop MG and the Google Fitbit Air, you’ll already know what to expect from the design: a fabric band that stretches over the fitness tracker’s plastic puck to create a solid-color screenless wearable. The idea is that you can use it for working out, sleeping, rest and work, get accurate metrics all day, and not glance at it all the time or be distracted by notifications on your wrist.

Where it differs is in the design specifics. It’s quite a large fitness tracker, sitting more obviously on the wrist compared to its rivals, and thus people with very small wrists might want to try it before they commit. However, I like the design overall, especially the inclusion of an actual button on the side of the device. This button is used to start a workout, signified by a strong vibration, and stop a workout, at which point it vibrates again. You can also use it to turn off its vibrating smart-wake alarm. It’s so much easier than tapping the Whoop’s puck, and provides certainty and security when tracking an activity, so you're not just hoping the device picks it up. It’s the perfect level of minimalist interaction for a tracker like this.

I generally found it accurate over my testing period, apart from a single outlier workout in which the heart rate sensor showed a 10BPM difference compared to my electrical heart rate monitor, the Polar H10 — my accuracy benchmark. The other workouts I recorded were within 1-2bpm of accuracy, and Garmin Connect correctly showed my wake-up times when recording sleep.

I found myself enjoying running more than I have in months by ‘vibe running’: ditching my watch with its pace and heart rate metrics updating me every kilometer and allowing the Cirqa to track in the background, leaving me to focus on my form, the trees, my music and my thoughts. It’s no good for specific training for timed runs, new courses, intervals and the like due to the lack of on-wrist information, but for wellness tracking, it works nicely.

It’s going to be a real boon for cyclists using Garmin’s Edge series of cycling computers. Many of the best Garmin watches double-up on the cycling computer's GPS features, so the Cirqa allows cyclists to add wellness metrics without a more expensive watch.

Watch our video review of the Garmin Cirqa here:Garmin Cirqa review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Garmin)

• $199.99 in the US
• £179.99 in the UK
• AU$299.99 in the AU

The Garmin Cirqa fitness tracker costs $199.99 in the US, £179.99 in the UK and AU$299.99 in Australia. There’s no subscription fee — at least, no mandatory one — but Garmin Coach features are locked behind the Garmin Connect+ paywall in the app, which costs an extra $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$12 per month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$120 annually. A bicep band for the Cirqa comes at an added extra too.

You can get along just fine without the subscription, if you don’t want the coaching features. Live heart rate broadcasting was also originally locked behind this paywall, but Garmin rolled that back after an outcry. The free tier of Connect is an excellent training aid, and isn’t as stripped-back as the free tier of the Google Health app you use with the Google Fitbit Air. However, the Cirqa is also twice the price of Fitbit, so this is reflected in the price, and Connect (being Garmin’s app for all its devices) lists some stats you don’t get access to via the Cirqa if you dig a little deeper, leading to some annoying friction moments.

However, for most people, it’s better value than Whoop, which requires an annual subscription starting at £169 / $199 / AU$299 and going up from there. With Whoop, you never actually own either the device or the data you collect, merely rent it. With two years of the cheapest Whoop subscription, you could also buy a cheap Garmin running watch like the Garmin Forerunner 165 as well as a Cirqa and alternate between the two of them for many years.

While serious athletes such as CrossFit and Hyrox enthusiasts will want Whoop’s vast swathes of unique metrics such as the Strain score and AI-powered workout building features, the Cirqa’s subscription-free tier is much more affordable and better value for most, despite the relatively high price of the tracker itself compared to some of Garmin's more feature-rich running watches.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Choice of four colors
• Screenless form factor
• Tactile button

The Garmin Cirqa is a simple design. A fabric band with four color options — Mauve, French Grey, Captain Blue and Black — wraps around a plastic puck with Garmin’s Elevate V4 heart rate sensor array. The puck is slightly curved to mimic the wrist’s shape, and as previously mentioned, it includes a ridged button on the side to start and stop workouts.

The design is very simple, and the button is the only way to interact with the puck. It’s very comfortable to wear, weighing only 21g, and light enough and comfortable enough that I often forgot I was wearing it during the week. That made wearing it for sleep and exercise a frictionless experience, and the band is soft to the touch.

It’s quite large for a ‘discreet’ band due to the size of Garmin’s Elevate V4 sensor, but not uncomfortable — at least, for my wrists. Those with very thin wrists may struggle, but I was told the more up-to-date Elevate V5 sensor would have made the puck even bigger.

I’ve always been a fan of the Garmin Connect app, and its design is really comprehensive. It can be difficult to navigate at first due to the breadth of information on offer, meaning some stats and features get lost in the mix, but once you’re used to it, it’s easy to access a lot of detail along with community features such as challenges.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Deliberately hardware feature-light
• Plenty of detailed metrics
• Not as many as a full Garmin watch, or Whoop

There are very few interactive features on the Garmin Cirqa puck; you can start and stop workouts, or stop an alarm, but that’s more or less it. However, the information the Cirqa collects and shows you in the app aren't lacking in detail.

The Garmin Cirqa tracker collects data on sleep stages, heart rate variability (HRV), pulse ox and provides Garmin’s Training Readiness and Body Battery scores. Garmin’s Sleep Coach feature can recommend bedtimes and sleep length, letting you know if you’re in a sleep deficit, and smart wake alarm using the device’s haptic sensors buzzes on your wrist in a light sleep stage to wake you within a pre-prescribed window.

Automatic activity detection means the Cirqa quietly records activities lasting longer than 15 minutes, such as walks, which become more accurate if you amend the detected activities in the Garmin Connect app, including extending or trimming the duration. Alternatively, you can simply press the button to start a timed activity, and again amend in-app.

While you won’t get advanced running features like many Garmin watches, such as cadence, stride length, Hill Score (based on elevation) and so on, you still get generic training information like heart rate, VO2 Max and Training Load, which can help you tell you if you’re under or overtraining. Garmin also carries features like Fitness Age, which uses heart rate and activity data to tell you how well your body performs compared to its actual age. Whoop has a similar feature named Whoop Age — another example of the Cirqa eating Whoop’s lunch here.

You get quite a lot for your money. There's a small value issue, though: it’s not packing quite as many features as the premium Whoop subscriptions, nor a watch like the Garmin Forerunner 165, which gets you all of the above plus dedicated GPS, running and notification features for the same price. But it also comes with a screen, which you might not want. The Cirqa avoids bloat, prioritising the fitness and recovery metrics users want to see and eliminating the interactive features that screenless wearables fans don't want at all.

As well as the Garmin Coach features, AI-powered photograph-based nutrition tracking and AI-generated training insights are also available as part of Garmin’s premium Connect+ tier.

• Features score: 4/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Accurate workout metrics, aside from one outlying workout
• Sleep tracking was competent
• Comfy and easy to wear

I tested the Garmin Cirqa for around nine days, performing several workouts compared against a Polar H10 heart rate monitor, tracking my sleep, and draining the battery. If you’re working out three to four times a week and enabling auto-detection for walks and other activities, it lasts a solid week between charges — I topped mine up on day seven of testing.

It recorded my sleep well and correctly identified wake-up times in the middle of the night and in the early hours of the morning. If I slept well or went to bed early, the Cirqa correctly identified this and the numbers matched my energy levels and perceived sleep quality. If I got up in the middle of the night (which I often do several nights out of the week), the Cirqa clocked it. Its sleep stages graph is easy to parse, while Sleep Score and HRV are sortable by the last week, month or year to show trends.

When it comes to measuring workout accuracy, while there’s no GPS to draw from other than piggybacking off my phone, the Cirqa closely matched my Polar H10 heart rate monitor during workouts. There was one instance in which it was an average of 10bpm off during a 40-minute strength session in the gym, but other workouts cleaved very closely to the HRM, within 2-3bpm accuracy (as you can see below). My guess is that if that particular workout was longer, the readings would have evened out.

Like other Garmin devices using the Elevate V4, the Cirqa is generally accurate enough for anyone who doesn’t need elite-level metrics, at which point they’d be using a heart rate monitor or Garmin’s Elevate V5. But even record-breaker Sebastian Sawe was spotted using a Garmin Forerunner 55, which uses a V4, during his sub-two hour London Marathon run.

I can’t overstate how nice the Cirqa is to wear. I found it a better daily driver than the Whoop band, despite its size, largely due to the Whoop’s often-detaching clasp. The tactile button gave me a sense of certainty in my recording, and I didn’t have to open the app to manually start a workout like the Google Fitbit Air if I wanted to be accurate. The haptics are nice and strong too.

Polar H10 electrical heart rate monitor readingFutureGarmin Cirqa readingFuture

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

Sits comfortably between the super-cheap Fitbit Air and the recurring-sub Whoop.

4/5

Design

Thoughtfully designed, albeit a little large for some.

4.5/5

Features

Enough to keep you focused while avoiding unnecessary feature bloat.

4/5

Performance

Accurate and comfortable to wear with great battery life.

4.5/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future)Buy it if…

You’re an existing Garmin user
Don’t want to wear a chunky Garmin watch constantly, or do you use a Garmin Edge? This is the perfect way to track wellness and fitness discreetly and remain in the Garmin ecosystem.

You’re after holistic metrics
Readiness, recovery, and basic workout stats are enough for most people. This does the job without getting in the way.

You want to own your device
Although the product is great, Whoop’s membership model means the device reverts to an inert hunk of plastic if you stop subscribing. Buying the Cirqa at least means you own your tracker, improving it as a value proposition.

Don’t buy it if…

You need a screen
Want updates during your workout? Just get a running watch instead.

You’re on a tight budget
If you’re not invested in the Garmin ecosystem or you’re looking for something cheaper, you might be persuaded by the Fitbit Air or Amazfit Helio Strap.

Money is no object
For those who don’t mind paying annually in perpetuity, Whoop is a more tightly-engineered product from a software standpoint, tracking a wider variety of metrics.

Also consider

Google Fitbit Air

The screenless Fitbit weighs just 5g and tracks the basics, with an intelligent do-it-all AI chatbot tier.

Read our full Google Fitbit Air review

Amazfit Helio Strap

We called it 'a terrific value, generally very accurate fitness tracker with great battery life and no subscription required'.

Read our full Amazfit Helio Strap review

How I tested

I tested the Garmin Cirqa for over one week, draining the battery down and wearing it constantly during sleep, work, exercise and rest. I undertook multiple workouts, comparing them to a Polar H10 electrical heart rate monitor for accuracy, and compared its featureset to its peers in the screenless fitness tracker market.

First reviewed: August 2026

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: One-minute review

The most succinct way to describe the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni gaming headset is that it feels like a 2026-ified version of its excellent predecessor, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless — one of my favorite gaming headsets ever.

The Omni is a fantastic wireless gaming headset and offers a whole heap of improvements and enhancements over its older brethren, and in its own right, will tick every box most gamers can think of. Each feature that’s been tweaked or upgraded might not be huge in isolation, but every single one adds up, and it absolutely is greater than the sum of its parts when everything’s considered.

The design and build will be very familiar to anyone who’s used any of the Nova line, as it shares identical design language and aesthetics, while retaining a robust build quality you can have confidence in. The GameHub dongle is also identical in form to the one found on the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite and the Nova Pro Wireless, but is boosted to offer an upgraded level of connectivity: you can connect and mix up to four different inputs on the Omni, which is somewhat ludicrous but offers excellent versatility.

The audio quality, microphone, and overall performance of the Omni is spectacular, and can’t really be faulted. I think I might just prefer the bottom-end audio of my Audeze Maxwell 2 over the Omni, but that’s nitpicking as the overall audio experience is fantastic, no matter which platform you're connected to. Being able to change EQ on the fly with the Arctis Companion App is a great boost over the Nova Pro Wireless and an excellent feature of modern Nova headsets.

It’s an excellent headset, no doubt, but its pricing and the fact that Nova Pro Wireless will still be available mean the Omni’s place in the lineup is a little muddy for me. It performs fantastically, offers the full set of gaming headset features you could ask for, but I’m just not totally convinced it’s a great value option right now.

In isolation, however, this is a fantastic multiplatform wireless gaming headset and probably the one to go for if you really want the maximum flexibility and versatility.

(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: Price and availability

• List price: $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$799
• Closely priced to the Nova Pro Wireless, which will inevitably be cheaper
• Way under the Nova Elite, but in direct competition to headsets like the Audeze Maxwell 2

In isolation, the Arctis Nova Pro Omni is pretty well placed price-wise at $399.99 / £349.99. However, its position alongside the rest of the Nova lineup raises an eyebrow.

A large part of this is because of the continued availability of the headset that the Omni feels like it was made to replace: the Nova Pro Wireless. With the latter now readily available for far less than the Omni’s list price, I think — as a fan of both — that the value proposition of the Omni is lessened.

Unless you really really want the four-device connectivity (as opposed to two), and really want the latest and greatest in a SteelSeries headset without going for the much more premium Nova Elite, then I still think the Nova Pro Wireless is going to be a better value purchase for you. Especially if you’re on just one platform.

The Omni is also up against formidable competition outside of its own brethren at this price point. My absolute favorite headset right now, and my top pick ever in terms of pure audio quality, the Audeze Maxwell 2 is in the same price territory and would be my recommendation for someone prioritizing that.

Then there’s also the likes of the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro 2, and the Sony Inzone H9 2 in the $300-ish zone, along with the likes of the Fractal Scape and the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro that come in slightly cheaper and all offer incredible wireless gaming headset experiences with a host of features.

Having said all that, the Omni does do a lot in and of itself to justify its price tag as a high-end, brilliantly flexible and top-performing wireless headset. It will definitely be the best wireless option in this part of the Nova lineup when or if the Nova Pro Wireless ceases to be made, but until then it’s not a slam dunk for me.

(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: Specs

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni

Price

$399.99 / £349.99 / AU$799

Weight

11.95oz / 339g

Drivers

Custom 40 mm Neodymium Magnetic (Hi-Res)

Compatibility

PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Mobile, Meta Quest 2/3

Connection type

Hi-Res wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (audio jack), Bluetooth 5.3 + LE Audio (SBC with MultiPoint support for up to 10 devices; LC3, LC3+ for LE Audio)

Battery life

Up to 60 hours (2 x fully-charged batteries), Infinite Power System

Features

Simultaneous four-source audio via Omni GameHub; certified Hi-Res audio (96kHz/24-bit), ClearCast Pro - Retractable Boom Microphone with onboard AI Noise Rejection, ANC, Arctis Companion App compatibility

Software

SteelSeries GG/Sonar, SteelSeries Arctis Companion App (iOS & Android)

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: Design & features

• Class-leading set of features and connectivity options
• Reliable and fantastic build quality and battery solution
• Very much from the Nova line of SteelSeries headsets

Straight out of the box, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Omni really is a Nova Pro Wireless in disguise, as all the parts are there. That isn’t a criticism, as the Omni is simply another SteelSeries headset cut from the Arctis Nova cloth.

It’s a familiar design to anyone who’s seen or held a Nova headset, but it does have a tangible level of robustness and solidity that instils confidence — I’ve already dropped my unit a few times, but you wouldn’t be able to tell. The ear cushions are incredibly comfortable too, and I’ve been able to wear this headset for full work days without ever fully realising it too.

The GameHub is basically the same as on other Nova headsets that use it, but there are a few more options within the OLED display, and the addition of a texture to the navigation wheel is a welcome touch.

It’s this kind of small design change that’s present in a few areas across the Nova Pro Omni too: the multi-function volume wheel on the left cup has a new texture to it, the ear cushions are thicker and more padded compared to the Nova Pro Wireless, the mic is new and improved, and so on.

On top of intuitive controls, Arctis Companion App integration, boosted connectivity (Bluetooth 5.3 features here), greater battery life, and quicker fast charge, and more, all the Omni’s improvements over the Nova Pro Wireless do stand on their own feet, and, importantly, add up to a wonderfully designed and feature-filled wireless gaming headset that will offer everything even those with three consoles and a PC could ever want.

(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni: Performance

• Fantastic SteelSeries audio quality out of the box
• Every upgrade feels worthwhile
• Audio quality and overall performance still close to its predecessor

In terms of performance, the audio is the least difficult thing to cast an opinion on: it’s fantastic. Once again, this is from the SteelSeries Arctis Nova line so shares in all the excellent out-of-the-box audio quality the series is known for and does not disappoint in any way.

What’s more, the audio is now Hi-Res certified, and on PC you’ll be getting 96kHz/24bit, which is a sheer, immersive joy to behold in games like Cyberpunk 2077, and even the atmospheric noises in Frostpunk 2 are detailed and clear. But even away from that, on PS5 Pro (Sony’s console can’t take advantage of 96kHz audio), the gaming audio delivered by the Omni is, predictably, a treat.

Sea shanties, explosive ship combat, and swashbuckling sword action in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced are fantastically vivid and rich; the audio in 007 First Light is even more cinematic and bombastic; and even audio in older online games like my go-to, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, is elevated excellently, with enemy audio presented accurately, and the action and soundtrack mixed perfectly.

The ability to change EQ presets for individual games and preferences via the Arctis Companion App remains a brilliant feature too, expanding the Omni’s already excellent versatility.

(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)

On top of that, being wireless but plugged into a host of different devices as well as Bluetooth on my phone was very handy — in my particular setup. If you do have a multi-device setup and are looking for one headset that can be used on all of them with ease, even if not simultaneously, then this is a quality feature. For others on single-device setups, this is a bit overkill.

Away from games, music and entertainment is superb on the Omni, and using it for work calls - and multiplayer gaming sessions — with its new (compared with the Nova Pro Wireless) omnidirectional ClearCast Pro mic is brilliant. I found the overall quality of the mic to be excellent, though its omnidirectional design did mean a little more background noise escaped to my friends down the line at times, and it’s certainly a big step up over the Nova Pro Wireless’ microphone.

The way the headset feels to use is also a notable step up over the Nova Pro Wireless, and thus feels closer to the Nova Elite too. The wheel on the left ear cup is incredibly pleasing to use, the GameHub that offers more options is intuitive and easy to use, the new ear cushions are thicker and more comfy than the Pro Wireless (but only just), and there’s also improved ANC which I found worked well, as well as a hoist of boosts to Bluetooth (up to 5.3), longer battery life on the batteries and faster quick charge, and a few more to boot.

Each of the improvements over the Nova Pro Wireless do add up to something much greater than each in isolation.

(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)Should I buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni?Buy it if...

