TechRadar Reviews

Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1: One-minute review

The Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 is the latest hybrid laptop from the venerable Windows laptop maker, marking its first 2-in-1 since the company's major rebranding earlier this year, which replaced the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 2-in-1.

Fortunately, as with the clamshell Dell 14 Plus, Dell's latest 2-in-1 offers very solid performance at a fantastic price. But given that this is a 2-in-1, typically a form factor where the display takes center stage, the dim, lackluster panel makes this a less attractive option as a 2-in-1 than its clamshell sibling.

Starting at $649.99 / £849 / AU$1,498.20, the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 does earn its place among the best 2-in-1 laptops this year thanks to its affordable starting price, especially in the US and Australia where the AMD Ryzen AI 300 configurations are available. When these configurations make it to the UK, the prices there ought to be much cheaper to start as well.

Performance-wise, the 14 Plus 2-in-1 isn't much different than the standard 14 Plus, so what you're really looking for here is the versatility that comes with a 2-in-1.

Unfortunately, this versatility is undermined by the display quality, which is much more important on a 2-in-1. So while I found the rather dim FHD+ display on the 14 Plus to be an acceptable compromise to keep the price down, it's a much bigger negative on the 14 Plus 2-in-1.

That's not to say the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 is necessarily bad, or even that its display is an absolute dealbreaker. Given its price and level of performance, the display doesn't keep it from being one of the best student laptops on the market right now, and it also remains one of the best Dell laptops on offer currently. Just be prepared to look past a couple of flaws if you decide to pick one up.

Dell 14 Plus: Price & availability

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• How much does it cost? Starts at $649.99 / £849 / AU$1,498.20
• When is it available? It's available now
• Where can you get it? You can buy it in the US, UK, and Australia through Dell’s website and other retailers.

Easily the best feature of the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 is its excellent pricing. Starting at $649.99 / £849 / AU$1,498.20, there aren't going to be many Windows laptops with solid entry-level specs at this price point. For those who are more price-sensitive (such as students, general users, and enterprise fleet managers), the 14 Plus 2-in-1 really should be at the top of your list if you're in the market for a 2-in-1.

Even better, of course, is that Dell regularly runs sales on its products, so it should be fairly easy to find this laptop for even cheaper (especially around holidays or other major sales events like Amazon Prime Day).

• Value: 5 / 5

Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1: Specs

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• Configurations vary considerably between the US, UK, and Australia
• Options for both Intel Core Ultra 200V and AMD Ryzen AI 300 processors
• No discrete graphics options

The starting specs for the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 feature 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD storage, and a 16:10 FHD+ (1200p) IPS touchscreen display with 300-nit max brightness. The only difference between the US, UK, and Australia is that the US and Aussies start off with an AMD Ryzen 5 AI 340 processor with Radeon 840M graphics, and the UK starting configuration comes with an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chip.

This also means that while the US and Australian starting configuration only has two USB-C Gen 3.2 ports, the UK swaps one of these out for a full Thunderbolt 4 port.

Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 Base Specs

Region

US

UK

Australia

Price:

$649.99 at Dell.com

£849 at Dell.com

AU$1,498.20 at Dell.com

CPU:

AMD Ryzen AI 5 340

Intel Core Ultra 5 226V

AMD Ryzen AI 5 340

GPU:

AMD Radeon 840M Graphics

Intel Arc Xe2 (140V)

AMD Radeon 840M Graphics

Memory:

16GB LPDDR5X-7500

16GB LPDDR5X-8533

16GB LPDDR5X-7500

Storage:

512GB SSD

512GB SSD

512GB SSD

Screen:

14-inch 16:10 FHD+ (1200p), 300-nit, touch IPS

14-inch 16:10 FHD+ (1200p), 300-nit, touch IPS

14-inch 16:10 FHD+ (1200p), 300-nit, touch IPS

Ports:

2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 w/ DP and Power Delivery, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1 x HDMI 1.4, 1 x combo jack

1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C w/ DP 1.4 and Power Delivery, 1 x Thunderbolt 4 w/ DP 2.1 and Power Delivery, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x combo jack

2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 w/ DP and Power Delivery, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1 x HDMI 1.4, 1 x combo jack

Battery (WHr):

64 WHr

64 WHr

64 WHr

Wireless:

WiFi 7, BT 5.4

WiFi 7, BT 5.4

WiFi 7, BT 5.4

Camera:

1080p@30fps

1080p@30fps

1080p@30fps

Weight:

3.35 lb (1.52 kg)

3.42 lbs (1.55kg)

3.35 lbs (1.52kg)

Dimensions:

12.36 x 8.9 x 0.65 ins | (314 x 226.15 x 16.39mm)

12.36 x 8.9 x 0.65 ins | (314 x 226.15 x 16.39mm)

12.36 x 8.9 x 0.65 ins | (314 x 226.15 x 16.39mm)

For the max spec, the US and UK can configure the 14 Plus 2-in-1 with an Intel Core Ultra 9 288V processor with Intel Arc Xe2 (140V) graphics, while Australia tops out at an AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor with Radeon 840M graphics. The US config also maxes out at 32GB DDR5 RAM and 1TB storage, while the UK and Australia max out at 16GB DDR5 RAM, and 512GB and 1TB storage, respectively.

Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 Top Specs

Region

US

UK

Australia

Price:

$1,499.99 at Dell.com

£1,299 at Dell.com

AU$1,498.20 at Dell.com

CPU:

Intel Core Ultra 9 288V

Intel Core Ultra 9 288V

AMD Ryzen AI 7 350

GPU:

Intel Arc Xe2 (140V) Graphics

Intel Arc Xe2 (140V) Graphics

AMD Radeon 840M Graphics

Memory:

32GB LPDDR5X-8533

16GB LPDDR5X-7500

16GB LPDDR5X-7500

Storage:

1TB NVMe SSD

512GB NVMe SSD

1TB NVMe SSD

Screen:

14-inch 16:10 FHD+ (1200p), 300-nit, touch IPS

14-inch 16:10 FHD+ (1200p), 300-nit, touch IPS

14-inch 16:10 FHD+ (1200p), 300-nit, touch IPS

Ports:

1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C w/ DP 1.4 and Power Delivery, 1 x Thunderbolt 4 w/ DP 2.1 and Power Delivery, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x combo jack

1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C w/ DP 1.4 and Power Delivery, 1 x Thunderbolt 4 w/ DP 2.1 and Power Delivery, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x combo jack

2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 w/ DP and Power Delivery, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1 x HDMI 1.4, 1 x combo jack

Battery (WHr):

64 WHr

64 WHr

64 WHr

Wireless:

WiFi 7, BT 5.4

WiFi 7, BT 5.4

WiFi 7, BT 5.4

Camera:

1080p@30fps

1080p@30fps

1080p@30fps

Weight:

3.42 lbs (1.55kg)

3.42 lbs (1.55kg)

3.35 lb (1.52 kg)

Dimensions:

12.36 x 8.9 x 0.65 ins | (314 x 226.15 x 16.39mm)

12.36 x 8.9 x 0.65 ins | (314 x 226.15 x 16.39mm)

12.36 x 8.9 x 0.65 ins | (314 x 226.15 x 16.39mm)

The configuration I reviewed is much more in the middle of the pack, featuring an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V chip, 16GB LPDDR5x RAM, and a 1TB SSD. This specific configuration isn't available in the UK and Australia, but the UK can get close enough (though with half the storage capacity).

Dell 14 Plus Review Unit Specs

Price:

$1,099.99 / £999 / (about AU$1,650, but Intel systems not yet available in Australia)

CPU:

Intel Core Ultra 7 256V

GPU:

Intel Arc Xe2 (140V) Graphics

Memory:

16GB LPDDR5X-8533

Storage:

1TB NVMe SSD (512GB in the UK)

Screen:

14-inch 16:10 FHD+ (1200p), 300 nit, touch IPS

Ports:

1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C w/ DP 1.4 and Power Delivery, 1 x Thunderbolt 4 w/ DP 2.1 and Power Delivery, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x combo jack

Battery (WHr):

64 WHr

Wireless:

WiFi 7, BT 5.4

Camera:

1080p@30fps

Weight:

3.42 lbs (1.55kg)

Dimensions:

12.36 x 8.9 x 0.67 ins | (314 x 226.15 x 16.95mm)

• Specs: 4 / 5

Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1: Design

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• Thin and light
• Trackpad can feel 'sticky'
• Display isn't great for a 2-in-1

The design of the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 is nearly identical to the standard 14 Plus, with the major difference being its 360-degree hinge. Otherwise, it sports a functional design language that, while not premium, doesn't necessarily look or feel cheap either.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The keyboard on the 14 Plus 2-in-1 is functional, if not incredible, but for most people it'll do the job just fine. The trackpad occassionally felt somewhat 'sticky' to me, however, and it's something that kind of gives away the laptop's price point, if I'm being honest. I've felt similar trackpads on much cheaper Chromebooks in the past.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The webcam is a solid 1080p at 30 frames per second, which is pretty much standard nowadays. It does feature a physical privacy shutter though, which is excellent.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

For ports, you have a good mix, especially for a laptop this thin, and if you're using an Intel-based configuration, you get a Thunderbolt 4 port, which is very handy. Regardless of the processor brand, though, with USB-C Gen 3.2 ports available, you can display out using DisplayPort 1.4, and all USB-C ports support power delivery.

Where this laptop was more of a letdown than its clamshell cousin is the display. At 300 nits peak brightness and just 67.5% of the sRGB color gamut and only 47.8% DCI-P3 (according to my testing), the color quality and brightness on the display just isn't very good.