You want something close to the complete, multiplatform wireless headset
If you are looking for one of the most complete wireless multiplatform headset options for the money, then the Omni is hard to beat, especially if you want all the features you could need for a one-and-done set.

You’re overdue for an upgrade to a quality wireless gaming headset
If you simply want or need a high-end wireless gaming headset upgrade in the north-of-$300 territory, then the Omni is an absolutely belting wireless set that you simply must consider.

You’re a multiplatform, single-setup gamer
If you’ve got a multi-device gaming setup and are in need of a high-quality wireless gaming headset that has all the trimmings, plus wonderful audio, then the Omni is a no-brainer.

Don't buy it if...

You can find the Nova Pro Wireless on a great deal
As great as the Omni is, I can’t help but feel the Nova Pro Wireless is still going to offer even better value for money for a vast number of gamers, especially when it’s discounted. If the Nova Pro Wireless is still being made and its price dips or drops because the Omni is out, then the Nova Pro Wireless is going to be incredibly hard to beat value-wise.

You simply don’t need a multi-connectivity and feature-rich gaming headset
At $400 / £350, the Omni is still a sizable investment for a gaming accessory, and a lot of its attraction will lie in its versatility and multi-connectivity for some folks. However, it will still be overkill for many, and for the same amount of money, those on one platform or two who might prioritize sheer audio quality instead, for example, could well be better served by others on the market.

Also consider...

If the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni might seem overkill in some departments, then check out these two fine offerings as alternatives.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless

Audeze Maxwell 2

Price

$399.99 / £349.99 / AU$799

$379.99 / £329.99 / AU$739

$329 / £339 / AU$569

Weight

11.95oz / 339g

9.5oz / 266g

17.3oz / 490g

Drivers

Custom 40 mm Neodymium Magnetic (Hi-Res)

40mm Neodymium

90mm Planar Magnetic

Compatibility

PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Mobile, Meta Quest 2/3

PS4, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Mobile, Meta Quest 2/3

PlayStation or Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, Mac, Mobile

Connection type

Hi-Res wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (audio jack), Bluetooth 5.3 + LE Audio (SBC with MultiPoint support for up to 10 devices; LC3, LC3+ for LE Audio)

Wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (USB-C), Bluetooth 5.3

Wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (USB-C & audio jack), Bluetooth 5.3 (Auracast, LE Audio, LC3, LC3plus, LDAC, AAC, SBC, Multipoint)

Battery life

Up to 60 hours (2 x fully-charged batteries), Infinite Power System

Up to 60 hours (2 x fully-charged batteries), Infinite Power System

80+ hours

Features

Simultaneous four-source audio via Omni GameHub; certified Hi-Res audio (96kHz/24-bit), ClearCast Pro Retractable Boom Microphone with onboard AI Noise Rejection, ANC, Arctis Companion App compatibility

Companion App, 40mm Neodymium magnetic drivers, 360-degree spatial audio, retractable ClearCast 2.X mic

SLAM acoustic management technology, detachable hypercardioid mic, beamforming mic with physical and AI reduction, FILTER™ Noise Reduction Technology, embedded Dolby Atmos license (Xbox)

Software

SteelSeries GG/Sonar, SteelSeries Arctis Companion App (iOS & Android)

SteelSeries GG/Sonar (PC)

Audeze App (PC & mobile)

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
While it’s still being made and/or in circulation at retailers, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is a quality headset even in the face of the Omni’s advancements. With the Pro Wireless’ price likelyto dip now, it’ll likely offer incredible value for money at the expense of a few features while retaining that SteelSeries awesomeness.

For more information, check out our full SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless review

Audeze Maxwell 2
The Omni’s price tag puts it squarely in competition with my favorite gaming headset of the day right now, the Audeze Maxwell 2, and the latter could very well be the option to go for if you want to spend big but prioritize audio quality above all else. I simply haven’t tested a better-sounding gaming headset in all my time reviewing hardware.

For more information, check out our full Audeze Maxwell 2 review and my thoughts on why it should have scored even higher

(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)How I tested the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni

• Used as a daily driver for a few months
• Tested on PC, PS5, and mobile
• Deployed across a host of games, as well as daily work calls and more

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni headset has been my sole unit for gaming on PS5 and PC, as well as work tasks and calls, for the best part of three months.

I have used it to play a bunch of 007 First Light, a full review playthrough and subsequent platinum playthrough of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, and a whole host of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 on PS5, and also dived into Cyberpunk 2077, Frostpunk 2, and Crusader Kings 3 on Acer Predator Orion 5000 gaming PC (supplied by Acer) teamed with a productivity monitor and an Acer Predator X32QFS gaming monitor (also supplied by Acer).

For a lot of that game-time testing, the Omni was connected to my PC and PS5 simultaneously on one setup, deploying its multi-connectivity. I was then also able to use it for all my work calls, and listening to music.

During this time, I was able to directly compare the Omni with some other gaming headsets I had to hand, such as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and Nova Elite, as well as the Audeze Maxwell 2 and Maxwell 2 ANC.

First reviewed May-August 2026

Read more about how we test

Turtle Beach Command Series KB5: One-minute review

The Turtle Beach Command Series KB5 is a full-size keyboard with an interesting display module that has more functionality than many others.

However, the board fails to make a great first impression. It looks dated with its unnecessary angles, while the plastic materials feel cheap. The brushed metal face plate is a nice touch, though, as are the floating double-shot PBT keycaps. It’s also quite a light unit, especially so for a keyboard this size.

The included wrist rest also feels like a low-grade plastic, and doesn’t attach magnetically like those bundled with some of the best gaming keyboards. Instead, it relies on a somewhat fiddly — but ultimately secure — mechanical attachment. And despite its lack of padding, its ergonomic contours offer sufficient levels of comfort. The rest also helps to make up for the KB5’s shallow tilt angle, even with the two-stage feet propping it up.

The standout feature of the KB5, though, is its interactive touchscreen in the top-right corner of the unit. It lacks the responsiveness we’ve come to expect of modern touchscreens, taking multiple swipes and taps for it to register them. However, it has a lot of useful functions and features, with plenty of settings for the KB5 itself, as well as a wealth of customizable shortcuts and readouts for Windows and various apps.

(Image credit: Future)

These shortcuts can be customized using Turtle Beach’s Swarm 2 software. There are a wide variety of templates to choose from, but you can also create your own shortcut clusters from a wide selection of widgets. The software also has a generous selection of remapping and macro options, although there aren’t any performance-related adjustments. I wish it provided more explanations for its features, too.

In action, the KB5 performs reasonably well. The keycaps have a very low profile, which makes them easy to glide over, while the switches are satisfyingly damped. However, presses are a little heavier than you might expect, sometimes resulting in taps failing to register, especially if you have a light touch. This is more of an issue when typing than gaming.

The WASD position is comfortable and the keys are well spaced, making it easy to reach them. I could easily hit the space bar flush, thanks to its low profile and generous slant. However, the sheer width of the board can result in collisions when swiping your mouse vigorously.

At $150 / £140, the KB5 isn’t exactly a budget-friendly board, and is especially dear for one with no wireless connectivity and a less-than premium construction. The integrated touchscreen and large layout make up for this somewhat, but the fact remains there are better value rivals if you don’t need all those keys and a sophisticated display.

(Image credit: Future)Turtle Beach Command Series KB5 review: Price & availability

• $149.99 / £139.99 (about AU$210)
• Available now in one colorway
• Reasonably expensive for a wired mechanical keyboard.

The KB5 costs $149.99 / £139.99 (about AU$210) and is available now in one colorway. It comes with a braided USB cable, an attachable wrist rest, and extra WASD keys with a grippier texture. You can remove the stock ones using the included keycap puller.

This is quite expensive for a wired mechanical keyboard. Granted, it’s a full-size board with plenty of keys, but it lacks the premium build of some of its cheaper rivals, such as the MonsGeek FUN60 Ultra. This is an extremely solid unit, and its gaming performance is as good if not better than the KB5’s, with its analog switches providing more adjustability. It also has multiple wireless connectivity modes.

Then there’s the Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro. This is vastly more expensive than the KB5, but it’s one of the best performing mechanical keyboards I’ve ever used, and its software and build quality are superior. What’s more, its included wrist rest is far more plush, and it also has multiple wireless modes.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Turtle Beach Command Series KB5 review: Specs

Layout

Full-size

Switch

Mechanical (Titan Low-Profile Linear)

Programmable keys

Yes

Dimensions

18.8 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches (477 x 175 x 27mm)

RGB or backlighting

Yes (customizable)

(Image credit: Future)Turtle Beach Command Series KB5 review: Design & features

• Gamer-ish design
• Cheap-feeling plastics
• Useful integrated display

The KB5 leans into the gamer aesthetic, with its odd contours along the top edge and flashes of brown. Personally, I found this look a little garish and quite dated, although I did like the brushed metal front plate and its countersunk screws, which are prominently displayed. These are also quite practical since they’re easily accessible.

Overall, the build quality is less impressive. The plastic of the chassis feels cheap, although in fairness it’s also quite light, which means this large keyboard isn’t a chore to move around. Another plus is the keycaps are made from double-shot PBT, the gold standard keycap material, and they’re solidly fitted.

The notching on the cylindrical volume wheel feels good too, making for easy flicks while at the same time offering fine control. However, it can be hard to press inwards to mute without accidentally triggering a scroll.

A wrist rest is included with the KB5, which is always a welcome addition in my view. However, it appears to be made from the same cut-price plastic as the keyboard itself. And while it actually attaches to the keyboard, it requires snapping latches in place, which is certainly less elegant than the magnetic method utilized by many others.

On a more positive note, the display in the top-right corner is larger, sharper, and more interactive than many others I’ve seen integrated in keyboards. It also has touchscreen functionality, although this is fairly rudimentary and gestures often require repeating two or three times before the display responds. Also, the texture of the screen itself is a little grippy, which can hamper swipes.

Nonetheless, it offers a lot of features. By tapping the left side of the screen, you can access three pages of settings for the KB5, with options to toggle ReacTap (Turtle Beach's Rapid Trigger function), remap keys, and alter the RGB backlighting, to name a few.

(Image credit: Future)

There are also three pages of widgets, with each page containing a cluster of six. These can be customized using Swarm 2, Turtle Beach’s peripheral software. You’ll find a large selection of template clusters to choose from, catering to various use cases. For instance, there’s a gaming one that features a shortcut widget for opening Steam, while the other widgets display CPU and GPU loads and temperatures. There’s also a template for general productivity, with widgets for copying and pasting and opening Windows’ Calculator app.

You can also edit and create your own templates by selecting each individual widget. In addition to common Windows commands and multimedia controls, there are app-specific widgets for Steam, OBS, Steamlabs, and Discord. There are also those under a section labelled ‘CS’, although it’s unclear what game or games in the Counter-Strike series these widgets are compatible with. All I can say is that they failed to work with Counter-Strike 2 when I played it.

Swarm 2 features other customizations, including key reassignment. There is a generous selection of shortcuts you can assign, and four mapping layers to choose from: primary, Fn, Game Mode, and Easy Shift. You can also remap the scrolls and button of the volume wheel, which isn’t always possible on gaming keyboards. More impressively, the wheel has the same four layers of assignments available to it.

There are a wealth of preset macros to choose from as well, not only across a broad selection of games, but also for other software such as Photoshop. However, a lot of the other macros are quite basic, merely boiling down to simple inputs and system commands.

During my time with Swarm 2, it performed well without any major bugs or glitches occurring. There were times when the RGB backlighting failed to turn on, but whether this was an issue with the app or the keyboard’s own firmware, I can’t say. Regardless, I managed to get it working again by unplugging and replugging the USB cable, or by turning the lighting off then on again in the app.

Swarm 2 is easy to use and navigate, although it could do with more explanations for some of its features. For instance, I couldn’t find any explanation as to how to access the Easy Shift and Game Mode layers, and the ReacTap feature isn’t toggleable anywhere in the app, only via the integrated screen. Neither location explains what it does or how it works; I had to gather this information from Turtle Beach's website.

• Design and features score: 3.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Turtle Beach Command Series KB5 review: Performance

• Very low-profile keys
• Deep actuation point detrimental to typing
• Board width can hamper mouse movement

In general, the KB5 is a capable gaming keyboard. Its Titan mechanical switches are damped to a large degree, making them tactile and relatively quiet, although a certain clickiness emanates from key presses.

The keys also have a very low profile, perhaps the lowest I’ve ever come across. I appreciated this when typing, since I could glide between them easily, but their actuation point is deeper than you might expect, resulting in hits often failing to register when I typed quickly.

(Image credit: Future)

Thankfully, this is less of an issue when gaming. Also, the indents on the keycaps offer a secure hold, while the WASD position is comfortable thanks to the spacing of the keys, which is large enough to avoid feeling cramped, yet all the peripheral keys are still easy to reach. What’s more, the space bar slopes downwards slightly, making flush hits easier to achieve.

However, the KB5’s lack of tilt is slightly disappointing. Despite having two stages, the feet don’t create much of an angle, which is something I often lament in gaming keyboards. The included wrist rest does make up for this somewhat, thanks to its sloping design, and it’s comfortable to use. Despite the lack of padding, a bigger issue with the KB5 is its sheer width. If you like using a low DPI setting for your mouse and need to make large movements, you may find yourself slamming into the side of the board.

• Performance score: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the Turtle Beach Command Series KB5?Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

It may be full-size and have mechanical switches, but its plasticky build and wired-only connectivity diminish its value.

3.5 / 5

Design and features

Fairly light for a full-size board, and the included wrist rest is comfortable, but the plastic-heavy construction and finicky touchscreen are downsides.

3.5 / 5

Performance

The low-profile keys are easy to glide around, but the actuation isn’t snappy enough and the wide layout can get in the way of mouse swipes.

3.5 / 5

Overall

The KB5 has some interesting features, but a few issues hamper its performance, and build quality lags behind others in the space.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if…

You want an interactive screen
The KB5 has a unique touchscreen that gives you access to various settings and customizable widgets.

You want keys with a very low profile
This board has the lowest key profile I think I’ve ever seen, and they feel great.

Don't buy it if…

You have large mouse swipes
Given how wide the KB5 is, you need to take care with large mouse movements.

You have a light touch
The switches’ actuation point is deeper than their low profile might lead you to believe, which can result in taps failing to register.

Turtle Beach Command Series KB5 review: Also consider

Monsgeek FUN60 Ultra
For a lot less than the KB5, you could have the FUN60 Ultra. It has analog rather than mechanical switches, but I found them to be very tactile, and their actuation, along with a load of other parameters, can be adjusted to suit your preferences. Not only that, but it has a much more solid build than the KB5, and features 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connectivity modes. Read our full Monsgeek FUN60 Ultra review.

Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro 75
It may be a lot more expensive than the KB5, but the BlackWidow is just about the best mechanical keyboard I’ve ever used. The switches feel excellent, while there are plenty of customizations courtesy of Razer’s Synapse app. This too has both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth modes. Read our full Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro 75 review.

(Image credit: Future)How I tested the Turtle Beach Command Series KB5

• Tested for a few days
• Performed various tasks
• Plentiful gaming keyboard experience

I tested the KB5 for a few days, during which time I used it for gaming, general browsing, and working.

I played various games, including Counter-Strike 2, a great title for revealing the true performance of peripherals, given the demands it places on the speed and accuracy of inputs.

I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade, and have used a great many keyboards in that time. I’ve also reviewed a large number of them, from small budget models to large premium offerings, across a wide range of brands.

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

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: one-minute review

The Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo is an exceptionally small capsule coffee maker, which brews espresso using the company's own A Modo Mio pods. These vacuum-packed capsules are available in a wide variety of coffee types, roasts, and blends, but unlike Nespresso capsules, there are no elaborate brews with added flavors to choose from.

That's no bad thing in my opinion, because the Jolie Evo produces some of the best espresso I've had from a pod machine, and flavored coffees often tend to taste artificial.

The Jolie Evo is very reasonably priced too (considerably less than the A Modo Mio Smeg and A Modo Mio Deséa), though you'll need to pick up a standalone milk frother too (I recommend either the Smeg Mini Milk Frother or Philips Baristina Milk Frother) if you want to make lattes and cappuccinos.

The controls are extremely simple, with just a single button and a large lever. However, bear in mind that there's no timer, so you'll need to manually tap the button to stop the flow once the machine has dispensed the right amount of coffee.

Overall, it's an excellent compact espresso machine. For me, the only real drawback is that the plastic pods aren't particularly easy to recycle. They can only be dropped off at designated collection points, which can be scarce outside big cities.

(Image credit: Future)Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: specifications

Name

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo

Type

Capsule coffee maker

Dimensions (W x H x D)

4.9 x 8.3 x 13 inches / 124 x 210 x 330mm

Weight

5.7lbs / 2.6kg

Water tank capacity

20.3oz / 600ml

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: price and availability

• List price £99 / AU$129 (about $190)
• Widely available in UK and Australia
• Listed on Lavazza's US site, but not available at the time of writing

The Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo has a list price of £99 / AU$129, which is about $133, but at the time of writing the machine doesn't seem to be available to actually buy in the US — even though it's listed on Lavazza's site. So it may become available in the future.

If you're in the UK, you can get the coffee maker for £49 if you subscribe to Lavazza's coffee capsule delivery service.

Even at full price, that's very reasonable for a good quality capsule coffee maker. For comparison, the Lavazza A Modo Mio Smeg is £249 / AU$349 (about $350), while the Lavazza A Modo Mio Deséa is £249 / AU$349 (about $330) — though the latter machine also has a built-in milk-frothing system.

(Image credit: Future)

If you want to make lattes and cappuccinos with the Jolie Evo, you'll need a standalone milk frother like the Lavazza MilkEasy Plus, which is priced at £79 / AU$119 (about $150) — or the Smeg Mini Milk Frother or Philips Baristina Milk Frother I mentioned earlier.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: design

• Ideal for small kitchens
• Only two controls (lever and button)
• Lever is ergonomic and easy to use

The Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo is easily one of the smallest coffee makers I’ve tested, measuring a mere 4.9 x 8.3 x 13 inches / 124 x 210 x 330mm (W x H x D). That’s even tinier than the diminutive Nespresso Vertuo Pop, which is 5.3 x 9.8 x 16.7 inches / 136 x 250 x 426mm. It’s ideal for slotting into small spaces, and you can even route the power cable right or left underneath the machine if you need it to sit against a wall.