It's one thing when the display on a cheap clamshell isn't great, but if you plan on taking notes or maybe even do some sketch work on your 2-in-1, this display is not going to give you the best experience. If you plan on using this laptop for school, try to avoid using it outside on a sunny day, or else you're really going to struggle to see things clearly.

• Design: 3 / 5

Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1: Performance

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• Solid performance
• Can do some modest gaming
• Not the best for creative work

Here's how the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 performed in our suite of benchmark tests:

Geekbench 6.4 (Single): 2,673; (Multi): 10,880
Crossmark (Overall): 1,708; (Productivity): 1,655; (Creativity): 1,934; (Responsiveness): 1,293
3DMark (Night Raid): 31,074; (Fire Strike): 8,462; (Time Spy): 3,896; (Steel Nomad): 601
Civilization VI Gathering Storm (1080p, Max Graphics, Avg): 53 fps
Civilization VII (1080p, Medium, Avg): 59 fps; (High): 34 fps
Web Surfing Battery Test: 15 hours, 14 minutes

The performance of the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 is going to vary quite a bit depending on your configuration, but like the clamshell 14 Plus, the 14 Plus 2-in-1 is a very solid performer when it comes to everyday computing and general productivity tasks that are typical of laptops at this price point.

To be clear, this isn't a professional mobile workstation like the MacBook Pro 14, and definitely isn't one of the best gaming laptops, but if what you're looking for is a laptop that does its job, does it reasonably well, and doesn't try to do too much beyond the everyday, then the 14 Plus 2-in-1 is a very solid pick (especially if you're on a budget).

Thanks to the integrated Intel Arc Xe2 or Radeon 840M graphics (depending on your configuration), you'll also be able to get some casual to moderate gaming out of this laptop, though you'll definitely want to keep things at or below 1080p and reasonable graphics settings.

In my testing, Civilization VII (one of the more graphically demanding sim games out there) managed to get close to 60 FPS on average on medium settings, which is more than enough for a thin and light laptop like this.

This is a 2-in-1, though, and the focus really is on note-taking, drawing, and the like, and for that the responsiveness of the display was good enough for the price, though nothing spectacular.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1: Battery Life

• How long does it last on a single charge? 15 hours and 14 minutes
• How long to fully charge it to 100%? 2 hours and 36 minutes

I haven't tested one of the AMD Ryzen AI 300 models of this laptop, but the Intel Core Ultra 256V in my review unit is a very energy-efficient chip, so this laptop's battery life is good enough to rival many of the best laptops of the past few years, though it's not in the top five or anything like that.

It ran for just over 15 hours in my battery test, which involves using a script and custom server to simulate typical web browsing behavior. This is more than enough for a typical work or school day, and with the included 65W charger, it took about two and a half hours to recharge the 64WHr battery to full from empty (though higher wattage chargers will likely get you there faster).

• Battery Life: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1?

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 Scorecard

Category

Notes

Rating

Value

The Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 offers great value for its price.

5 / 5

Specs

Available configurations are generally very good.

4 / 5

Design

The 14 Plus 2-in-1 looks good on the outside, but its display really brings its design down.

3 / 5

Performance

Everyday computing and productivity performance are solid, but it can't hold up to intense workloads like gaming at high settings.

4 / 5

Battery Life

Solid battery life capable of many hours of use on one charge.

4 / 5

Buy the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 if...

You want solid productivity and general computing performance
The Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 offers solid performance for most users, especially for the price.

You want a laptop that doesn’t look too cheap
While it isn't going to win any major design awards, it's still a pretty good-looking laptop for its price.

Don't buy it if...

You need a high-performance laptop
While its general performance is very good, you're not going to be able to push it much further than general use and casual PC gaming.

You need a quality display
While the clamshell 14 Plus might have been able to skate by with this display, it's not really good enough for a 2-in-1.

• First reviewed June 2025

Yo-Yo’s Wellness 2+ smart desk presents a unique offering; the ability to control and track your standing desk activity using its companion app, helping you understand and visualize the benefits of using a standing desk.

With its robust build quality, great array of features and customizability option, it’s a contender for our ranking of the best standing desks.

Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk: Price & availability

You can find the Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk from online retailers and from the official Yo-yo website. The retail price is currently £732 for the frame only, putting it firmly into premium standing desk territory.

Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk: Specs

The control panel is very easy to use (Image credit: Yo-Yo )

With fairly premium build quality and materials, the desk can support up to 100kg (including the tabletop, which is a lightweight veneered surface). It’s wonderfully robust; unlike some more affordable models I’ve used there’s little-to-no wobbling or juddering.

The Wellness 2+ ranges in price, starting at £732 for the frame only (if you want to reuse an existing desktop). There are six sizes ranging from extra small (100 x 60cm) for £804 up to £900 for the extra-large (180 x 80cm) tabletop model.

My version came with a free Yo-yo mat and there's free installation, and you can also add Yo-Yo’s Ongo Stool with a £100 discount, to boot. Models with portholes (all sizes barring small and extra small) include plastic grommets, and all models come with a basic up/down switch.

The legs have dual motors and a 3-stage design with a minimum height of 617mm and a maximum height of 1267mm, moving at a rate of 32 mm/sec.

Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk: Shipping and unboxing

All Yo-Yo desks come with free installation, which takes 7 - 12 days (check out Yo-Yo’s Zone Map for further insight) or you can expedite the process by installing yourself, meaning you’ll get the desk in just 1-2 days.

It arrives in two boxes, one for the legs and one for the surface and attachments, but the legs come pre-assembled and ready to attach to the tabletop; you’ll want a helping hand to carry the boxes if you’re not particularly strong and opt for the self-installation. Everything came securely packaged, and the team even took the boxes with them when they left.

Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk: Assembly

Loaded up with devices (Image credit: Yo-Yo )

I opted for the free installation as I’m not the strongest office worker in the world; however, I was in the room to observe the process, which was completed by a single builder. It’s definitely a two-person job when it comes to actually upturning the desk if, like me, you’re not built for heavy lifting, but the rest is very easily done following Yo-Yo’s quick and easy instructions. You’ll need your own electric and manual screwdriver, tape measure and spirit level, but the desk does come with an Allen key.

From start to finish, building the Wellness 2+ took around 40 minutes, including some light chatter along the way - a wonderfully quick process expedited significantly by the pre-built legs which you simply unbox, unfold, and attach to the table with the provided brackets. Then, add the feet and any accessories, affix the manual height controls and all that’s left to do is plug it in, flip the table and get it in situ.

Once upright, you can use a spirit level to determine the straightness of the surface, then use the feet to tweak it to perfection; a satisfying process I almost wanted to interrupt and do myself.

The hardest part is making sure the wires aren’t dangling around, if that’s something that will bother you, and I wish there was a bracket over the desk leg motor control power supply as I’ve seen in other models. While the wire that connects to your laptop for app controls does magnetically attach two the metal beam across the middle of the desk’s underside, it’s still prone to sliding off, so I’d recommend investing in some under-desk wire clips if you’re a cable control freak like me.

Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk: First impressions

All set up and ready to go (Image credit: Yo-Yo )

My immediate thought when I first saw the this smart desk set up in my home office was that, while it’s simple and professional, it’s a wonderfully blank canvas to work from. Personally, I’m not a fan of lighter surfaces on desks, as they’re prone to showing wear and tear far quicker, but fresh out of the box it does look lovely.

Getting myself set up with the app was simple and speedy, though I did have the added benefit of Yo-Yo’s founder Gavin Bradley attending my installation himself and talking me through the process. Still, I could have very easily done it myself.

To connect the desk to the app, you’ll need to plug in the included USB-A cable to your laptop, which requires some thoughtful wiring and desk organisation. You can download the app directly from Yo-Yo’s website, after which you set your desired standing and sitting default heights to be saved in the app.

Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk: Design

(Image credit: Yo-Yo )

Simple in looks, the Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk I tested came with silver motorized legs and a light grey surface; not light enough to be marred by grubby fingers, but enough to maintain a neutral aesthetic.

The surface is also available in a white colorway for free, or you can opt for a timber, beech, oak, maple, Nebraska oak or walnut veneer finish for an added £25. While its lightweight nature might cause concern for the longevity of the surface, the reality is you need to keep things as slight as possible to allow for more heavy items on top of the desk. The legs also come in white or black, featuring dual motors and a 3-stage design.

I opted to place a cable management shelf at the rear of the desk, which doesn’t come included in the basic price but is a real boon given there are a few extra wires with this desk to accommodate the necessary USB-A connection with the companion app, and no included bracket to affix over the leg motor connector.

As highlighted in the specs section, this desk comes with the Yo-Yo Mat medium, which is designed to encourage small amounts of motion and also provide some cushioning on harder floors. Clad in black lining and measuring at 77 x 50 x 2cm, it’s a fantastic addition that made a world of difference for me.

The basic controls that come included with the Wellness 2+ are fine, allowing you to move the desk up and down, but you can’t see your selected height nor can you set or toggle defaults. That can be a little frustrating if, for whatever reason, you don’t have a device paired with the desk handy - which did happen to me a few times.

Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk: Performance and app

Here's the Yo-Yo mat sitting neatly under the desk (Image credit: Yo-Yo )

Even as a standalone desk and without considering the app and included mat, the Wellness 2+ is accomplished. It’s responsive, fairly quiet and fast, graduating smoothly through its different height settings to reach your desired setting. While it is, as I say, fairly quiet at a maximum volume of 50dB (which is louder than the advertised 45dB), I have certainly used quieter desks.