The Lavazza machine looks classier than its Nespresso counterpart as well, with a smart matte finish and a large chrome handle on top. Pulling this handle up opens a slot on top of the machine. so you can slide a coffee pod inside.

(Image credit: Future)

Pushing it back down closes the drawer and pierces the pod, and pulling it up a second time will drop the used capsule into a small bin behind the Jolie Evo’s drip tray. The bin has a grille at the bottom that allows the pods to drain so they’re dry when you remove them for recycling, which is a thoughtful touch.

The large lever is easy to grip and requires barely any force to move, which makes this a particularly good option for people with limited strength or mobility in their hands.

The drip tray has a plastic grate that can be removed for easy cleaning, and is just the right height for an espresso cup. A standard size cup or mug will fit neatly under the dispenser with the drip tray detached.

(Image credit: Future)

Other than the handle, there is just one control on the Jolie Evi: a button on top of the machine, with a white light to indicate the machine’s current status: blinking means heating, and white means ready to brew.

It’s available in black and white in Australia, with a gray option also offered in the UK. It was sold in green and red too when it launched in the US.

• Design score: 5/5

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: performance

• Extremely simple to use, but there's no timer for the coffee dispenser
• It makes delicious espresso in moments
• Its pods can be hard to recycle compared to Nespresso aluminum ones

What makes the Jolie Evo different from all other capsule coffee makers I’ve tested to date is its lack of a timer for brewing different sized drinks. Once you’ve pressed its single button, the little machine will continue dispensing coffee (or hot water, if there’s no pod inside) until you either tap the button again or the tank is empty.

This isn’t ideal if you want to leave your coffee maker to handle itself while you’re preparing the rest of your breakfast, but making a double espresso takes less than a minute so it’s no real hardship.

I would recommend using a measuring cup as your recepticle, though, at least until you’ve got your eye in, because it’s easy to under or over-estimate the output. You could use a coffee scale to a perfect measure, but it would be overkill; this entry-level machine makes a very good espresso, but it’s not intended for real aficionados.

(Image credit: Future)

It uses Lavazza’s own A Modo Mio capsules, which are excellent value compared to most coffee pods. Different types command different prices, but you can pick up 80 Qualità Rossa pods direct from Lavazza for £24.50 (about $30 / AU$50). That’s just over 30p per drink, compared to 49p for the cheapest Nespresso Vertuo pods.

Unlike Nespresso, the Modo Mio selection doesn’t include elaborate flavored drinks; there are various beans, blends and roasts to choose from in Lavazza’s store, but each pod contains only ground coffee with no extras. That's no bad thing, in my opinion — coffee capsules with added flavors can taste unpleasantly artificial.

(Image credit: Future)

I tested the Jolie Evo with three of Lavazza’s coffees: Qualità Rossa, Passionale, and Qualità Oro. Each comes in a box of 16, and is marked with an intensity score out of 12 to give you an idea of what to expect. The first is a blend of robusta and arabica beans, while the other two are 100% arabica.

My personal favorite was the Qualità Oro, which produced one of the best-tasting espressos I’ve had from a capsule machine and is described as “Sweet and delicate taste, with an intense and fragrant aroma”.

It goes particularly well with milk in a white americano or (if you also pick up a milk frother) a creamy latte.

The problem with these pods, delicious though they are, is that they can be difficult to recycle. Nespresso pods are made entirely from aluminum, which is relatively easy to process once the coffee grounds are removed, and there’s almost certain to be a location nearby where you can drop off the used capsules. If not, you can mail them off for recycling with a pre-paid bag.

(Image credit: Future)

By contrast, Lavazza A Modo Mio pods are mostly plastic and can be recycled in the UK through the company’s partnership with Terracycle, but collection points are few and far between.

If there’s nowhere to drop off your pods, your only option is to start your own collection point, accepting pods from other people and sending them for processing yourself. Individuals can’t send their pods in the mail.

South England is relatively well-served, but at the time of writing there are only four drop-off points in Scotland, and none at all in Wales or Northern Ireland.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo?Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo Score Card

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

The most affordable A Modo Mio coffee maker, though not currently available in the US.

4.5/5

Design

Stylish and super compact, with ergonomically designed controls.

5/5

Performance

Brews delicious espresso, but lacks a timer to stop flow, and pods can be hard to recycle.

4/5

Buy it if

You have a small kitchen
This is the most compact coffee maker I've tested to date, and the fact its cable can be routed to the right or left means you can push it right up against a wall if you need to.

You have limited dexterity in your hands
The large lever handle requires virtually no effort to push and pull, and there's just one button to worry about. All removable pieces are easy to detach for cleaning as well.

Don't buy it if

You want elaborate flavored coffees
A Modo Mio capsules are full of nothing but unadulterated ground coffee, so if you want something fancier you'll need to add your own syrup.

You want easily recyclable coffee pods
A Modo Mio capsules are plastic and can only be recycled if you drop them at a designated collection point. You can't send them in the mail for processing.

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Jolie Evo is the right espresso machine for you, here are two others to think about.

Lavazza A Modo Mio Deséa
This is Lavazza's most advanced A Modo Mio machine, with its own built-in milk frother, though it's only compatible with Lavazza's own glass mug.

Read our full Lavazza A Modo Mio Deséa review

Bosch Tassimo Finesse Friendly
Just as easy to use as the Jolie Evo, and affordably priced too. There's a huge range of Tassimo pods to choose from, though they can get pricey — particularly ones for milky drinks that require two capsules each.

Read our full Bosch Tassimo Finesse Friendly review

How I tested the Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo

I used the Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo in place of my usual espresso machine for two weeks. I used three different types of A Modo Mio capsules (Qualità Rossa, Passionale, and Qualità Oro), drinking it neat as an espresso, and using the Jolie Evo to add extra hot water to make an americano.

I set up and cleaned the machine following the directions in the instruction manual, and allowed the components to air-dry before reassembly.

• For more details, see how TechRadar tests, reviews, and rates products.
• First reviewed: August 2026

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Two-minute review

Spare a thought for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which isn't having the easiest time of it right now. Yes, it's a fantastic foldable phone, but it was launched in the shadow of its upstart sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, with Samsung taking the OG folding phones' name and applying it to a fresh, dare I say cute, design.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, by contrast, is almost indistinguishable from its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold 7. That's hardly a criticism — I loved that Android device — but it's hard to stand out when you've launched alongside to the phone world's shiny new object.

If we can put the 4:3 aspect-ratio Galaxy Z Fold 8 aside for a moment — you can read our Z Fold 8 review if you're so inclined — I'll focus here on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, a fantastic folding device in its own right.

If you're unfamiliar with the Galaxy Z Fold line, here are the highlights for the Z Fold 8 Ultra. 'Ultra', but the way, does not mean it somehow more closely resembles the Galaxy S26 Ultra, though the camera and CPU enhancements do bring it more in line with the performance of its flagship cousin.

Folded, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra looks like a standard, if slightly narrower than normal smartphone (the S26 Ultra is a few millimeters wider). Unfolded, it's an 8.0-inch flexible display — and the chief upgrade on the display side is a mechanical and material engineering marvel.

Under the protective plastic cover, ultra-thin glass and a flexible AMOLED screen are a pair of new titanium panels. One is pure titanium, with an all-new perforation design for better bending performance, and the other is an alloy that, while thinner than the previous polymer sheet, is stronger and more reliable.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is on the right here — note the reduced crease compared to the Z Fold 7Lance Ulanoff / FutureThe flatter Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is on the right.Lance Ulanoff / Future

The quite noticeable result is an essentially flat main screen with a far less visible crease, with the promise that over the years the bendy display won't suffer noticeable deformations (i.e., a more noticeable crease).

There are still five (yes, five) cameras, and while the 200MP main camera is essentially unchanged, the ultra-wide is now a more powerful 50MP camera (up from 10MP). The 3x optical zoom is still 10MP, and I do wish it were a 5x optical zoom (or at least 4x like the iPhone 17 Pro Max's). You can go far further with digital zoom, but then you have to wonder how much of an assist your photos are getting from the on-board AI (assume a decent amount). All of the photography is further improved by the upgraded image processing.

Under the hood is the latest Qualcomm silicon, which supports an impressive array of AI features. As with other Galaxy devices, there's almost too much AI here, but features like Photo Assist and Now Brief are standouts.

All in all, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is an excellent follow-up to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and is set to easily take over from its predecessor at the top of our rankings of the best foldable phones.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Price and availability

• Even more expensive than the Z Fold 7
• Still a good value for a two-in-one device

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

I guess it was inevitable that with the price of RAM and components rising, the latest Galaxy Z Fold would be more expensive than its predecessor.

The new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra starts at $2,099.99 / £1,899.00 / AU$2,999. If anything, the $100 bump in the US is less than I thought it might be; double that would not have been surprising.

Released alongside the smaller Galaxy Z Fold 8 ($1,899.99 / £1,699 / AU$2,699 ), the Z Fold 8 Ultra has an inarguably premium price, though it seems more reasonable when you consider that this is a two-in-one device.

The Z Fold 8 Ultra is available in Graphite, Cream, Green Shadow, and my test unit's Violet Shadow.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Specs

Here's a breakdown of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's key specs:

Dimensions:

Closed: 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mm
Open: 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.1mm

Weight:

215g

Display:

Cover display: 6.5-inch AMOLED
Main display: 8.0-inch AMOLED

Resolution:

Cover display: 1080 x 2520
Main display: 2504 x 2256

Refresh rate:

Cover display: adaptive 1-to-120Hz
Main display: adaptive 1-to-120Hz

Peak brightness:

Cover display: 2,400 nits
Main display: 3,000 nits

CPU:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy

RAM:

12GB / 16GB

Storage:

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

OS:

Android 17 / OneUI 9

Cameras:

200MP F/1.7 main, 50MP F/1.9 ultra-wide

Selfie Camera:

Main screen: 10MP F/2.2
Cover screen: 10MP F/2.2

Telephoto

10MP F/2.4 3x optical

Battery:

5,000mAh

Charging:

45W wired, 20W wireless, Wireless Powershare

Colors:

Graphite, Cream, Violet Shadow, Green Shadow

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Design

• Folded, it looks virtually identical to the last model
• Easier to unfold
• Unfolds flat... finally
• The crease is almost gone

There's little argument that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is, despite the new superlative, a visually iterative update. Folded, it's hard to distinguish it from the Z Fold 7.; it's virtually the same size and weight, meaning it's still lighter than the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It's still an Armor Aluminum Frame, though the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 from the last Fold 6.5-inch cover display is now Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3. On the back is Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

It's not until you unfold the handset, or rather attempt to unfold it, that the design changes, er... unfold.

First, there's a new chamfered edge along the fold inseam, which makes it far easier to insert the tips of your fingers and unfold the phone. Samsung told us it made this change because some users complained that the 4.2mm thick Z Fold 7 was difficult to open. The even thinner 4.1mm Z Fold 8 Ultra is, in fact, easier to open. I might even call it a pleasure.

Speaking of pleasure, there's another tiny little change that I really love. The power/sleep/fingerprint/Gemini button is no longer recessed, and is now so much easier to find by touch.

The biggest design upgrade is almost purely mechanical, and Samsung pulled it off by swapping out various materials and hinge designs to finally achieve a virtually flat and almost creaseless unfolded body and display. That is to say, the screen and chassis are flat, although if you lay it on a table, that ample camera bump will keep the whole thing rocking.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

Inside the 4.1mm body — it's so thin it only just accomodates the USB-C port — Samsung has re-engineered the rigid titanium panel along the hinge strip, transforming the perforations into an almost 'A' shape, which allows for easier and more reliable bending. That panel is paired with a new titanium alloy sheet (it's thinner and stronger than the old polymer one). Together, they make the folding and unfolding processes better, and, when the phone is fully unfolded, allow for a virtually flat frame and the least noticeable crease yet. I'll have more to say about this design in the Display section below.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

As I've been carrying around the Z Fold 8 Ultra and opening and closing it, people have consistently asked how long the phone might last, and whether it fatigues at the bend. I reply that, in the course of using and testing Samsung's folding phones over the last seven years, I've found them surprisingly resilient.

This model is actually water-resistant (IP48; yes, I ran it under water, yes, it survived, and perhaps enjoyed it), though I would not take it to the beach if it's not in a sealed case. When I traveled to South Korea last month. Samsung showed me how it torture-tests these devices, including folding and unfolding them thousands of times. I'm quite confident that with normal use the Z Fold 8 Ultra will last for years — at least through all seven years of Samsung's promised OS and security updates.

• Design score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Displays

• Main screen is almost perfectly flat
• Responsive, colorful, main screen has sunlight-beating brightness
• Cover screen is wide enough to be useful as a regular phone
• I wish the cover screen was a little brighter

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Samsung now has enough experience making folding phones to be well into the refinement phase. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is already thin and light enough, and the last model, the Z Fold 7, folded the screen so tightly that there was barely any gap between the two halves of the display. Now, though, the new display technology allows the screen to unfold virtually flat and, thanks to both the hinge engineering and new anti-reflective coating, make the crease very close to invisible.

The crease is not entirely gone. When I run my finger over the center of the 8-inch display I can feel it, and if I view the screen at the right angle, I can just make out the slight half-inch-wide indent.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Still, everything looks fantastic on the tablet-size display, which now sports a 2504 x 2256 resolution, a slight upgrade from the Z Fold 7's 2184 x 1968 resolution. I played games, watched video, viewed countless photos, used it for full-screen turn-by-turn navigation in maps (it's easy to get lost in London, which I was visiting for the Galaxy Unpacked event at which this phone was launched), and played more games.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

If I had one real criticism of the main screen, it's that it no longer has a digitizing display — but this is not an issue new to the Z Fold 8 Ultra. Samsung dropped this feature on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and there were rumors that the S Pen-supporting digitizing layer would return with the 8, but that didn't happen. Without it, and a special S Pen, to protect the phone’s flexible display, I really don't feel comfortable drawing on it with a universal rubber stylus (which you can buy from third-party providers, but which lack the S Pen’s unique features.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

The cover screen reads as a 6.5-inch display, but that's measured diagonally, and the reality is that it's not as wide as the display on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. The Z Fold 8 Ultra cover display is about 2.5 inches wide, and the S26 Ultra is about 2.75 inches.

I still find the Z Fold 8 Ultra's cover display more than usable. The virtual keyboard is large enough for me to comfortably type on it. Websites, texts, and social media look good on it. The only issue I found is that its max brightness is not as strong as the inner display (3,000 nits, max), and it was occasionally overwhelmed by direct sunlight.

It's also a good-looking screen across multiple content types and activities thanks to the variable refresh rate that can sit anywhere from a power-sipping 1Hz up to a silky smooth 120Hz.

• Display score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Cameras

• Excellent collection of cameras
• Best image processing I've seen from Samsung to date
• Finally, a 50MP ultra-wide camera
• Wish the telephoto was 5x optical

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

As with most of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Samsung didn't completely reinvent the photography suite. Instead, we have a strong collection of cameras with some key improvements, chief among them a much more powerful 50MP ultrawide and the overall updates to the ProVisual engine for some of the best photography I've ever achieved with a Samsung smartphone.

Yankee StadiumLance Ulanoff / Future3x zoom moon shotLance Ulanoff / FutureUsing digital zooom. Not the detail on the moon, which is likely added by AI.Lance Ulanoff / Future

I've spent more than a week photographing everything from the iconic landmarks of London to a soccer match between Wrexham and Liverpool at New York's Yankee Stadium. In virtually every scenario, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's cameras did not disappoint. Samsung's ProVisual engine is finally focused on color fidelity, and while I can use Galaxy AI Photo Assist to alter mu images to my heart's content, I applaud Samsung's focus on photographic reality.

To recap, here are all the cameras (five of them!) you get:

• 200MP wide
• 50MP ultra-wide
• 10MP telephoto (3x optical)
• 10MP selfie (main screen)
• 10MP selfie (cover screen)

Like most high-megapixel main cameras on phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra's 200MP and 50MP cameras default to a binned mode, squeezing multiple pixels into one (the main 48MP camera on iPhone 17 Pro, for instance, similarly defaults to 24MP). The result with the Z Fold 8 Ultra is 12MP photos, unless you choose 50MP or 200MP. The majority of my photos were shot with the 12MP default.

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Even though Apple defaults to a higher resolution, Samsung's overall higher megapixel count means it's theoretically squeezing even more information into each photo. In anecdotal side-by-side shots, Samsung's photography is now as good as, and sometimes better than, what I can get with the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Portrait-mode photography is excellent, with the processing effectively separating wisps of hair from the bokeh background.Lance UlanoffLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff

Portrait-mode photos have become a real highlight in Samsung's photographic arsenal. From the very first photo I took of my colleague Axel Metz (above) to a shot of my son and his girlfriend, I've been impressed with the phone's uncanny ability to capture every detail and strand of hair while warmly blurring the background. My favorite shot is this one, of one of the Beefeaters who guard the Tower of London guards. This gentleman was kind enough to pose for me, and I think even he was surprised at the result.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)

While I was generally pleased with the telephoto performance, I'm not thrilled with the underpowered, 10MP 3x optical zoom lens. It obviously pales in comparison to the iPhone 17 Pro Max's 48MP 4x optical zoom. Those extra megapixels also help the iPhone produce unprocessed 8x zoom sensor crops. After 3x on the Z Fold 8 Ultra, everything else gets some digital enhancement. Most of the images I've shared are optical-strength only.

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One lens that's gotten a big upgrade with the Z Fold 8 Ultra is the ultra-wide, which is now a 50MP lens. This helps improve the quality of those wide-angle shots, and macro images, as well. There's some real drama in these ultra-wide images, and I'm impressed with how even the edges remain sharp.

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Night photography is also strong, and I was often pleased with how much light, color, and detail the Z Fold 8 Ultra could find in even the darkest environments.

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On the video side, the Z Fold 8 Ultra lives up to its name, letting you shoot and edit 8K video. I waded into my pair of hydrangea bushes and dozens of buzzing bees to capture some cool, up-close 8K footage that I was then able to fully edit inside the phone's camera app, including adjusting brightness, and even using the AI-powered audio scrubber to bring down the wind and sound of leaves brushing against the microphones.

(Image credit: Future)

One of the other highlights is the Dual Camera shooting mode, which, while using a front and back camera, produces a rather distinct result. Instead of the 10MP selfie-camera image appearing as a picture-in-picture window on the front-facing camera video — as it does when using the similar Dual Capture mode on Apple’s latest iPhones — the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra creates a split-screen view.