It also feels very robust; on my desk, I had a large monitor, laptop stand and several peripherals, all of which felt well-secured thanks to the legs’ smooth transition. Its anti-collision smarts work well too, which genuinely came in very handy when I accidentally switched modes and forgot I’d stashed some boxes under my desk.

I’ve always wanted to try using a standing desk, but my biggest, perennial issue with anything wellness and fitness-related is my rather low commitment to the cause. So, when I was offered the opportunity to review the Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ desk with its companion app and extensive user education, I leaped at the opportunity.

Once you’re set up, you can choose from within the app which setting and height you want to use, as well as what ratio of sitting to standing you’d prefer to target yourself on. Bradley says the optimum setting is 45/45 minutes, which I tried for the first few times I used the desk.

After you’ve finished one session, the app notifies you that it’s time to change position, and with the click of a button, it will rise or descend to the appropriate measure. It’s incredibly satisfying, even after a few weeks, and broadly speaking this did help me build some good standing habits. However, there were a few times I couldn’t exactly transition between positions, such as during an interview or while in the thick of some spreadsheets, but in such situations you can simply snooze the notification.

I loved being able to not only track my time spent standing and sitting, but also the estimated calories burned and how many times I switched throughout the day, which served as really positive reinforcement for my habit-building.

Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk: Accessories

The desk's cable storage in action (Image credit: Yo-Yo )

I kept my desk fairly light and simple when it came to accessories outside of the aforementioned cable tray, which, as I say, is a must-have in my opinion. This comes at an added cost of £45, but there’s also a smaller version for £36, should you want to keep things simple.

There’s also a selection of add-ons such as metal grommets, a digital display with smart settings, various other cable management accessories, power accessories, monitor arms and more advanced standing mats. You can find more of those in our round-up of the best standing desk mats.

Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk: Final verdict

Ready for work (Image credit: Yo-Yo )

Overall, I have to say I’ve mostly been splitting hairs when critiquing the Yo-Yo Wellness 2+ smart desk. It’s impressively well-built, performs very well, and its smart features offer a unique benefit that could really help someone trying to habit-build or track their usage. It’s only flaw is being very basic in terms of what’s included, given its price.

I really put the Wellness 2+ through its paces, stacking it high with a full array of weighty peripherals, and it stayed resolute through it all, still moving with the smoothness and responsiveness I’d expect.

I can absolutely see myself using this desk for a long time in my home office, though in retrospect I’d have probably opted for a different surface colorway to make it feel a little less corporate. Still, it’s a brilliant desk that has had a genuine positive impact on my working habits and well-being, and for that alone it’s a real win.

Attributes

Notes

Rating

​​Design

While it’s no show-stopper, the desk is certainly well-built. I’d have liked to see more in-built features at this price that aren’t costly add-ons, however.

⭐⭐⭐

Material quality

The veneered tabletop is no solid wood slate, but it keeps the weight (and cost) low. Otherwise, everything is of excellent build quality.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Assembly

I’d estimate a self-install would take 45 minutes to an hour, but with the included free installation completed by a professional it can take as little as 30 minutes.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ease of use

Both the build-in manual controls and app are wonderfully easy. The instructions are clear and easy to follow.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Practicality

There’s no storage, and all of the power and cable management options are add-ons, which can rack up the cost.

⭐⭐⭐

Price

It’s by no means overpriced as a basic desk, but it’s not cheap. Plus, the Wellness 2+ could become a big investment if you throw in accessories, some of which feel like must-haves.

⭐⭐⭐

For more workspace accessories and office furniture, we reviewed the best office chairs.

Avid Ingenium Plug&Play: two-minute review

The Avid Ingenium Plug&Play is a belt-driven unsuspended turntable and it’s the very smallest and simplest turntable that the company makes. This might sound surprising for a turntable with a price tag of £1,500 (about $2,500 / AU$2,500, where available) but it is a reflection of quite how far up the Avid range goes.

If you want to purchase the brand's flagship Acutus Reference Mono turntable, Nexus V2 arm and Ruby cartridge, you will need a not inconsequential £48,950 (or around $66,250 / AU$102,260, give or take) to do it. Judged by this metric, then, those aforementioned prices are indeed fairly entry level.

Most importantly, the Avid Ingenium Plug&Play is built around the same principles as the top-tier Acutus. Everything that Avid does is developed from the top down. The company begins by making the best example of something that they know how to make. When they want to make a more affordable version, they change the absolute minimum number of parts and design elements. Then, when a more affordable version still is required, this second level becomes the point from which development begins. By this process, the Acutus has become the Ingenium.

This process also means that the Ingenium is designed with different priorities to some of the best turntables at the price and it looks and feels different as well. Is the result exactly what you need in a turntable or do other approaches work better?