A post shared by Lance Ulanoff (@lanceulanoff)

A photo posted by on

I used this mode a few times in London, most memorably at the Royal Palace and at Borough Market, where I shot the famous strawberry stand. It's a great effect, and creates some really engaging videos.

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The other most notable video feature is a Galaxy AI enhancement called My FanCam. As the name implies, it lets you focus on your favorite video subject. The example we saw involved video of a soccer game. On playback in the camera app, you select the Galaxy AI icon and then the My FanCam option. The system identifies all the moving people (it doesn't work with animals or anything other than humans). You select the one you want, and the video tracks that subject. But the best part is that it can auto-crop around the subject in the aspect ratio of your choice — perfect for sharing on social media.

I ran a couple of tests with My FanCam, and it worked perfectly every time.

@techradar

♬ original sound - TechRadar

• Camera score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Software

• One UI 9 is clean, elegant, and intuitive
• Lots of AI, but none of it gets in the way

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra arrives with Android 17 and OneUI 9. It's a great combination. Overall, OneUI is a great Android overlay, because it's useful without getting in the way of Android. There are still some odd choices, like the existence of a Galaxy web browser that I never use (does anyone?), but some of the native Galaxy features are actually quite useful.

It's also a system with multiple AI platforms: Bixby, Galaxy AI, and Gemini. Of the three, Bixby, which can answer general questions and step into controlling key phone features, got the least amount of use. I do like though for it for how it lets you dig down to settings like brightness control without ever digging into settings. I could simply talk to Bixby and tell it what I wanted, like when I asked, "Can you make sure the brightness is set to 100%?" Bixby opened settings, brightness control, and pushed it to 100%.

Galaxy AI is a far richer collection of native AI tools, ranging from on-screen awareness to voice-driven photo editing.

All I said was, "remove the old man"FutureFuture

I had some fun editing photos with my voice — and I was shocked by how good the results were. With the above photo pair, I simply asked Galaxy AI to "Remove the old man". There was no hesitation, and in about 20 seconds I had the second image. I was gone, and Galaxy AI filled in the rest of my friend's arm, turned a small satchel he was carrying into a shoulder bag, and fleshed out the guy behind me. It looked like reality.

There's also a whole collection of Now features, including the "your world on a single screen" Now Brief, which now adds custom cards, and Now Nudge, which pops up contextual guidance for things like multitasking and automatically noticing that you might want to add an appointment to your calendar. I couldn't get Now Nudge working for me in messages in RCS — I suspect it may take some time for the system to learn about me and start making these suggestions.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

On the quality-of-life front, the QuickShare updates that make sharing between this Android Phone and iPhones (and Macs) possible have been a revelation. I feel as if the world's been thrown open, and I can only say it's about time. Okay, I know that's a bit much, but this feature update is bigger than you might think.

Gemini is especially powerful if you give it access to personal details and data inside apps like calendar and mail. When I asked Gemini, without preamble, "Where am I going today?" it looked in my emails and gave me my schedule and location for my next meeting. Impressive.

Features like Circle to Search can be summoned by holding down the virtual home button and then circling on-screen objects. The results are quick and accurate

I can also hold down the power/sleep button to summon Gemini. Six months of access to the more powerful Pro version comes with the phone; after that, you have the most basic Google AI, which is still pretty good.

• Software score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Performance

• Powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy
• Performance is peerless
• Back can get a little hot

This is a powerful and smoothly performing smartphone. Qualcomm's latest silicon virtually matches the iPhone 17 Pro Max's A19 Pro Geekbench 7 single- and multi-core scores. The numbers, by the way, appear lower than phones tested last year with Geekbench 6 because, in the upgrade to 7, Geekbench completely recalibrated how it measures performance.

In the real world, I have yet to run into a task or situation the phone couldn't handle. Games like Asphalt Legends looked and ran perfectly. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra can handle multitasking with ease — you can have up to four apps open simultaneously on the main screen — and editing 8K video is seamless.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

There were times when I could feel the back of the phone getting warm, but not so much that it became uncomfortable to hold.

In other performance areas, like audio, the speakers can get loud but with virtually no bass; they can also sound a bit tinny. Call quality is excellent, though my first few call tests were with phone scammers who somehow instantly found the new number.

5G speeds and WiFi 7 connectivity were strong and, with enough signal, fast. I've also enjoyed a solid Bluetooth 6.0 connection to my Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 and Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra benchmark scores

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

Geekbench 7 single-core

1835

Geekbench 7 multi-core

4476

3D Mark Wildlife Extreme

6632

3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Low

1660

3D Mark Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited

1366

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Battery

• 5,000mAh battery
• 45W wired charging
• All-day battery life

Even though this is a thinner Z Fold than last year, the battery is now a larger 5,000mAh, a feat made possible by the thinner titanium alloy, which replaced the thicker polymer layer and the new silicon-carbon battery technology (more power in less space).

That battery gave me, with constant, all-day, mixed use in bright sunlight, 12.5 hours of battery life. In our lab tests, we got a solid 14 hours. It's an all-day champ, to be sure.

The phone can also charge quickly with a 45W fast charger — I almost 50% in 15 minutes and 76% in half an hour — while wireless charging supports 20W charging. You can also put another Galaxy phone on the back and share a little power via Wireless PowerShare.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra?Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The price of Samsung's best foldable just keeps going up

4 / 5

Design

Thin, flat, almost creaseless and just beautiful. I do wish the camera bump didn't mess up the on-desk flatness

5 / 5

Displays

Excellent displays and the upgrades to the main screen (flat, less of a crease, antireflection) make it a great content and productivity device.

5 / 5

Camera

Excellent collection of cameras. The ultrawide update is especially welcome. I do wish the telephoto was a bit stronger (optically). Powerful features like Photo Assist and My FanCam are strong additions.

4.5 / 5

Software

Clean, well-organized platform with lots of useful, baked in, AI features like Now Brief. Lots of AI.

4.5 / 5

Performance

Qualcomm's best mobile processor (tweaked for Samsung) does not disappoint.

4.5 / 5

Battery

5,000mAh battery. All day battery life is virtually guaranteed.

5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want the ultimate foldable phone
Sure, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is adorable, but no other Galaxy folding phone has this collection of cameras, vast screen size, and thinness. It's the full package.

You want all-day battery life
The cutting-edge silicon-carbon 5,000mAh battery is a true workhorse.

You want the best photos
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is unquestionably the camera leader among its Galaxy Z8 cousins, but it also has one of the best camera phone arrays I've used.

Don't buy it if...

You're on a bugdget
This is an exciting folding phone, but you will pay dearly. If cost is an issue, you may want to look to the Z Fold 8 or Z Flip 8.

You want more zoom
As much as I like these cameras, I still want a 4x optical zoom, and would love a 5x. Maybe next year.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 promises the same level of performance and AI as the Z Fold 8 Ultra, but in a cuter form factor and at a better price.

Read our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review

Motorola Razr Fold 2026
This foldable manages to match the Z Fold 8 Ultra in power and battery technology (but has a larger battery). The design is questionable, but it's generally a very good foldable that will save you money over the Z Fold 8 Ultra.

Read our full Motorola Razr Fold 2026 review

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

I've been working, playing, and traveling with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra for almost two weeks. I've tried to use it as I would any smartphone, but with the added benefit of the large screen.

This is my seventh year testing foldable phones, and I am constantly astonished by the progress that's being made with the form factor, especially by Samsung. The Z Fold 8 Ultra is the full expression of its smartphone ideas and, as I carried it with me and pulled it out to take photos in London, Manhattan, and at home, I was constantly surprised and pleased with its performance.

More broadly, I've been testing phones for over 22 years and technology for 40. I use my wealth of experience to put products like the Z Fold 8 Ultra in context and perspective. As I see it, this is the best folding phone on the market right now.
Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2026

Light spoilers follow for Ted Lasso season 4 episodes 1 to 4.

Ted Lasso is back — and so, too, is Apple TV’s hugely popular sports comedy-drama. Three years after the final whistle was seemingly blown on the hit show, it returns not just as a continuation of where its third season left off, but also as a narrative and character-based evolution by way of a squad rebuild.

Even with its new line-up and the multi-year gap between seasons, though, Ted Lasso season 4 is a triumphant return to winning ways for the fan-favorite series — and I say that as someone who didn't dislike its divisive third season as many others did.

Home is where the heart is

Season 4 opens with Ted having to make a big life choice (Image credit: Apple TV)

Three years have passed since Ted (Jason Sudeikis) ended his AFC Richmond journey with the men's team and returned to Kansas to spend more time with his son Henry (Grant Feely). When season 4 reunites us with the eponymous soccer coach, we learn he's given up on the game entirely and now works as the assistant manager of a local grocery store.

A surprise visit from old friends — Richmond owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), Director of Football Operations Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift), and Keeley Jones (Juno Temple), now serving as chief marketing officer for the club's new women's division — soon has Ted questioning his current lot in life, though.

Ted Lasso season 4 is a triumphant return to winning ways

The reason? They want him to manage Richmond's newly founded women's team, work the same magic that he did with their male counterparts, and establish a similar culture of excellence that'll last well past his tenure in the dugout.

Higgins, Rebecca, and Keeley didn't just travel all that way for Kansas City's famous barbeque... (Image credit: Apple TV+)

Of course, this being the latest chapter of the beloved Apple TV show, it's not a spoiler to reveal that an at-first reluctant Ted eventually accepts their offer. After all, it would be an incredibly short season if he didn't.

This season's premiere feels like a largely superfluous prologue to the main event

Nevertheless, although this is a significant, life-changing choice for Ted, episode 1 spends far too much time grappling with the proposal laid at his feet — so much so, in fact, that I worried it would derail the series' return before it had really begun.

Indeed, with the bulk of episode 1's runtime spent on exploring Ted's inner struggle before its inevitable resolution, this season's premiere feels like a largely superfluous prologue to the main event of Ted actually becoming a Richmond native once more.

Higgins, Rebecca, Keeley, and Ted take in a US women's soccer match (Image credit: Apple TV)

That's not to say this narrative set-up isn't necessary, because it's the biggest decision Ted has faced since he left Richmond in the first place. Showing him wrestle with himself over whether he should take charge of Richmond's women's team, and deal with his loved ones' not-so-subtle nudges to do so, then, is a worthy storytelling exercise.

Nonetheless, an insightful subplot where Higgins learns about the Negro Baseball Leagues and Ted's inner conflict notwithstanding, I couldn't help but feel that season 4 episode 1's story could've been condensed and avoided the extraneous plot filler that drags out his prospective homecoming.

We're not in Kansas anymore

Welcome back, coach (Image credit: Apple TV)

Once season 4 properly gets underway in its second episode, though, it's like the show has never been away, nor missed a beat. Indeed, it effortlessly slips back into the purposeful stride that underpinned its first two electrifying seasons and parts of its third — again, a season I still largely enjoyed.

Once season 4 properly gets underway... it effortlessly slips back into the purposeful stride that underpinned its first two electrifying seasons

There's a satisfying air of familiarity as Ted — and, by proxy, the audience — reunites with the pillars of the AFC Richmond community, too. Rebecca, Keeley, and Higgins aside, other well-known faces like Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) welcome us and Ted back in typically eccentric fashion, and further emphasize the continuity between the show's past and its latest chapter.

Roy Kent is one of the series' many fixtures who returns for its fourth season (Image credit: Apple TV)

By virtue of Ted managing Richmond Women, season 4 also represents a new era for the acclaimed series. With that comes a whole line-up of fresh faces — the first of which we're introduced to is diligent but emotionally cold soccer coach Alice Chilton (Tanya Reynolds).

It soon becomes clear that Alice is... a fascinatingly complex and likeable individual in her own right

Initially resentful of Ted for pipping her to the top job and Rebecca for not even considering a woman for said position, Alice starts out as a — and this'll sound harsher than intended — dollar store Roy Kent. Or, rather, the season 1 version of Kent, who was an antagonistic figure whose sole purpose was to rail against Ted's cheery demeanor.

Coach Beard (left) and Ted are joined on the staff roster by player-turned-coach Alice (right) (Image credit: Apple TV)

Thankfully, it soon becomes clear that Alice isn't a Kent knock-off, but a fascinatingly complex and likeable individual in her own right. She also not only comes around to respecting Ted, but also quickly embeds herself as an integral cog in a new-look, eccentric triumvirate alongside Ted and Coach Beard, as well as a fully-formed foil to this established intrepid duo.

Clearly, Ted's capacity to thaw even the iciest of exteriors has no limits, and I'm eager to see how Richmond Women's primary coaching team collectively evolves throughout season 4 amid myriad issues that'll come their way.

New team, new problems

Katy 'Boots' Quinn will become many viewers' favorite character (Image credit: Apple TV)

And fall their way, those problems most certainly do.

Jude Mack's Katy 'Boots' Quinn is easily the highlight of this season's new additions

Indeed, season 4 metes out its share of obstacles, starting with a goal-scoring crisis after Richmond Women's main strikers are ruled out for the season. Meanwhile, in a far cry from their time in charge of the men's team, Ted and Beard no longer have free rein to walk into the locker room whenever they please — an obvious boundary that becomes a recurring, comedic point of contention for all concerned. Ted also finds himself in plenty of awkward one-on-one chats with his new squad, most notably with zany, slightly unhinged goalkeeper Katy 'Boots' Quinn (Jude Mack), who's easily the highlight of this season's new additions.

Gemma, seen here after a local five-a-side game, is tapped to become Richmond Women's new striker (Image credit: Apple TV)

'Boots' is far from the only unique personality in the Richmond Women squad.

We don't get to meet the vast majority of this rambunctious rabble until episode 3 but, in its follow-up, they manage to do the impossible: make Ted lose his cool and lay down the law amid dressing room splits. Ultimately, though, they're an instantly lovable collection of characters with distinct quirks and personal problems that'll inform their individual character journeys, and I get the impression that viewers will be just as captivated by this group — and their various trials and tribulations — as they were by the men’s team.

Ted Lasso tackles its heavy real-world issues head-on

Off-the-field challenges also permeate many of season 4's early subplots, many of which give major supporting characters in Waddingham's Rebecca and Temple's Keeley a stage on which to shine.

From gender inequality and pregnancy and motherhood to systemic underfunding and the media coverage gap, Ted Lasso tackles these heavy real-world issues head-on. That's to be expected, but it's nevertheless pleasing to see the show do so with warmth, empathy, and the occasional slice of its trademark irreverent humor.

Lizzie will have to navigate playing for Richmond and being a mom in season 4 (Image credit: Apple TV)

On the whole, Ted Lasso season 4’s opening four episodes handle their secondary storylines reasonably well. However, a few subplots lean into comedy at the expense of substance and subsequently feel a little shallow due to their flippant execution.

Take episode 2, where Rebecca grapples with perceptions that she isn't much of a feminist. It's a subplot that highlights Waddingham's comedic timing and dramatic range, but falters somewhat by prioritizing quick laughs over meaningful narrative resolution, thereby coming across as unbalanced.

The other major misfire in episodes 1 to 4 is Goldstein's Kent.

His presence remains vital to the series, but he feels oddly overused in a season that has moved away from Richmond's men's team. Of more concern is how the show worryingly appears to be turning his character into a caricature of his signature gruffness. Pair that with his recycled 'will they, won't they' subplot with Keeley — an eye-rolling dance that's run its course — and Roy's evolution feels increasingly sidelined in favor of easy gags. Hopefully, a finer balance will be struck between the Kent of old and his new persona in chapters to come.

My verdict

Noteworthy flaws in Ted Lasso season 4's early episodes aside, it's great to see this wonderfully silly, optimistic, cosy comfort show back on the air.

There was understandable scepticism when Ted Lasso season 4 was officially announced, with plenty of 'cash-grab' and 'who asked for this?' murmurings in the wake of what felt like a definitive finale.

As heart-soaring returns go, though, Ted Lasso's comeback delivers a match-winning performance in its first half, rich in both laugh-out-loud moments and striking emotional notes. Keep up this kind of form, and few will argue against another trophy-laden season of television.

Ted Lasso season 4 episode 1 is out now on Apple TV. New chapters air weekly.

Beelink EQi Wildcat Lake: 30-second review

The Beelink EQi is essentially an ideal office machine. There’s nothing fancy about the design; in fact, it feels a little lightweight and plasticy; however, the balance of features is far greater than the specifications would initially have you believe.

As ever, this Mini PC is compact with its 126mm-square footprint that enables easy positioning around the desk; however, while the looks may not highlight anything special, it packs in an unusual amount of connectivity for a Mini PC at this price and with this level of CPU.

The major surprise here is that on the back, alongside the usual 2.5GbE LAN port, is a second, ultra-fast 10GbE port, which is the sort of specification you normally find on hardware costing far more, but also ideal if you’re connecting into a UGREEN IDX6011 NAS over a 10GbE network for archiving. Next to this network port are two Thunderbolt 4 ports at 40 Gbps, HDMI 2.0, and triple-display support, meaning that for integration into an office or studio this machine is highly tuned.

It’s also very neat with the dark grey ABS enclosure feeling cheap compared to aluminium rivals. Still, the 85W power supply is built into the chassis, so the only cable at the back is a mains lead, and those going to monitors and accessories, there’s no power brick to get in the way.

Open the base and the interior is exceptionally well organised, with both M.2 slots covered by a substantial metal heatsink that lifts off with two screws. The rear port layout is the odd decision, with the two Type-A ports placed on either side of the HDMI output rather than together, which is awkward if you use a wired keyboard and mouse.

Performance is well balanced by Intel's Core 3 304, though it has its limitations. It’s quick where it counts when browsing the internet, using office software, or playing media, and I've even found myself using it to offload image and video files to the server quickly and to book equipment and locations. Where it does fall is in graphics performance, as highlighted by the benchmarks: great for the office but really a no-go for gaming unless optimised for lower-specification systems.

Storage is also interesting with two M.2 slots. However, they support different lane counts, and a Crucial T710 Gen 5 drive returned 3510.25 MB/s read in slot one but only 1750.42 MB/s in slot two, which is slower than the UFS drive Beelink already fits, but then does enable you to boost the overall internal storage neatly.

Everything else is again well-balanced for office use. This is a nice, quiet machine with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed. The design is nothing flashy, but for dedicated office use with serious network potential it’s one of the best mini PCs I've tested.

Beelink EQi Wildcat Lake: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $509
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from Beelink and retailers such as Amazon

The EQi costs $509 for the 16GB LPDDR5 and 512GB configuration that I’ve looked at in this review. It's available direct from Beelink here in three configurations - 16GB LPDDR5, 24GB DDR5, and 32GB DDR5 RAM, all with 512GB SSD.

I'm also seeing several models on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk for around the same price.

• Value: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Beelink EQi Wildcat Lake: Specs

CPU: Intel Core 3 304, 5 cores/5 threads, up to 4.3GHz, 6MB cache, 15W TDP
Graphics: Intel Xe3-LPG integrated graphics
RAM: 16GB LPDDR5, or 24GB/32GB DDR5 at 5600MT/s; DDR5 version upgradeable to 64GB
Storage: 512GB UFS 3.1; two M.2 2280 slots (slot 1 PCIe 4.0 x2, slot 2 PCIe 4.0 x1), up to 4TB each
Left Ports: USB 3.2 Type-A, USB 3.2 Type-C, 3.5mm audio jack
Right Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB 2.0, HDMI 2.0, 10GbE, 2.5GbE, AC input
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, 10GbE Ethernet, 2.5GbE Ethernet
Audio: 3.5mm combined audio connection
Camera: None
Size: 126 x 126 x 44.2mm,
Weight: 500g
OS Installed: Windows 11 Pro
Accessories: HDMI cable, regional AC lead/power adapter and user manual

Beelink EQi Wildcat Lake: Design

If you’re looking for a machine that blends into the office background, then the Beelink EQi Wildcat Lake is a perfect option. The dark grey finish, rounded corners, and a lightly textured top panel are neat and strike a note that really highlights the machine's price point and specifications.

The size is also in line with what you’d expect from a standard Office Mini PC, with a relatively small form factor and a compact 126mm x 126mm footprint, at just 500g.

While the design might not be the most inspiring, it is generally well thought out and, surprisingly, has a built-in 85W power supply, so just a single power cable runs to the AC mains, with no need for a power brick.

On the front and back are a good range of ports, highly specified for a machine at this price. There’s also good air ventilation through the base, with airflow entering over the processor and passing through the storage.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Beelink quotes 32dB as the noise in normal use, and this seemed about right, with the ambient noise in the office slightly higher when ideal. This is also one of the neatest laid-out Mini PCs internally that I’ve seen, accessible through the base, which is held in place by four small cross-head screws. A small attention to detail is the small label that just helps to lift the base free, enabling easy access.

Once inside the interior, both M.2 slots are slightly hidden under a single large metal heatsink that lifts off with two screw. Once removed, your choice of M. 2 2280 SSD can be installed. This heatsink shows real consideration as a thermal solution for the installed drives, with the installation process taking no more than a couple of minutes.

The port selection and specification are where things really get interesting. Starting at the back, there are two USB 2.0 Type-A ports on either side of the HDMI Max 4.0 60Hz output rather than together, so a wired keyboard and mouse end up separated by a display cable.

Then there are two LAN ports, a 2.5GbE and a 10GbE, which is very unusual for a machine at this level; also unusual are the two Thunderbolt 4 ports. The front is a little more standard, with a USB 3.2 Type-A, a USB-C 10 Gbps, a 3.5mm audio jack, and finally the power button.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Beelink EQi Wildcat Lake: Features

A quick check through the features highlights the intended audience for this PC. At the heart of the machine is the very respectable Intel Core 3 304; it’s nothing flashy, but this is a new-generation CPU so offers far more than entry-level CPUs in the past, and while not an AI powerhouse, does feature an integrated NPU as well as GPU, handy if you use Copilot on a day-to-day basis for work.

The CPU offers a five-core, five-thread processor with one performance core and four efficiency cores, 6MB of cache and a 15W TDP, turboing to 4.3GHz. Beelink quotes AI performance at 24 TOPS across the CPU, GPU and NPU for local AI processing.

While it’s great to see this entry-level office machine has AI potential, connectivity is what has surprised me about the EQi through this test. On the back are those two Thunderbolt 4 ports that run at 40 Gbps with DisplayPort 1.4, and if you need to connect more monitors, then there’s the more traditional HDMI 2.0, which I used to connect to my monitor for this review.

The two network ports, one 10GbE and one 2.5GbE, are a headline feature and enabled me to connect directly into the 10GbE LAN in the office. This meant that I could quickly offload video and image files through the machine's Thunderbolt 4 to the network. While this is an office-focused machine, I use an old Intel NUC 9 in the office for this exact task, and its speed over 1GbE and USB3.2 Gen 1 is unmatched by this.

Inside there’s a fixed 16GB LPDDR5 or upgradeable DDR5 at 24GB or 32GB, both at 5600 MT/s, with the DDR5 version supporting up to 64GB. Storage is 512GB of UFS 3.1, again fixed, but there is the option to install two M.2 2280 SSDs, both enabling up to 4TB. One point about these two slots is that they don’t support the same number of PCIe lanes, with one half as fast as the other.

Wireless runs over a MediaTek MT7922 module, with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

• Features: 4.5 / 5

Beelink EQi Wildcat Lake: PerformanceBenchmark scores

CrystalDiskMark Read: 1977.4
CrystalDiskMark Write: 806.79
Geekbench CPU Multi: 6303
Geekbench CPU Single: 2337
Geekbench GPU: 6182
PCMark Overall: 4733
Cinebench CPU Multi: 4785 (R23)
Cinebench CPU Single: 1696 (R23)
Fire Strike Overall: 1918
Fire Strike Graphics: 1971
Fire Strike Physics: 12379
Fire Strike Combined: 778
Time Spy Overall: 879
Time Spy Graphics: 773
Time Spy CPU: 3963
Wildlife Overall: 5133
Steel Nomad Overall: 127
Windows Experience Overall: 8.1
Procyon AI Computer Vision 2.0: 635

Additional tests

Crucial T710 Gen 5 NVMe, slot 1: Read 3510.25 MB/s, Write 3530.98 MB/s
Crucial T710 Gen 5 NVMe, slot 2: Read 1750.42 MB/s, Write 1766.17 MB/s
Lexar PCIe 3.0 SSD: Read 1631.56 MB/s, Write 1499.14 MB/s

Getting started with the Beelink EQi was extremely straightforward, with a single power cord that plugs in, eliminating the need for the usual power brick. While this may seem small, it actually makes quite a difference, reducing cables and bulk to deal with.

Once the initial setup with the mouse, keyboard, and 4K monitor was complete and Windows 11 Pro was set up, the machine was installed with the usual array of applications. Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite and a few games for good measure.

Starting with the main office applications, performance proved solid, running PowerPoint, Word, and Excel without issue, with Copilot there to support me as I put together a presentation for September. The speed is good, and despite the CPU's entry-level position, it handled everything impressively.

Checking out the results of the Geekbench 2,337 single-core and 6,303 multi-core results and, more importantly, the PCMark 10 came in at 4,733, showing that while this machine doesn’t excel, it’s where you would want it for a competent everyday computer that won’t get bogged down under heavy processing.

During the test, I edited a few images in Lightroom and Photoshop, and both ran surprisingly well, even with the images stored on the internal UFS 3.1 drive. While this drive isn’t the fastest compared with the latest SSDs, it is fast enough for most office-based work, with CrystalDiskMark results of 1977.4 MB/s read and 806.79 MB/s write.

What’s interesting is that inside there are two PCIe 4.0 slots, one listed as PCIe 4.0 x2 and the other as PCIe 4.0 x1, so I fitted a Micron Crucial T710 Gen 5 NVMe to each in turn to check out the speeds of each, just as a note you can add up to 4TB in each, giving a total of 8.5TB of storage which is impressive.

The first slot recorded 3510.25 MB/s read and 3530.98 MB/s write. The same drive in slot two returned 1750.42 MB/s read and 1766.17 MB/s write. That's roughly twice the speed in the first compared with the second and still very acceptable for the intended end user. While I used a PCIe 5.0 SSD, a respectable PCIe 4.0 SSD which is far cheaper should gain a similar result.

Switching to the Xe3-LPG graphics, things start to fall slightly. The integrated graphics are ideal for everyday work, watching back multimedia and light photo and video editing.

However, when it comes to gaming, the potential is limited. Hogwarts Legacy ran slowly, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was a no-go. Other games ran, but due to the lack of space on the internal storage, I ran all from the faster Crucial in the first of the two spare SSD slots.

After running the Mini PC in the office for a week, using it mainly for Word and research work with some light photo editing, a few features became apparent that set this Mini PC and test apart from most others. The speed of those connections just enabled the EQi to integrate perfectly with the studio; it’s nothing flashy, but it turned out to be the fastest machine for transferring image and video data to the NAS.

After a shoot, I plugged the CFExpress Type-B card reader into the Thunderbolt 4 port and transferred the files at speed over to the Ugreen IDX6011 NAS. The connection speed over the network, due to that 10GbE port, made the transfer speed far exceed that of any other machine I know.

I usually use an old Intel Nuc 9 Ghost Canyon that I can leave for a few hours before network editing on the MacBook Pro; however, here, with this small, inexpensive machine, it handled everything at speed.

While the 24-core TOPS, as quoted by Beelink, is marginal on the AI processing front, and while I was able to use Co-Pilot, running a local LLM was limited to a 3-4B model, I opted for Qwen3. The main issue here was that the RAM is only single-channel, which limits the speed; however, for checking through documents and basic summary tasks, it actually worked surprisingly well.

• Performance: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Beelink EQi Wildcat Lake: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The Beelink EQi is an impressive office-focused machine that underwhelms with its design but outperforms in performance. It packs in the usual office-based Mini PC features such as being able to support three displays, 2.5GbE networking, a base level of storage and RAM, but then it surprises by offering more.

The 10GbE networking and Thunderbolt 4 ports are surprising and completely change what’s possible with this machine, and for something with such a small footprint, those two specifications instantly make it interesting.

When you then add in the fact that you can expand the internal storage with two 4TB SSDs, it then becomes even more interesting.

For me, the 10GbE and Thunderbolt ports are what make this Mini PC go from something that would blend into the background to something that’s actually very useful. The speed of those two ports enables me to hook this directly into an existing 10GbE network and to take advantage of the speeds that it offers. The issue, of course, is that you need the network infrastructure in place to make the most of this speed.

That brings me round to who the Beelink EQi is best for? Straight down the line, it would be for Office work. It has excellent single-core performance, runs pretty much silently, supports up to three displays, lets you upgrade the internal storage, and has an ultra-fast network connection that is beyond what most desktops offer. It’s also not really usable for playing games, and, on the surface, if you work in the creative sector, it’s not going to make an impact there either.

However, as I found with a cheapish mini PC that offers solid performance, the Thunderbolt 4 and 10GbE network make it great for offloading large video and image files to the NAS. Realistically, however, this is a Mini PC perfectly suited to anyone whose work involves documents, spreadsheets, browsers, and moving large files across a network; it is one of the more capable small machines I have tested this year.

Should I buy the Beelink EQi Wildcat Lake?

Value

Decent connection options for the money, if you have a 10GbE network to use it

4

Design

Compact, quiet and well laid out inside, let down by plasticy casing

4

Features

Outstanding port selection for a machine this size, focused for the office but with potential

5

Performance

Fast in everyday work, weak in graphics, excellent storage in the right slot

4

Overall

An excellent quiet office machine with workstation connectivity

4

Buy it if...

You store a lot of files in different places

Whether that is a NAS, a media library, or a shared project drive, the dual 10GbE and 2.5GbE ports move large files at a rate most full-sized desktops can’t match.

You want a silent machine.

Single-core performance is excellent, and in the office I couldn’t hear the machine over the ambient noise in most situations.

Don't buy it if...

You want to play modern games.

A Time Spy graphics score of 773, compared to 3,963 for the CPU, shows exactly where the limitations are. The single Xe3 core is built for displays, video playback and light graphical work, not gaming.

You need heavy multicore performance.

While light video and image editing is possible, it’s certainly not where the machine's strength lies.

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

Fanxiang PS2000W: 30-second review

Fanxiang is a Chinese storage brand, most commonly known as Shenzhen Fanxiang Information Technology. The company grew out of a team with a decade of prior experience in storage design, firmware, and product sales, and they've built their range around four main product lines: solid-state drives, mobile storage, memory modules, and storage cards.

It’s been making external SSD storage for about five years, with a wide range of devices and specifications.

The PS2000W appeared in 2025, and delivers capacities from 500Mb to 4TB in a slim aluminium case. It comes with a soft carry pouch and a cable that has an integrated adapter for both USB-A and USB-C connections.

The quoted performance is 2000MB/s reads, and 1800MB/s writes, but that assumes you have a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port, and that’s not a common standard.

More realistically, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port will achieve a little over 1000 MB/s reads, and 950 MB/s writes with either a USB-C or USB-A connection.

For those wanting faster transfers, you either need a system with the rare USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port, or choose a different drive that supports the USB4 standard, like the Fanxiang PS3000 portable SSD.

However, that option costs $350 for the 1TB model, which is substantially more than the $150 the PS2000W is typically priced at for that capacity.

The problem the PS2000W doesn’t address is that this drive is double the price it was only eight months ago, and unless you have a system that can make the most of its enhanced performance, there are cheaper alternatives. In fact, if you have a spare NVMe drive, then buying an external enclosure for USB4 is probably a better choice.

Not the best portable SSD, or the worst, but sadly impacted by the outrageous cost of flash memory in 2026.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Fanxiang PS2000W: Pricing and availability

• How much does it cost? Starts from $90
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Sold through online retailers and also directly from Fanxiang.

The Fanxiang PS2000W portable SSD comes in capacities starting at 500 GB, doubling each step to include 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB drives.

Directly from the maker, these are priced at $112.99, $203.99, $379.99 and $495.99 for the largest capacity. That pricing makes the 4TB the best value, and the 500MB the worst.

But the maker prices aren’t especially good, and I was able to find it much cheaper on Amazon. On Amazon.com in the US, the 500MB model is only $89.99, the 1TB model is $149.99, and the 4TB model is $419.99. There wasn’t a price for the 2TB version.

UK pricing via Amazon.co.uk is £64.60, £119.99, £169.99, and £319.99, and Amazon EU sites are €94.99, €139.99, €229.99, and €379.99, respectively.

For those curious, the UK is the cheapest place to buy this hardware, followed by the EU, and the most expensive is the USA.

While officially Crucial has exited the retail market, its equivalent product, the X10, is still available from many retailers. At $207 for the 1TB option, and $299.99 for the 2TB option, the X10 is slightly more expensive. But it is rated as water-resistant, and while there isn’t a 500GB model, there are 6TB and 8TB options.

A cheaper option with the same spec is the PNY RP60, but the 1TB model is still $10 more than the PS2000W.

But many of the familiar brands are more expensive, such as the SanDisk Extreme Pro V2, Samsung T9, Kingston XS2000 and LaCie Rugged Mini. Western Digital has its My Passport SSD, but it’s the same price as the PS2000W, but only offers half the performance.

Those looking for a cheaper option should consider the $82 Orico S20 with 512GB storage.

It’s tempting to look at the pricing of the PS2000W and see it as a good deal, when it’s far from that.

Price tracking the 1TB model: it was $149.99 at the time of writing; it was $75.99 in November of 2025. That’s nearly a 100% markup.

Now, I should say that Fanxiang doesn’t control the price of Flash memory, which has spiked since AI companies and speculators decided to buy all of it. But in good conscience, I can’t recommend people spend this sort of money on devices that cost half as much a year ago.

• Value: 3 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Fanxiang PS2000W: Specs

Model

Fanxiang PS2000W

Interface

USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps)

Sequential read

Up to 2050MB/s

Sequential write

Up to 1800MB/s

Flash type

TLC 3D NAND

Capacities

500GB, 1TB, 2TB

Dimensions

8.5cm x 5cm x 0.8cm

Weight

Approximately 45g

Build

Aluminium alloy unibody

Cables included

USB Type C to C, plus Type C to A adapter

Compatibility

Windows, Mac, Android, PS5/PS4, iPhone 15 and later via USB-C

Warranty

5 years

Fanxiang PS2000W: Design

• Aluminium enclosure
• Dual USB standards cable

Some brands, and you know the names, will try to make their external SSDs and HDDs as cheaply as possible, typically by using mostly plastic construction.

Thankfully, Fanxiang didn’t go down that path with the PS2000W, and this device appears to be entirely made of metal. And, based on its relatively low weight, it uses aluminium.

The package is a simple lozenge shape with curved sides and flattened ends, measuring 85mm long by 50mm wide and less than a centimetre thick.

Out of the box, it comes with a 30cm USB-C to USB-C cable that has a USB-A adapter permanently attached. The drive and cable fit neatly into a soft drawstring bag, also provided, making for a neat and easily pocketable solution.

The review model was a 2TB capacity drive, which translated into 1863GiB of usable space, and it connects to the host device using USAP (Serial ATA).

To achieve the best performance, it requires a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port, but the drive is backwards compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2, Gen 1, and even USB 2.0. However, as you move down the USB interface pecking order, the expected speed decreases.

As for features, this drive is basic. It supports S.M.A.R.T. NCQ, TRIM and GPL, but it doesn’t offer hardware encryption like on the Kingston XS2000 or the Crucial X10 Pro.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

There are also no software tools included, though you can download a utility for SSD management from the Fanxiang website. I didn’t notice any means to update the installed firmware, or any firmware releases.

To be blunt, this is a basic USB SSD with a Gen 2x2 interface, but otherwise it’s unremarkable. And therefore, if you don’t have that interface, there appears to be no compelling reason why you would choose this one over another brand.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• Design: 3.5 / 5

Fanxiang PS2000W: Performance

• Needs USB 3.2 Gen 2x2
• Performs within quoted specification

Fanxiang PS2000W Benchmark

Bench

Test

USB 3.2 Gen 2x2

USB 3.2 Gen 2

CrystalDiskMark 9.03

Default Read

2002MB/s

1041MB/s

Default Write

1853MB/s

948MB/S

Real World Read

1336MB/s

993MB/s

Real World Write

1219MB/s

912MB/s

AJA System Test 64GB

Read

1804MB/s

971MB/s

Write

1645MB/s

891MB/s

AS SSD

Read

1771MB/s

971MB/s

Write

1496MB/s

879MB/s

ATTO

Read

1.89GB/s

994MB/s

Write

1.73GB/s

906MB/s

PCMark Data Drive Bench

Score

2028

1250

Let’s be brutally honest: USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 was a dead standard walking from its inception, and USB4 didn’t really include it in its repertoire of supported prior standards. There are a few exceptions, but in general, if you don’t actually have a port to the 2x2 standard, then you won’t see the true performance that this drive can muster.