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)Avid Ingenium Plug&Play review: Price & release date

The original Ingenium has been around for over a decade but it has changed a little in that time. Originally, it could be ordered with different cutouts from the factory that allowed you to choose different arms. You could also have one that had a longer chassis that allowed it to work with 12 inch arms. Not only that, if you were feeling really keen, you could order one where the chassis extended in both directions and could mount two arms at once. As someone who is the very definition of keen when it comes to turntables, I have owned a twin-armed Ingenium for many years as it is a fantastic piece of test equipment.

The Plug & Play was released in 2018 and quickly became the sole version of the Ingenium. By simplifying the versions, Avid could keep the price down and ensure that installing one is as simple as possible. Though there is only one version for sale, the company makes a series of upgrades that can be added at a later date, which we will cover as well.

As of May 2025, an Ingenium Plug & Play is £1,500 in the UK. In the US, the current liveliness around imports makes the price a little volatile but it appears to be around $2,500. In Australia, it is yours for AU$2,500.

This price is inclusive of everything you need to get up and running out of the box, with the exception of a phono stage. Avid does make these if you need and, as the Ingenium Plug & Play is fitted with a moving magnet cartridge, many owners will have a phono stage built into their existing electronics that will allow them to connect directly.

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)Avid Ingenium Plug&Play review: Features

• Metal chassis built around a custom bearing
• Motor acts on subplatter with MDF or optional metal platter
• Upgradable power supply
• Arm and cartridge fitted

Every Avid turntable from the Acutus down is designed around the same principle. It is intended to dissipate energy away from the playing surface via the bearing. The chassis of the Ingenium Plug&Play takes the form of a two-piece cruciform with the longer section housing the bearing and tonearm mount, and the shorter crossbeam adding stability. The motor is not attached to the chassis; instead it sits in free space behind the main chassis member. The feet are pliant rubber and add some useful isolation from the outside world.

The bearing is hugely important to how the Ingenium works and considerable attention has, rightly, been lavished on it. It is set forward from the center of the chassis which means that you can see the entire assembly from the front. The bearing comprises a shaft, with the actual bearing itself sat at the top. A subplatter sits on top of this and this is what the belt acts on. On top of this, the platter is then fitted.

This platter is cork topped and used on other Avid turntables. As standard, it is made of MDF and feels pretty substantial but you can also order the Plug&Play with a metal platter. This looks very similar to the standard one but is much heavier and more inert. The upgraded platter comes with bolts that screw into the underside. These drop into holes in the subplatter to tighten up the relationship between the two. Order the metal platter at the same time as the Ingenium and it will cost you £350 ($475, AU$730 where sold) or you can order it later on for £450 ($610 / AU$940, where sold).

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)

The Ingenium makes use of another Avid design feature in the form of a clamp. This screws down via a threaded spindle to physically press the record against that energy-dissipating bearing. This is another feature present on all Avid turntables and is absolutely integral to how they work.

As supplied, the Ingenium's motor plugs directly into the wall and simply has an on/off switch most of the way up the wire. Depending on how you place the Avid, this can make it hard to reach and it means that changing between 33 and 45 RPM is a matter of lifting the platter off and moving the belt from one motor pulley to another.

Both of these can be corrected by upgrading to the Electronic PSU. This allows for electronic speed control via a motor with a different pulley that allows two belts to be run at the same time. This is not a cheap upgrade – at £1,500 ($1,355 / AU$2,085 approx.) it’s the same price as the turntable itself and there is no saving to be had ordering it at the same time.

The arm that comes pre-fitted is something Avid calls the TA1. It is designed with a view to working with the supplied cartridge but will accept others that are content working with its fixed anti-skate system. It outputs via a captive lead and Avid has ensured that the VTA is correct out of the box. This arm is not expensive; it appears with the same cartridge on a turntable that costs £330 ($445 / AU$690, where sold) but it reflects Avid’s design priorities. Their argument is that, unless the turntable itself is correctly engineered, nothing else will be right. For some people, this price balance will seem somewhat lopsided but is a ratio that Avid employs on many of their turntables.

Should you wish to change it in future, any arm using the same mount and geometry should fit but this does not include either of the arms that Avid makes. Something that can also be done, though, is to change the stylus on the cartridge. By origin, this is an Audio Technica design called the AT-91 and it has sold in huge quantities. Roll your sleeves up and get online and you’ll find a variety of upgraded stylus options for it that simply slide on in place of the existing one and can offer substantially better performance.

• Features score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)Avid Ingenium Plug&Play review: sound quality

• Exceptionally cohesive and controlled performance
• Excellent bass; made even better with the upgrades
• Some limitations to fine detail
• Can be very good fun

Turntables are fascinating and slightly maddening things. They perform one job that has very few variables – at the most basic level, support a record and rotate it at 33 or 45 RPM, and yet, the performance they offer varies hugely. Put simply, every single design and engineering decision makes a difference to how the turntable performs. Done well, this manifests itself in how the information on the record is presented. The more capable the turntable, the better it avoids information on the record becoming congested and confused.