For that reason, I’ve presented the performance via a Gen 2x2 port and a much more common Gen 2 variety. How does it compare with the best Gen 2x2 drives?

Well, read speed is below the Crucial X10 Pro, ADATA Elite SE880 and LaCie Rugged Mini SSD, but write speed is close to what all those achieve.

Given the different controllers and implementations of Gen 2x2 interfaces, the Fanxiang PS2000W portable SSD doesn’t have a compelling reason to be chosen over any other drive in Gen 2x2 mode, but it can get close to the maximum realistic speed for this interface.

But if speed is the prerequisite, then a USB4 or Thunderbolt external drive, like the Corsair EX400U or the SanDisk Extreme PRO with USB4, would be a better choice if you have a USB4 port. These drives can hit read speeds of 3800MB/s or higher, and 3650MB/s writes.

And, if I were rushing to catch a plane or train, and needed to transfer files, I know which I’d prefer.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Fanxiang PS2000W: Final verdict

If the Fanxiang PS2000W portable SSD had appeared during the golden age of Gen 2x2, when the Kingston XS2000 appeared back in early 2022, and at a reasonable price, then it might have been something I’d recommend.

And the fine irony of that comparison is that the price of the PS2000W is almost exactly the same as the XS2000's MSRP was nearly four years ago. And the Kingston device supported hardware encryption, where the Fanxiang does not.

To be clear, the construction quality and performance of the PS2000W are absolutely fine, but what isn’t is the amount of money being asked for.

If money isn’t an issue for you, I’d buy the Crucial X10 Pro before they’re extinct, as it has hardware encryption. Or I’d consider a USB4-capable drive, like the Corsair EX400U, if you have a port that supports that specification.

Should I buy the Fanxiang PS2000W?

Value

100% more expensive than it was 8 months ago

3 / 5

Design

Metal construction, comes with a carry pouch and a dual standard cable

3.5 / 5

Performance

Works well at Gen 2x2 speeds, if you have that port

4 / 5

Overall

A nice drive, but hardly great value

3.5 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Buy it if...

You have USB 3.2 Gen 2x2
If you have a USB port that is Gen 2x2 (not just Gen 2), then this might be the drive you want to exploit the extra speed that it offers. However, unless all the ports you are likely to plug it into are this spec, the advantage will be limited.

Money isn’t a concern
Buying RAM, storage or GPUs is currently only for those people not paying with their own money. Since, depending on what you are buying, the price hikes range from 100% up to 400% and higher, if you can wait for the AI bubble to burst, you could save yourself, or your business, lots of money.

Don't buy it if...

You have USB 4.0
If you have USB4 or Thunderbolt 4, then this isn’t the drive for you, at whatever price. There are USB4-specified drives that are twice the speed of this one, and most of them only cost a little more.

You need bigger than 4TB
The largest drive available in this range is 4TB. And those wanting 8TB or more need to look for a different product entirely.

Also consider

Nextorage NX-PS1PRO Series
One of the first USB 4.0 capable external SSDs available, the Nextorage NX-PS1PRO Series comes in 1TB, 2TB or 4TB capacities.

Read our full Nextorage NX-PS1PRO Series review

OWC Envoy Pro FX
If you have Thunderbolt 3 ports or intend to add this functionality soon, then the Envoy Pro FX might well be worth your time. A beautifully engineered external storage option that can provide exceptional performance in the right circumstances, the OWC Envoy Pro FX is effective if expensive.

Read our full OWC Envoy Pro FX review

We've also tested out the fastest external SSDs around.

BenQ has been one of my favorite monitor brands for quite a while now. The build quality is spectacular, the built-in features are wonderful, and their companion software makes it feel like a first-party device for Apple products, which is a huge win for me as an Apple product lover.

When it comes to creative hardware, those working in the industry need the best of the best. They crave color accuracy. A lot of them crave fun features as well, but above all they crave the ability to reduce friction in their day-to-day work.

Specifically, when it comes to monitors, color accuracy and calibration matter more than most people realize. If you're in this space, you're very familiar with how to calibrate your monitor. BenQ decided to answer that not just with its own hardware, but by building its own hardware. The company built a color calibrator into its monitors that are designed for those who need the color calibrator. BenQ didn't just do it in a way that would work, but did it in a way that's elegant and very BenQ-esque.

The monitor has a color calibrator arm that swivels down from the monitor and then pushes itself back up as well, hiding away when you're not using it but popping out when you need to calibrate further. It has a light shade or a hood, depending on the industry that you're in, that helps make sure there's no glare or reflections or anything that can manipulate the colors, producing an even more true-to-spec experience. So, for those looking for the best video editing monitor or best photo editing monitor, this one is excellent in my experience.

BenQ PD2770U: Price and availability

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

Right now, this monitor sells for around $1,700, and that comes with the hood and the built-in color calibrator. BenQ is also really good about sending cables that you need in the box, so don't worry about that.

If you buy this monitor, you can literally just plug it straight into your computer of choice without needing any extra accessories. It's widely available, and you can pick this up from BenQ's website, Amazon, and other retailers.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )BenQ PD2770U: Unboxing and First Impressions

As expected with BenQ monitors, the packaging is simple yet well-done. It's no Apple unboxing experience, but it is one that is predictable and expected. On first unboxing, I was a little confused about how the shield could be folded up so tightly, but then I realized how intricately they've tucked it into the box to keep it safe and protected.

Other than that, I was able to set up the monitor fairly quickly. I tried it first with the built-in stand and then quickly added it to a monitor arm that I had to try out some testing. Once I finished initial rounds of testing, I moved this to somebody on my team who does a lot of video editing, and now he has been using it on his desk for the last 100 days.

I've tested this monitor in low-light scenarios and in high-light scenarios with fluorescent lights directly above the desk. Thanks to the shader, this monitor has performed brilliantly and brighter, but the shader makes it so that even this dimmer color is still spectacular and vibrant.

BenQ PD2770U: Design & Build Quality

This brand came out very much like all the others, to where it is professional and simple. It's got a basic stand if you choose to use it. It's got great cable management and simple height adjustments.

What's great is that even if you choose to not use the stand, the hood attachment magnetically connects directly to the monitor itself, meaning that you can use this with any monitor arm or monitor stand that you so choose.

Also, since it is magnetic, if you're the kind of person that works in a light-controlled room or maybe a dimmer room (like a personal home office), you can customize the lighting. Perhaps you won't need the shade. If you work in a coworking space or an area where you cannot control the lighting as much, that's where the shade comes in clutch.

Last but not least, having the USB-C hub built in makes this a monitor and a hub all in one. If you don't have a ton of ports and perhaps you're just running a more simple setup where you have a desktop or laptop plugged directly into this monitor and that's about it, then you can run all of that.

You can have plenty of room to wiggle directly from the monitor itself without needing a docking station. Even if you had a couple accessories from a laptop, you can plug those in if you wanted to.

BenQ PD2770U: In use

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

As I previously mentioned up above, my team and I have had this 4K monitor in our arsenal for over 100 days. It's actually even closer to 150 at this point. I wanted to make sure that we could get some good long-term testing with this panel before giving results.

In that 100 days, my team and I have put this monitor through the tests. We've edited countless videos on it, done multiple big photo projects, done administrative tasks, and used it for managing content and so much more. While it is phenomenal, all those things, it is 100% overkill for anything other than photo or video editing where you need color accuracy.

Currently, this monitor is set up in a coworking area that has some pretty aggressive fluorescent lighting right above the desk. For our scenario, having the shader has been an absolute game changer, as it helps keep any glare off of the monitor, changing and destroying the color and visual sighting.

Plus, having the color calibrator built in is not only a fun element but an absolute game changer if you need to confirm and double-check calibration throughout your projects.

BenQ PD2770U: Final verdict

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

I've been using this monitor mostly for creative products, but of course had to test and see how it would work for basic administrative tasks. As expected, I can reassure you that if you are using this monitor for business or productivity or administrative tasks, you are dead wrong.

This is not meant for that at all. It's overkill in price, feature set, and physical operation. However, if you are in that creative space and you want something that is more consistent than what you ever had before, then you should absolutely check out the BenQ Creative Pro PD2770U monitor.

To make a long story short, if you are in the creative space and you need color accuracy above all else, or if you find yourself reaching for or even wishing for a color calibrator regularly, then this is absolutely your monitor.

If you are just looking for a 27-inch 4K monitor, this is 100% overkill, but it will do the job in a better and fancier way than you probably need. If image quality, screen resolution, and picture clarity are a part of your workflow, consider this one. If not, check out some of our other spectacular monitors.

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For more top-performers, we've tested the best business monitors and the best monitors for Mac mini.

The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 6 is exactly what you expect to see if a ThinkPad got Botox. This computer is a professional workstation with the familiar soul of a ThinkPad business laptop, just in a sleek, facelifted chassis.

Everything about the P14s is geared toward getting work done without compromising looks or quality-of-life features that have been overlooked in the past when other workhorse laptops hit the market.

It combines serious hardware with a compact design without sacrificing the physical qualities that make a work laptop enjoyable to use. Given the size, In my experience it's one of the best laptops for engineering students looking for a more portable powerhouse, or professionals working across multiple locations.

Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 6: Price and availability

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

The P16s Gen 3 is available in a range of configurations, with both AMD and Intel chips. You can grab the AMD version and the Intel version from Lenovo US. That's the same for Lenovo UK with AMD models and Intel models.

I'm testing the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 6, Model 21QT0029US to be exact. It has an Intel Core Ultra 7 265H processor, an Nvidia RTX Pro 500 Blackwell GPU with 6 GB of GDDR7 memory, 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1 TB NVMe SSD. It also includes Windows 11 Pro and Intel vPro support, which fits Lenovo’s stellar reputation for business security and management.

This ThinkPad P14s Gen 6 has 32 GB RAM, while leaving the second slot unused. For this laptop, Lenovo supports up to 96 GB, giving the device room to grow for larger projects. There is also only one internal M.2 storage slot, though, so if you increase storage, you must replace the existing drive.

Our exact testing model and configuration can be found for about $2,700, but with Lenovo’s frequent promotions you can also find a similar P14s configuration closer to the mid-$2,000 range. That number makes more sense when the laptop is compared with other professional mobile workstations.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 6: Unboxing and First Impressions

Physically, the ThinkPad P14s Gen 6 is fantastic. Its aluminum top and bottom give the chassis a sturdy feel with very little flex or anything else that makes it seem fragile.

Lenovo also puts the system through MIL-STD-810H testing, which is a standard used by the DOD for drops/shocks, extreme temperatures/humidity, dust, and high altitude. So, TL;DR—this thing is solid.

Its construction feels quite fitting for a computer you’d expect to travel with, to and from work every day. The design itself is unmistakably ThinkPad as well. Which is a pro and a con depending on how unique you want to be in your laptop.

It features an all-black, professional-looking frame with subtle Lenovo branding and the familiar red TrackPoint on the keyboard. If you want to stand out and make it your own, slap a sticker on there, but if you want to look professional and crisp, then you'll fit right in with yet another ThinkPad that looks exactly like the rest.

Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 6: Design & Build Quality

The keyboard is the undisputed favorite part of the laptop across our entire team. The shape and texture of the keys feel excellent, and each press is incredibly responsive, tactile, and honestly satisfying. Typing for long periods never makes my hand feel tired or makes me want to switch to a different keyboard for a break.

In fact, this whole article is typed on the P14s, that’s how much I enjoy its keyboard. I have several people who help me test laptops to ensure I am not just using my own personal bias in my reviews, and we all unanimously agree that the ThinkPad keyboards are spectacular, and the P14s Gen 6 is no exception.

The backlighting of the keyboard is also convenient, with brightness control using the Fn key and spacebar that offers a few different lighting/brightness options. The TrackPoint, along with its corresponding buttons, works as you’d expect too. With so many laptops moving to have this be software-driven, it is nice to see some business devices still have these elements built into key commands that have been around for quite some time.

The fingerprint reader is built into the power button, works quickly, and was much more dependable for us than facial recognition. The 5 MP infrared camera is acceptable for video calls, but we ran into issues when strong backlighting was present, mainly with facial recognition when trying to unlock the device.

The 14.5-inch display on this configuration has a 2560 × 1600 resolution at a 16:10 aspect ratio, a 90 Hz refresh rate, and a rated brightness of 400 nits. It covers 100% of the sRGB color space and is X-Rite factory-calibrated. In person, the screen is beautiful: the text looks sharp, colors have plenty of vibrance, and the taller 16:10 aspect ratio gives you extra vertical space for any project, document, or webpage.

The 90 Hz refresh does a good enough job to keep up with pretty much all on-screen movement and keep it looking smooth. Of course, we wouldn't suggest video editing or photo editing even on this at a professional level, but that's not what this is designed for now, is it? I'm still shocked at how many people in the classic professional white-collar jobs are happy with standard HD screens.

Movies, TV, and other media look great, but its more important job is providing a clear, color-accurate workspace for professional applications, and it does that quite well, too. The screen itself has that silky, smooth feel that many modern displays have.

There are also two 2-watt speakers, which are surprisingly good for laptop speakers. Dolby Audio helps voices and other sounds come out clearly and gives music and video a fuller sound than I would have expected from a laptop.

Of course, they will not replace quality headphones or external desktop speakers, but they work well for calls, presentations, and, as I mentioned before, your movies and TV if you plan on using this laptop for fun things too.

Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 6: In use

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

During normal use, the P14S feels extremely fast. I was able to move between multiple programs, browser windows, and background tasks without experiencing any noticeable lag. It responds like a computer ready for real work rather than one suited for online shopping and the occasional email.

The RTX Pro 500 is a workstation-class GPU, and the P14s carries independent software vendor certifications for its intended professional applications. That matters when stability is more valuable than chasing gaming-level frame rates. It also shows that Lenovo knows its lane with this laptop.

They aren't making this for the gamers, generalists, or the budget-seekers. This has its niche in the professional category of needing to be able to handle demanding programs with speed but needing to break records in any way either. The reliability and stability are the game here, and Lenovo has it in spades.

There are reasonable limits. The GPU’s 6GB of memory may restrict extremely complicated renders, massive simulations, or demanding local AI projects - set expectations, though, and you'll get by.

The included 32GB may also become a ceiling for unusually large workloads, although the 96 GB upgrade limit provides potential to grow. For seriously demanding workloads, the ThinkPad P16 Gen 3 is still the king.

The laptop “can” run games, but gaming is simply not its purpose. Performance is good rather than great, maybe even just okay, and the RTX Pro hardware is better suited to professional engineering applications than maximizing frame rate for games. This kind of testing is helpful too, as it gives a glimpse into how this may perform for CAD renderings and other graphically-intensive scenarios.

While this could pull up some models, the more complex ones may take longer than desired, and this isn't the machine you'd want long-term if you live in that space -- or at least not as your only machine.

The cooling system for the P14s becomes noticeable during heavy work. Under sustained loads, the fan is medium-loud, with a somewhat turbine-like sound. Imagine a Dyson bladeless fan. It’s not crazy loud, but there is no mistaking when the laptop is working hard.

Our review unit has the larger 75Wh battery and a 100-watt USB-C charger. Under normal or light use, it lasted pretty much the entire day even at maximum brightness. This was a real-world observation rather than a controlled rundown, but it showed that the device can work away from an outlet without constant anxiety over battery life.

Heavy CAD rendering or other sustained CPU and GPU work will indeed drain the battery much faster, especially with higher screen brightness. That is to be expected from mobile workstation hardware. Lenovo rates Rapid Charge to restore up to 80% in about an hour, which makes it easier to recover a useful amount of battery life during a short break.

Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 6: Final verdict

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

The ThinkPad P14s Gen 6 feels like another professional tool to choose from if you are in that arena of the professional workforce. Its solid construction, fantastic keyboard, sharp display, quality ports, upgradable memory, and consistent performance support the work it was designed to do.

When you consider the professional hardware, ISV certifications, display quality, and upgradable options, the price of this laptop honestly shifts from a negative to one of its strongest positives.

For professionals and students seeking serious power without moving to a larger or significantly more expensive workstation, this computer is a solid all-around option. They don't necessarily want the newest or the fanciest in the category, they want something they know they can rely on, because downtime isn't worth the cost of a fun feature they occasionally use.

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For more powerhouse performers, we've tested the best business laptops and the best mobile workstations.

Samsung Galaxy S26: Two-minute review

Every year, Samsung's S-series lineup consists of three models. There's the entry-level option — in this case, the Galaxy S26 — followed by mid- and high-end offerings, which in 2026 are the Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26 Ultra. While the Ultra steals most of the headlines, the Galaxy S26 is no slouch. It's a great, well-rounded option for those who want a compact phone or don't want to shell out silly money on buying one of the very best Android phones.

The S26 features a slightly tweaked design versus the Galaxy S25, with a new pill-shaped camera array on the back, a 6.3-inch display, and several color options. Tucked underneath its exterior is a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and storage options that now start at 256GB (RIP 128GB). All these specs, along with Android 16 and Samsung's feature-packed One UI 8.5 software, combine for a smooth mobile experience.

In terms of endurance, the Galaxy S26's 4,300mAh battery routinely delivered more than a full day of use in my testing, often leaving me with enough juice to go into the next day. And its trio of rear-facing cameras does the job, as does the selfie cam.

One downside is the $100 / £80 price increase over last year's model (though Australian buyers actually get a AU$50 saving). Yes, this is an industry-wide trend right now — but that doesn't make the numbers feel any better. Thankfully, while the S26 starts at $899 / £879 / AU$1,349, it can often be found on sale.

Another blemish is the limited 25W charging speed and lack of internal magnets to fully support Qi2 chargers and accessories without a case.

Overall, then, if you can find the Galaxy S26 on sale and want to stay within the Samsung ecosystem, it's a great pick-up. However, there's stiff competition at this price point — and below it, too.

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Starts at $899 / £879 / AU$1,349 for 256GB + 12GB RAM

Samsung announced the Galaxy S26 line, including the base S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra, on February 25, 2026. Preorders opened the same day, and deliveries started March 11.