It doesn’t take very long listening to the Ingenium Plug&Play to realize that, at its fundamental core, it is incredibly capable. I’ve been using The Cinematic Orchestra’s Man with a Movie Camera as a piece of test material for years. The version of Burn Out used here is bigger and has a larger overall sense of scale than the original and, as the track builds, it can start to sound a little muddled. On the Avid, this simply doesn’t occur; it has the bandwidth and ability to keep everything sounding as it should. The Ingenium hangs together, even when a number of similarly priced rivals are beginning to struggle.

It also possesses extremely good bass and when I say, ‘good bass’ I mean more than straightforward low-end thudding. From the moment that lower midrange starts to become bass, there is a heft to it that is perfectly judged – weighty without tipping over into being dominating or overblown. It does rather justify Avid’s belief in the turntable itself as the final decider of the quality of playback. I have never heard anything else using a remotely similar arm and cartridge achieve the same level of sheer low-end tone and texture as what the Ingenium extracts from it.

There is more to be had from it. Avid supplied an example of the upgrade platter with my review sample and fitting this improves the bass response even further. Not only does the absolute extension improve but the texture and control to low notes improves even further. Rogues Gospel by Duke Garwood is an exceptionally natural recording, underpinned by surprisingly deep bass notes. With the metal platter present, the percussion is better defined against the mix and it starts and stops with greater precision.

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)

Adding the external power supply (I also used the motor from my own Ingenium for this as it has the correct pulley and connecting cable) yields more performance. It might sound odd that changing the power feed for the motor has any effect on the performance but it’s important to remember that this is the only part of the turntable where electrical power is added – everything else is entirely passive. The power supply allows me to more easily listen to a 45RPM version of Peter Gabriel’s eponymous third album. The already orderly and spacious presentation takes a further step forward. Without losing the building urgency of Family Snapshot, the Avid is astonishingly capable.

There are some limits, though, that would need attention before spending £1,500 (approx. $1,355 / AU$2,085) on the power supply. The Avid extracts more from its cost-effective arm than you would ever credit but it will show its limitations. Compared with the arm and cartridge combination used regularly on my resident Ingenium (which I am compelled to admit costs more than the Plug&Play and the optional power supply combined), there is a loss of fine detail and tonal realism that is the absolute limiting factor to the Avid’s performance. As noted, changing the stylus would be a cost-effective means of starting to correct this, and there is a decent choice of arms that will bolt straight on that I would probably look at ahead of the power supply.

Crucially, though, you won’t need to rush to do this. In the time the Avid has been in situ, it’s been sharing a rack with more expensive, and notionally more capable, decks but I’ve never rushed to switch over from listening to it. What it does so effectively is balance attributes I have long associated with Avid turntables – a confidence and realism that is unaffected by the scale and complexity of the material being played, with the ability to be plain and simple good fun when you want it to be.

Playing the belated vinyl release of Superabundance by the Young Knives on the Ingenium is a neat demonstration of this. Even after a remaster, it’s not a great recording but the Plug&Play takes in its stride and will have you yelling along to the utterly nonsensical chorus of Terra Firma in fine style.

• Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)Avid Ingenium Plug&Play review: Design

• Simple, but attractive with it
• Superbly made
• Easy to set up
• No dust protection or cover of any kind

Avid is first and foremost an engineering company. They don’t really go in for ‘styling’ as it might be defined in the usual sense. There is absolutely nothing on the Ingenium Plug&Play that doesn’t need to be there for it to work. Despite this (or, partly because of it), I love it. The Avid doesn’t set out to be pretty but thanks to the absolute lack of frippery and adornment, it looks fantastic. You don’t need to know anything about vinyl to know it’s a very special thing.

It is also superbly made. Extracting the Avid from its box allows you to get a handle of the sheer heft of the metalwork and the precision involved in the construction. I won’t insult your intelligence by calling it cheap but I don’t know of many turntables at the price that feel anything like as substantial. It very effectively gives a little taste of just how incredibly well assembled the company’s more premium offerings are.

It also delivers on the name as well. It can be momentarily intimidating to see all the parts sat in the box when you open it but, thanks to a genuinely good set of instructions, the Avid is a pleasure to put together and should not be beyond even a complete novice. The quality and care of the execution is evident from the moment you start slotting the parts together and the whole process inspires confidence in what you're doing. Pay attention, avoid distractions and you should be spinning a record within 10 to 15 minutes of opening the box.