You can buy the S26 directly from Samsung with a starting price of $899 / £879 / AU$1,349 (which represents a $100 / £80 increase and AU$50 decrease versus the S25). However, Samsung frequently offers discounts, and at the time of writing, the S26 is going for $799 in the US.

Regardless of where you're buying the phone, you'll get double the starting storage versus previous entry-level S-series models (256GB vs 128GB).

Buying directly from Samsung means you'll have two additional color options in Silver Shadow and Pink Gold. Picking it up from third-party retailers like Best Buy and Amazon, or a wireless carrier such as Google Fi or Verizon, limits you to Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, White, or Black.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Specs

Here's a breakdown of the Samsung Galaxy S26's key specs:

Dimensions:

149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2 mm

Weight:

167g

Display:

6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x

Resolution:

2340 x 1080

Refresh rate:

120 Hz

Peak brightness:

2,600 nits

CPU:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

RAM:

12GB

Storage:

256GB, 512GB

OS:

Android 16 with One UI 8.5

Cameras:

50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom

Selfie Camera:

12MP

Battery:

4,300mAh

Charging:

25W wired, 15W wireless

Colors:

Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, White, Black, Silver Shadow, Pink Gold

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: DesignFutureFuture

• Same core design as the S25
• New camera array on the back

At first glance, it'd be easy to mistake the S26 for last year's S25. The design differences are small. The biggest visual change is the triple camera array on the back of the phone. Instead of each lens protruding out of the phone's housing, there's a single pill-shaped camera bump. Otherwise, the display is only slightly bigger at 6.3 inches compared to the S25's 6.2 inches. That increase also means the overall size of the phone grew a bit, too. The S26 measures 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2 mm and weighs 167g.

As previously mentioned, there are a total of six color options available: Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, White, Black, Silver Shadow, and Pink Gold — the latter two of which are exclusive to Samsung.

My daily drivers are an iPhone 15 Pro Max and a Pixel 10 Pro XL, both of which are much larger devices than the S26. Yet, I rather enjoyed the smaller form factor of the S26, and I didn't feel like the smaller display was too small at any time during my testing.

I've often debated whether I should stop using the biggest phone every phone maker offers, and after using the S26 for a couple of weeks, that internal debate is stronger than ever.

The only area I struggled with regarding the design of the Galaxy S26 was the orientation of the sleep/wake button and the volume up/down buttons on the right edge. I found myself instinctively reaching for the volume down button while scrolling through Reels on Instagram, only to press the sleep/wake button and lock the phone. My muscle memory just couldn't adjust to the S26's arrangement, which is the exact opposite of the Pixel 10 Pro XL's, which has volume buttons below the sleep/wake on the same side of its housing.

On the bottom, you'll find a nano-SIM card slot (I thought we were done with physical SIMs?!) and a USB-C port. The left side and top edge of the phone are completely clean.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Display

(Image credit: Future)

• Easy to use in direct sunlight
• Smooth refresh rate

The Galaxy S26 features a 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 2340 x 1080 resolution and an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. All these technical specs mean one simple thing: it looks fantastic.

Everything from standard text messages to high-res YouTube clips appears incredibly sharp. Gaming is equally impressive; the display delivers fluid, stutter-free graphics in fast-paced titles like Asphalt Legends, which can take full advantage of the S26's 120Hz refresh rate.

The AMOLED panel truly shines — literally — when you take it outdoors, thanks to a rated peak brightness of 2,600 nits. Even under direct midday sun, I had absolutely no trouble reading the screen or navigating through apps.

There's really not much more to say about the Galaxy S26's screen other than it looks great. No issues. 10/10, would recommend.

• Display score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Software

• 7 years of software updates
• Multitasking features are nice-to-haves

The Galaxy S26 runs Android 16 with Samsung's One UI 8.5 adding customizations and features to the overall experience. If you've ever used a Samsung phone or tablet, you'll feel right at home with the S26's interface.

One UI used to feel duplicative of the base Android experience, particularly when it came to the apps preinstalled on a phone. For instance, Samsung Messages and Google Messages were both available. However, Samsung recently retired Messages in favor of Google's offering.

Samsung hasn't fully given up on its own apps. The Samsung Browser and Gallery are still available, for example. It's still confusing and a cluttered user experience, but it is getting better.

Default apps aside, One UI is mostly interface tweaks and customizations you don't see on, say, a Pixel phone. For instance, the new gestures to view your notifications or the quick settings panel in One UI 8.5 have taken me some getting used to.

Swiping down from the left three-quarters of the screen opens your notification panel, while swiping down from the top-right quarter reveals your quick settings.

I've been using a Galaxy Z Fold 7 running One UI 8.5 for a few months and adjusted to the new interaction with little effort, but for some reason, the smaller screen of the Galaxy S26 keeps tripping me up.

But I digress.

The Now brief interface on the Samsung Galaxy S26 (Image credit: Future)

Galaxy AI is a big part of Samsung's AI initiative. You can use Galaxy AI to do things like let AI screen an incoming call, use writing and editing tools, photo editing, summarize and prioritize notifications, and even get personalized health insights using your Samsung Health data.

The feature list reads like a standard AI suite on any 2026 phone. That's not a bad thing, by any means.

I used the editing tool (Object Eraser) in the Gallery app to remove objects from photos a few times, and each time it nailed it. I'm not a huge fan of converting photos into pop art or retro anime, but in my brief experimentation with that feature, it mostly worked.

Pre-Object EraserFuturePost-Object EraserFuture

Having said all this, the redundancy of every phone maker and major tech company offering its own version of the same AI features can get overwhelming and confusing for users. Hopefully, after the AI boom goes bust, the mass spamming of AI features for the sake of AI features will stop.

Beyond Galaxy AI, one of my favorite features of the S26's software experience is the ability to touch and drag down on a notification to instantly create a small window for that app. It's super helpful when you want to reply to a message or continue a conversation without switching apps. The first time I triggered it was by accident, but once I figured out how it works, I'd routinely swipe down on the pop-up for an alert, do what I needed to do, and then close out the app — all without leaving whatever app I was in at the time. All phones should offer similar multitasking features.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Cameras

(Image credit: Future)

• 50MP main camera
• 12MP ultra-wide
• 10MP telephoto

The camera housing on the S26 might be new, but the actual hardware is unchanged from the S25. You still get a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.

I had fun taking photos with the S26. Samsung phones have historically taken photos that are slightly over-saturated, and sometimes overexposed, but that look pretty darn good at the end of the day, and the S26 is no different.

The phone performed beautifully in brightly lit environments, like when I snapped pics of the new Rivian R2 after a test drive. It also did a solid job of preserving detail and color late in the afternoon as the sun went down during my evening walks.

The telephoto lens works well up to its 3x optical limit, but its digital zoom past that point is hit or miss, especially once you get near the 30x limit. I had hoped I'd be able to read a 'no trespassing' sign posted down the street from me at 30x zoom, and while some of the text is legible, it's difficult to read.

The phone's 12MP front-facing hole-punch camera is centered along the top of its display. It takes good selfies, although it makes me look old. Or maybe I'm getting old. It's probably the latter. Sigh.

• Camera score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Camera samplesFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureSamsung Galaxy S26 review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset
• 12GB memory
• 256GB starting storage

The Galaxy S26 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, with 12GB of memory and 256GB or 512GB of storage.

All of that combines to provide a smooth overall experience, with no obvious slowdowns in daily use. I spent my time testing the S26 using it as I would my daily phone.

I made random calls, talked in group chats and with my wife and kids, took pics of random stuff, played a game once in a while, streamed music, and watched some videos. The phone handled everything I put it through without any hiccups. Apps launched fast, and multitasking didn't trigger any lag or unresponsiveness.

One thing I noticed while gaming and running benchmarks is that the S26 gets hot. While it never becomes too hot to hold, it can become uncomfortable during extended gaming sessions. After noticing the temperature rise during a benchmark test, I grabbed my infrared thermometer and measured it at 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

Although I didn't have a case to test with, I imagine a case will likely cause the phone to heat up faster and potentially throttle its performance. This isn't a dealbreaker, but it's something to keep in mind.

Samsung Galaxy S26 benchmark scores

Geekbench 6 single-core

3,616

Geekbench 6 multi-core

10,827

3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test best

6,933

3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test low

2,962

3DMark Solar Bay

12,007

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Battery

(Image credit: Future)

• 4,300mAh battery
• 25W wired charging
• 15W wireless charging

Inside the Galaxy S26 is a 4,300mAh battery that's big enough to power through 30 hours of continuous video playback, according to Samsung's claims. In practice, that claim held up. I was easily able to get through a full day of heavy use — starting at 6am and ending around 10pm — and still have enough juice left to make it into the lunch hour the following day.

I felt spoiled while testing the S26, especially since my aging iPhone 15 Pro Max now needs to be recharged multiple times a day.

I normally don't leave my phone overnight without plugging it in, letting it drain precious battery in the process. But I wanted to see just how far I could push the S26's battery, and it delivered. I routinely saw a drop in charge of 4-5% overnight.

When it came time to charge the S26, using a 25W power adapter nets you an 18% charge from empty in 15 minutes. A full charge with the same adapter took 1 hour and 35 minutes. That's slightly slower than the Motorola Razr Plus 2026 I recently tested, but to be expected considering the Razr charges at up to 45W.

Wireless charging is an option at 15W with support for the Qi2 standard. However, there are no magnets in the phone to hold any compatible wireless charger or accessory in place. Instead, you'll need to buy a Qi2-compatible case that includes a ring of magnets to take full advantage of the feature.

I'm sure this is a design and cost-saving decision, but it's an odd one. As someone who uses a MagSafe wallet and has MagSafe chargers all over my home, office, and even in my truck, I've noticed the lack of magnets in the Galaxy S26 daily. At least fixing the problem is just a simple case purchase away.

The S26 also supports reverse wireless charging at up to 4.5W, which isn't a whole lot of power, but it's perfect for those situations when you need to recharge your smartwatch or wireless earbuds while on the go.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S26?Samsung Galaxy S26 scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

An unwelcome price increase over last year's model.

3 / 5

Design

A tried-and-true design that looks great.

4 / 5

Display

A display that hits all the marks of what you'd want in a flagship phone.

5 / 5

Software

Android 16 and One UI 8.5 team up to provide a reliable experience.

4 / 5

Cameras

All three cameras take solid pics, but don't rely on the telephoto past 3x.

4 / 5

Performance

Quick and powerful, but the phone does get hot during intense tasks.

4 / 5

Battery

All-day battery life is welcome, but slow charging speeds are not.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a Samsung phone
The base S26 doesn't totally break the bank, but you are paying more for a Samsung phone than you would with, say, a Google Pixel. But if you're in the Samsung ecosystem, then that extra expense may be worth it.

You want a workhorse
The Galaxy S26's performance doesn't know when to quit. Gaming, multitasking, and doom-scrolling aren't an issue — just don't play graphically intensive titles for too long!

You want all-day battery life
The S26's 4,300mAh battery powered through a full day and then some in our testing.

Don't buy it if...

You want faster charging
Being limited to 25W wired charging means topping off your battery in a hurry just isn't going to happen.

You want full magnetic Qi2 support
The S26 supports the Qi2 wireless charging standard, but you won't find a single magnet on the back of the phone. You'll have to buy a magnet-equipped case for that.

Samsung Galaxy S26 review: Also consider

Google Pixel 10
Google's Pixel 10 checks all of the same boxes as the Galaxy S26, with a starting price of $799. It often goes on sale for much less than that, too.

Read our full Google Pixel 10 review

Apple iPhone 17
It doesn't run Android, but Apple's iPhone 17 matches the S26's size, performance, battery life, and camera quality, with a starting price of $799.

Read our full iPhone 17 review

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S26Why you can trust TechRadar

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I spent two weeks testing the Galaxy S26, using it as I would my everyday smartphone. I sent countless BlueBubble messages, played games, streamed music, and watched far more TheBurntPeanut streams and clips than I care to admit. I took pics of my food, my pets, and other daily randomness, as one does.

Read more about how we test

First tested July 2026

Beast of Reincarnation is a fantastic and immersive action-adventure role-playing game (RPG) with an emotional narrative that keeps you guessing at the end of every chapter. Game Freak, the developer responsible for the beloved Pokémon games, has taken a step into a completely new direction and done so in fine fashion.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PC
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: August 4, 2026

Throughout the journey, you'll encounter formidable foes, from basic enemies to mini and major bosses, in combat encounters with an excellent feel of ebb and flow. Game Freak has nailed the concept of traversing a rundown yet beautiful post-apocalyptic Japan, with abilities that let players explore multiple regions and uncover a plethora of secrets.

I didn't expect Beast of Reincarnation to deliver an immersive and engaging experience to this degree; certainly not within the story, combat, and atmospheric aspects of the experience.

While it's far from perfect, due to some quality-of-life issues, a slightly overstayed welcome, and effectively little to no cosmetic customization, it's still a game I expect to keep playing long after rolling the credits.

What it means to be human

(Image credit: Game Freak)

In Beast of Reincarnation, a post-apocalyptic Japan set in the year 4026 is center stage. The parasitic entity or force known as the blight has taken over the world, corrupting animals, humans, and just about every living creature there is.

You play as Emma, a blight-stained young girl alongside her blighted wolf-dog companion, Koo. As a purifier, Emma is humanity's last hope to defeat the beast of reincarnation and restore the world from blight. She will need to absorb Nushi, the corrupt (or blight-stained) monsters that come in all different shapes, species, and sizes.

During the journey, Emma will discover what it's like to be human and consider a very specific aspect of her nature — avoiding spoilers, you'll slowly unravel what that means for Emma, those closest to her, and, frankly, humanity's fate.

While Beast of Reincarnation is focused on the restoration of the world, one of its central themes is love and what one will do to embrace it. It's very much an emotional rollercoaster, full of surprises that I genuinely couldn't see coming, and by the time the credits rolled, I was clapping and tearing up just a little.

Beast of Reincarnation also features a rapport system, specifically with Koo and other supporting characters like Kagura. Essentially, the more interactions you have with these characters, such as feeding Koo when hungry, can increase the rapport, resulting in benefits such as extra skill or equipment slots.

The rapport with these characters directly ties into the story, specifically with how they respond to Emma or help. Fortunately, it doesn't take too much effort to increase rapport, and with the emotional weight of Emma's story arc, you'll want to interact with other characters as much as possible.

Aside from being incredibly adorable, Koo is easily one of the best companions in gaming, providing support in and out of intense combat sequences. (Video Credit: Game Freak)

Game Freak's inspirations for Beast of Reincarnation are clear as day. It almost certainly draws from PlatinumGames' Nier: Automata and Shift Up's Stellar Blade, and Square Enix's Final Fantasy 16.

Again, without spoiling story details, Emma will often encounter human non-player characters (NPCs) or even Golems (who were once human) that will label her 'stained' and act disgusted. It's very reminiscent of how Final Fantasy 16's Clive Rosfield was treated early on in the story, often labelled 'branded'.

That alone creates an interesting predicament; Emma is humanity's only hope, yet humans essentially despise her due to her blight-stained nature. It dives into some of the story's darker and more lonely aspects, especially when acknowledging Emma's emotional vulnerability.

While the narrative kept me invested, wanting to find out what happens next, I feel the game's runtime could've been shorter. There are constant cliffhangers at the end of each chapter, where answers to questions about Emma, the post-apocalyptic world, and the beast of reincarnation itself are unnecessarily withheld.

Ultimately, many of the cliffhangers and small-scale cutscenes feel like padding, rather than ones to help progress the story. I appreciated some of those 'padded' dialogue moments, giving Emma and other characters a little more depth — so it's not all bad, but it's worth noting if you hate long-winded cutscenes.

(Image credit: Game Freak)

Outside of the story, Beast of Reincarnation's soundtrack is undoubtedly one of its strongest assets, and I couldn't stop thinking about Nier Automata's orchestral, melancholic, yet magnificent soundtrack. While traversing many of Game Freak's incredible in-game regions, I was accompanied by amazing vocals, which manage to fit each scenario perfectly.

The only frustration I had with Beast of Reincarnation's original soundtrack is that it can get repetitive as you progress. Sometimes, the same soundtrack from a previous chapter would play again in a new environment, and unless you're in combat or watching a cutscene, the music never stops — and it's one of the only complaints I had for Stellar Blade too.

Nonetheless, it's still a fantastic listen, especially in the final chapters, where I was particularly blown away by the soundtrack playing during the final boss battle — and I'm already itching to start my second playthrough just to experience it again.

Spectacular Sekiro-like combat

Just imagine those satisfying sword-clashing sounds from Sekiro, but then dial it up to 11. That's exactly what you get in Beast of Reincarnation during combat. (Video Credit: Game Freak)

Simply put, Game Freak absolutely nailed the combat. Much like traditional Final Fantasy games (i.e., Final Fantasy 7 Remake), Beast of Reincarnation features a blend of real-time action and turn-based combat, where players control Emma engaging in fierce sword battles while also turning to Koo for blight attacks.

The more you pull off successful parries, the more Florescence Points (FP) you gain for Koo to select and pull off special attacks. At the same time, the more you parry, the more an enemy's stun gauge increases, causing a stagger and an opening for a finishing blow.

In this manner, Beast of Reincarnation's combat is what I would describe as Sekiro-like, with From Software's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice featuring some of the best sword combat in games.

Parrying is key for Emma in almost all combat encounters. Players do have the option to dodge attacks, and need to for unbloackables. However, parrying will allow you to overcome all foes once they're stunned, and will also help you maximize the efficacy of Koo.

Also, if you thought Sekiro's sword clashing sound effects were great, Beast of Reincarnation gives it a run for its money. Game Freak's sound design for combat encounters single-handedly elevates enemy and boss encounters to another level; one duo boss encounter in particular left me hyped on the edge of my seat, in what was a challenging but extremely immersive back-and-forth clash.

One annoying issue, though, is one supporting character with Emma, who constantly says, "Remember to use Koo's skills too." This happens in every single combat encounter whenever Koo's FP meter is full, and it drove me wild on more than a few occasions.

Emma herself does the same when finding a new campsite or spotting an enemy, and it's one of those minor quality-of-life aspects that can very quickly become a major one, since it's bothersome after playing for hours.

There were many times I could choose to be stealthy, but decided against it. Why? The back-and-forth sword clashes are incredible! (Video Credit: Game Freak)

Throughout the game, you'll find different armor and swords to use, each with unique properties like elemental effects for the latter that will come in handy against enemies with different weaknesses.

There are two skill trees, one dedicated to Emma and another for Koo, and there are plenty of abilities to unlock. I finished the game at the 20-hour mark, and I only had around half the skills in both trees unlocked, which should give you an idea of just how much there is to add to Emma and Koo's skill set.

Fortunately, that will aid a second playthrough perfectly; and yes, Beast of Reincarnation has a New Game Plus run ready to go as soon as you finish the game, with a new difficulty (which I won't name... it's a potential spoiler). There's a fair amount of replay value, since almost all regions are explorable, with side content like mini bosses waiting to be found.

The latter makes traversal very important, and fortunately, it's a very strong highlight. Emma's hair allows her to reach high terrain and find loot that is pivotal to weapon progression, and finding new ingredients for Kagura to use for cooking.

I was quite disappointed to see that the new armor found for Emma has absolutely no cosmetic changes. It feels like a massive missed opportunity for Game Freak to give players a deeper layer of customization, besides equipping gear simply for better stat boosts.

But how does it perform?

4026 post-apocalyptic Japan is really a beautiful place to explore, but does Game Freak's ambitious action-adventure RPG run well enough to enjoy the landscape? (Video Credit: Game Freak)

I played Beast of Reincarnation on my main rig, using an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super, at 4K and 1440p. Instead of the 3440x1440 ultrawide display resolution, I was limited to 2560x1440, as the game doesn't have any 21:9 aspect ratio support — in 2026, this is unacceptable and, frankly, a massive disappointment for PC players.

At 4K, using DLSS (unclear which model it's using) quality, I was able to stay above 60 frames per second (fps), often between the 75 to 90fps range. I did have occasional frame rate dips, typically when there were numerous enemies on screen, but for Unreal Engine standards, it's not horrible performance.

At 1440p, it consistently stayed above the 90fps mark, and again, aside from odd moments of frame rate dips, performance wasn't a major concern for me.

Performance on the Lenovo Legion Go S Z1 Extreme was a little rougher than I expected. I could barely reach a stable 60fps even with the lowest graphics preset and FSR 3 performance enabled. What's worse is that the upscaler is constantly reset every time you restart the game.

Hopefully, Game Freak will include ultrawide support and FSR 4 in a future update, as only FSR 3.1 games can use FSR 4 via AMD's Adrenalin software.

Should you play Beast of Reincarnation?Play it if...

You're looking for a less punishing Sekiro-style game
Beast of Reincarnation scratches the itch of parry-based combat without the unforgiving difficulty of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and there are multiple difficulties, including one unlocked for New Game Plus for a far more challenging experience.

You're a fan of gripping stories set in post-apocalyptic worlds
Much like Nier: Automata and Stellar Blade, Beast of Reincarnation features a post-apocalyptic world to explore, with regions overgrown with nature and monstrous enemies to battle.

Don't play it if...

You want an action-adventure RPG with cosmetic options
If you're expecting to find any cosmetic options in Beast of Reincarnation, you'll be severely disappointed. While there is new gear and weapons to find, Emma's look remains the same throughout the game's runtime.

You hate a narrative with info-dumping
While Beast of Reincarnation's narrative is an interesting and immersive one, plot twists and surprises can be slightly underwhelming, as some are told via character explanations instead of shown.

Accessibility features

Beast of Reincarnation allows players to adjust controller button configurations and key bindings. Only English and Japanese are available as voice-over languages — I tested both throughout my playthrough.

There are no field-of-view options, which it desperately needs. The camera angle during some boss fights can easily be the cause of defeat, as sometimes enemies are too big, and you can't see Emma while they're still attacking you.

There are options to show speaker names via subtitles, but there isn't an option to make subtitles bigger. It's a little problematic as subtitles are small, and sometimes bright scenery in games can make it difficult to read.

Menu navigation with a mouse also isn't very good, as it requires the right mouse button to exit each section, instead of simply selecting another on the fly.

How I reviewed Beast of Reincarnation

(Image credit: Game Freak)

I tested Beast of Reincarnation on my main RTX 4080 Super rig, my second SteamOS AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB powered PC, and the Lenovo Legion Go S Z1 Extreme. With the RX 9060 XT 16GB, it was a struggle to hit 60fps at 4K without using FSR 3 and lowering some graphics settings.

I used my TCL QM8 55-inch mini-LED 4K TV and my LG UltraGear 45GS95QE ultrawide OLED, despite the lack of ultrawide support from Game Freak.

Game Freak notes that while Beast of Reincarnation is on Steam, it's working on optimizing the game for the Steam Deck, so expect potential performance improvements at launch or in the future.

First reviewed July 2026.

Liene PixCut S1 : 30-second review

The Liene PixCut S1 is a 4x6 photo printer and sticker creator in one, at a size that will sit perfectly on your desk or shelf. The printer itself works solely through an app connection from your mobile device, so there’s no need to plug it into a machine, with all files transferring via Bluetooth.

What marks the S1 out is that it utilises a dye sublimation print process, laying a yellow, Magenta and cyan layer with a protective laminate over the top that gives a professional clarity. The printer is designed as a dual-use machine, enabling photo prints but also producing stickers, again with that dye-sub process and lamination that gives the stickers a look and quality that matches those that have been professionally produced.

Unlike most printers, there's a built-in cutter that then cuts out the stickers once printed, ready for use. Depending on the complexity of the sticker shape, it takes around 2-3 minutes per 4x7 sheet.

Different paper stocks are used for the two different processes, but aside from the material, the same hardware and carrier are used. The system has also been designed to be easily packable, so if this is an occasional-use item, it will pack away easily, while if you’re using it every day for your business, the design and quality are simple, stylish, and incredibly well made. It's not the best photo printer we've tested, but for a compact, easy-to-use option, it ticks a lot of boxes.

The only real issue is the software and the free templates that ship with it. Everything runs through the Liene app on iOS or Android, and there's no desktop option at all, which, if you’re used to designing on a computer, does feel like a real sticking point.

While there is plenty you can do within the app, it does feel a little limited; however, you can work around this by laying out stickers at the correct print size in Photoshop or InDesign, especially to ensure it cuts a straight edge on some designs. The app also ships with what feels like hundreds of sticker templates, but those templates are craft-themed rather than more business-focused, although there are a few.

The materials are all proprietary; however, packs of paper and the ink cartridges are well priced with 4 x 7in sticker and 4 x 6in photo sizes. If you’re looking to create short runs of stickers, especially for gifts, labels, and event stock or postage, this is a genuinely excellent machine. For volume production or larger formats, you’ll need to take a step up to something bigger.

Liene PixCut S1 : Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $299.99 / £349.99
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from Liene, Amazon, and other online retailers

The PixCut S1 starter kit is $299.99 and is available directly from Liene and Amazon.com, with a larger Inspire Kit including 36 photo and 144 sticker sheets available for $346.99 on Amazon US. UK pricing is £350 from Amazon.co.uk. I'm also seeing available from other online retailers including Best Buy.

Paper, Ink and occasionally cutting blades are another cost to factor in, with 72 sticker sheets and two cartridges at $42.99. The Photo paper is also reasonable at $24.99 for 40 sheets with an ink cartridge and $36.99 for 80 sheets and two ink cartridges. Each cartridge enables around 36 prints.

• Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Liene PixCut S1: Specs

Printing: four-layer D2T2 thermal dye sublimation with laminate pass
Resolution: 300 x 300dpi, 256 shades per colour
Sticker media: 4 x 7in (printable 3.9 x 6.7in)
Photo media: 4 x 6in (printable 3.94 x 5.83in)
Supported files: JPEG, PNG, HEIC
Print speed: 59 seconds quoted; approx. 2 minutes print, laminate and cut
Cutting: kiss cut, up to 2in/sec single axis, 45-degree carbide blade
Blade life: approx. 800 sticker sheets (Liene figure)
Capacity: 36 sheets
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, up to three paired devices
Control: Liene app (iOS and Android only; no desktop support)
Power: up to 60W printing, 1.2W sleep
Size / weight: 281 x 196 x 104.5mm / 2.9kg

Liene PixCut S1: Design

The PixCut S1 is a relatively compact white rectangular box with a black printing and cutting bay across the front, and measures 281 x 196 x 104.5 mm. Hence, it's smaller than a normal photo printer or craft cutter, which is the usual approach. The small footprint of the machine means that it can essentially sit on your desk or anywhere it will fit, and there’s a power point to it.

Unlike most printer and cutter machines, the PixCut S1 only operates through the iOS or Android app, which also means that if you want to take it out on site, then you can, as long as you have AC power to plug it into.

When it comes to the weight, at 6.4lb / 2.9kg, it doesn’t weigh much, so carrying it between rooms or out to an event, as long as there's mains power, or you have a small power station, isn’t an issue. In this review, I matched it with the DJI Power 1000 V2, which worked perfectly when no mains power was available.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

When the printer arrives, there is a small setup procedure with the loading of the ink cartridge on the side and paper into the loadable carrier. What I liked here was that the paper tray, which takes either the sticker paper or the photo paper, can be stored neatly in the machine. Then when it’s needed, you pull it out from its storage slot at the back top, and load it into the back lower slot.

When the printer arrives, the cutting head is already pre-installed at the front of the machine with a neat magnetic cover that covers the mechanism. When the print or print and cut process is started, the paper is drawn through the system with each colour layer applied, then laminated before the cutter is put into action; it’s a relatively fast process.

Through the process, the prints tended to go through the system in around a minute and a half, while stickers would take anything from 2 minutes to 3.5 minutes depending on the complexity.

• Design: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Liene PixCut S1: Features

Unlike many inkjet or laser colour printers, the S1 utilises another technology that uses a four-pass dye-sublimation process that gives the output its photo processing lab quality.

Essentially, three colour layers are laid down onto the paper, one after the other, followed by a protective laminate pass. This lamination protects the photos, but also highlights why the finished stickers feel commercial rather than homemade, as they do if you use specialist paper in an inkjet.

Alongside the printing ability is the cutter, which, after the printing process, goes into action with what is known as a kiss cut, going through the sticker material but leaving the backing sheet intact. This means that the sheet stays flat and the stickers peel off individually, just as you would expect from a set of commercial stickers. The only difference between the two uses is the paper you put into the caddy and insert into the machine. With the slightly different size of the photo compared with the sticker paper, the machine automatically switches modes based on the paper installed.

Printing photos of stickers is all handled by the Liene Photo App, which is available for iOS and Android devices; however, unusually, there is no desktop version for Mac or PC.

In the app you can use the free sticker templates, most of which are gimmicks and more aimed at the craft market than business, although if you spend some time going through there are a few that are worth a look. In this test, I generally opted to use designs that I already owned, or downloaded additional sticker or logo examples from a stock website.

Once those images are downloaded and laid out onto the correct document size, they can then be loaded into the App, as this is all through the mobile device; you need to make sure these are uploaded to your photo app. Once in place, there are quick edit features such as automatic image recognition and background removal, and the cutting path around the subjects is automatically assigned; the process of getting the stickers correctly sized and positioned is actually extremely easy and once you note a few quirks which I’ll highlight in the performance section, everything from there on in is easy enough.

Once the print is complete, the border the cutter runs around each of the stickers and the size of that border is adjustable; by default, this is 1.4mm, and you can reduce that down to zero or below for a borderless cut, which also has a direct bearing on how tightly you can lay designs out on a sheet.

The app then does the rest, and if you want to add more to the designs, then there are additional templates, text tools, shape cutting, puzzles, labels and passport-photo layouts.

The connection method to the machine is through Bluetooth 5.0, and this enables you to connect up to three devices, which is something else that should appeal if you’re using this at events.

The paper cartridge will take up to 36 sheets, the ink cartridges last for 36, and Liene rates the blade at around 800 sticker sheets depending on how complex your cuts are.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

• Features: 4 / 5

Liene PixCut S1: Performance

Getting started with the printer and cutter is fast enough, and once the ink cartridge is slotted into the side, the paper of choice, either sticker or photo, is loaded into the cartridge and slotted into the base of the machine; you’re set to connect to the app.

The power button on the side needs to be held down for a few seconds to start up, then you can run through the connection option in the App interface. The in-app connection didn’t work; however, there's a direct link button to your Bluetooth settings from within the app that takes you through to the phone's settings, where the printer appears so you can connect. Once connected, pop back to the app and you can get started.

The app interface is quite busy with AI generative options for photos and craft stickers, and trying these out, they're frankly a bit run of the mill and gimmicky. Really, this machine is a superb piece of hardware that is equally suited to craft and business, but the craft side seems to win out with tacky template images and AI photos.

As ever, an issue with the interactive, as with so many others, is the fact that it’s busy; however, at the bottom of the screen there are the Sticker, Label, Photo, Project and Me options. The Sticker section enables you to choose from all sorts of sticker templates, or click the Canvas button at the top, and you can import your own, which for the most part is what I chose to do through this review.

The next option along ‘Labels’ is a little more useful and may appeal to the artisan business owner, but again the designs are a little simplistic and childlike without the refined style you’d want for a serious business. Likewise, the photo option gives you the generative AI options, but again loading your own is definitely the best approach.

When you create your own sticker, for example, you can import your designs or use the generative AI options, including AI Image or Text to Image, which is actually quite useful, although again the AI model does appear to have been trained on the light cartoony rather than serious business.

That aside and falling back to your designs and images that you have created, the workflow once you’ve run through it a few times is straightforward, and the resulting prints for both Photo and stickers are excellent.

It is worth highlighting that the papers used for the two different types are different, and there is only a single caddy, and it doesn’t look like you can buy an additional caddy, which is a shame. This essentially means that you have to remove the photo paper and then install the sticker paper. I would have loved the design to have featured two caddies so that you only ever have to switch the caddies. It would also mean that the paper of either type would stay protected.

The print quality for both stickers and photos is excellent, with the colours looking great, being rich and well saturated, although a little over-sharpened, and I couldn’t work out a way to reduce the option. The other point about the photos is the laminate finish, which just gives a high-quality look. Likewise for the stickers, these are essentially commercial quality and ones that you could put on a product and charge for. Against shop-bought stickers, I genuinely couldn't tell which was which, and I ran some of the template sticker images through the machine, and these would be great for small production runs to attach to product.

In the app, there are a few processing quirks that are worth knowing about. As mentioned somewhere in the software, there's a little over-sharpening applied, which you notice on images with fine detail or soft edges. It isn't too bad, and for graphic artwork and logos it's invisible or even flattering, but for photographic stickers it's worth softening your source image slightly before importing to compensate.

This software is where I found myself experimenting with settings at first, but ultimately I found it easy to navigate. While the app does a lot, its logic isn't always where you'd expect. My working method went as follows: lay the whole design out in Photoshop, export it, then import into the app and let the machine handle print, laminate and cut. That skips most of the app's editing tools.

The most useful thing I learned in this test was about labels with white in the design. When making warning labels, I wanted clean, straight edges. Still, the cutter follows the colour rather than the sheet, so wherever white met the outer edge, the white background wandered, weaving in and out around the coloured areas instead of cutting the straight border I'd designed.

The app lets you set the border distance the cutter leaves around a sticker. Still, not the shape of the path itself, and the shape is the problem. What worked instead was adding a background colour behind the design, giving the software a defined edge to detect, at which point it cut the straight border perfectly. It's a simple workaround once you know it, but it's the difference between usable labels and wasted sheets.

Layout spacing is the other thing to get right before you print. By default, the cutter leaves a 1.4mm border around each sticker, so when you're laying several out on a sheet, they need room; otherwise they'll connect through the cut. I found 4mm between stickers is the minimum that works reliably, and 5mm is more comfortable. Any closer and the borders start to interfere with each other.

That border distance, however, is adjustable, though, and it's worth knowing you can take it all the way down to zero, which cuts right up against the edge of the sticker itself. Set it that tight, and you can pack the designs much closer together on the sheet, maximising the value you get from each sheet, especially when you're trying to get as many stickers out of it as possible.

Through the test, photos generally took a minute and a half to print with 36 prints per ink cartridge and a 100% success rate. When it came to stickers, again it’s 36 sheets per cartridge, but print times take between one and a half minutes to three and a half minutes depending on the complexity.

• Performance: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Liene PixCut S1: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The Liene PixCut S1 is a surprising piece of kit and over the last month has been especially useful in the studio. At first, the photo printing that was reminiscent of the process sizes that we used to get with 35mm film really appealed, and once I worked out that a little softening was required for the image, the results of the pictures were outstanding.

The colours are bright and vibrant, and this is a crowd-pleasing photo printer that’s perfect for the home and workplace. It’s also smaller and cheaper than dedicated photo printers, which are hugely expensive to keep running.

But then the stickers started, and this is where this machine really comes into its own. It started with TechRadar Pro stickers and quickly progressed. Due to the laminate quality, I was able to start labelling all my kit, something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time, with my logo and QR details.

I then showed a friend who runs a local 3D print business, and a week later they have one running at shows and events creating custom stickers, and all postage product now gets a set of stickers in the box.

The stocker quality is excellent, and for small businesses this is a superb short run option and a great way to personalise your products or to give out freebies.

Initially I was a little disappointed that this was a mobile app-only product, but once I worked out a few workarounds the workflow was fine, the only real issue being the time it takes for Apple Photos to update so I could pull down the next design.

If you want to make stickers or print out high-quality 4 x 6 prints, then the Liene PixCut S1 is a superb option.

Should I buy the Liene PixCut S1?

Value

The price reflects the quality, but it is expensive, and then you have the consumables on top

4

Design

Compact and will easily sit on a shelf if needed, also small enough to take to events if there’s mains power

4.5

Features

Decent 4 x 6 photo prints and sticker sets; would be good if there was an additional paper carrier as standard

4.5

Performance

Commercial-quality stickers and excellent colour; slight oversharpening and some workarounds are needed for cutting paths

4.5

Overall

A clever piece of kit that blends photo and sticker printing into one neat machine. 

4.5

Buy it if...

You sell small batches of stickers.

For events, as an online retailer, in the classroom or for personalised gifts, the S1 produces commercial-looking stickers without needing separate printing and cutting machines. 

You want the process handled for you.

Automatic background removal and cut-path generation mean no blade pressure settings, no alignment marks and no desktop cutting software to learn, which makes things so much easier.

Don't buy it if...

You design on a computer.

There's no desktop application at all, so everything goes through the phone or tablet app; this is the biggest issue that I found. 

You need volume

The 4 x 7 in maximum sheet size and there’s no option for third-party media.

For more printing picks, we've tested the best home printers you can get.