Something to remember when choosing an Ingenium Plug&Play is that as a 'skeleton' deck, the Avid has no dust or child protection as standard. This means that it is rather more vulnerable than some rivals to the outside world. Avid offers some covers, and other options are available, but this of course will come at an extra cost. I have generally kept an old record on my Ingenium's platter to help keep dust off the playing surface.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)Avid Ingenium Plug&Play review: Value

There are two levels to judging the Plug&Play. Judged on what you get in the box for £1,500 (about $2,500 / AU$2,500, where available), it’s good but there are other turntables that can keep it honest, ones which also offer lids, electronic speed control and other niceties. The Ingenium is competitive and can hold its own but it doesn’t deliver a knockout blow.

The thing to consider, though, is that the Ingenium can be taken to places that almost nothing else for the price can. My twin-armed one has the upgrade platter and the power supply and uses arms that cost more than the Plug&Play does on its own. It’s still mechanically the same basic turntable as the review unit but it can deliver a level of performance far beyond what the basic unit is capable of.

If you know you are committing to vinyl for decades to come, this is a turntable that will grow with you. Viewed in this way, the Ingenium represents rather more impressive value.

• Value score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)Should I buy the Avid Ingenium Plug&Play?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

Metal chassis, with possible upgrades available

4 / 5

Sound quality

Cohesive and controlled with excellent bass; some limitations to fine detail

4.5 / 5

Design

Simple and attractive; superbly made; easy to set up

4.5 / 5

Value

A little pricey, but good-quality equipment means it grows with you

4 / 5

Buy it if…

Accuracy matters
The Avid is a capable and revealing source that is able to handle complex material in a way that even similarly priced designs can struggle with. It’s effortlessly capable.

You want simplicity
Everything you need turns up in the box and putting the Ingenium together is straightforward and logical. This is a top-tier vinyl experience but it’s not an intimidating one.

You’re in this for the long haul
The upgrades available from Avid and the basic adaptability of the turntable itself means this is something you can spend your money on, enjoy it as it is and then begin to upgrade it at a later date.

Don't buy it if…

You need electronic speed control
Adding this feature to the Avid will set you back some cash and, while it will boost performance, it's an extra expense when some rivals have it included.

You need a lid
Got cats or a low flying toddler? The Ingenium probably isn’t the turntable for you. It’s more vulnerable than models with a cover.

You live for tiny details
Out of the box, the supplied cartridge on the Plug&Play is good but not the last work in detail retrieval. At the very least, it will need a stylus change to start to rival what some more sophisticated pickups can do.

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)Avid Ingenium Plug&Play review: Also consider

Rega Planar PL1
The snap and timing of the Rega make it a real contender. Everything is in the box, too.
Read more on the Rega Planar PL1

Technics SL-1500C
If you like the power of a direct drive, then the Technics is the one for you. It's got a sturdy build to it, too.
Read our Technics SL-1500C review here

Pro-ject Debut Carbon Evo
When it comes to effortless flow, the Pro-ject is peerless, and is a wildly detailed listen.
Read our full Pro-ject Debut Carbon Evo review here

(Image credit: Future / Ed Selley)How I tested the Avid Ingenium Plug&Play

The Avid was parked on a Quadraspire rack and run both in out-of-the-box and upgraded forms, connected to a Cyrus Classic Phono phono stage, which outputted to a Cambridge Audio Edge A integrated amplifier and Kudos Titan 505 speakers. As the Cyrus has four inputs, it meant other turntables that live here all the time could be run alongside and everything played through my standard reference system.

All listening took place in a 3.5m x 4m lounge that I use as a listening space. As well as the listed recordings, I used a huge selection of records, ranging from very audiophile indeed to Boss Drum by The Shamen which, with the best will in the world, is not.

• First reviewed: June 2025
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum: two-minute reviewProduct info

This model has slightly different names and product codes in different territories:

US: Shark POWERDETECT Upright Vacuum with TruePet Upgrade AZ407UPG1

Shark POWERDETECT Upright Bagless Vacuum With Ultimate Cleaning Tools AZ407KT1

UK: Shark PowerDetect Powered Lift-Away Upright Pet Vacuum Cleaner AZ3900UKT

AU: Shark PowerDetect Corded Upright AZ3900

For this review, I tested the AZ407UPG1 version. There may be minor differences between different countries' models.

The Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum is one of the most versatile upright vacuums on the market. Like other Shark vacuums, it's outfitted with a Detect mode that adjusts the suction based on the floor type and how clean it is. You don't have to worry about unseen dirt because the vacuum can sense debris, dust, and dirt, and increases the suction as required to clean it up.

While you could use the three manual modes (hard floor, carpet/low pile, and thick carpet/area rug), with the Detect mode, the vacuum informs you when the floor is clean with lights on the vacuum head that turn from purple (i.e. dirty) to white (i.e. clean).

During testing, the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum performed wonderfully on various floor types, especially when it came to picking up fine materials like tea and hair. Though it missed a couple of large oat clusters on a single pass, it's still a top-tier vacuum, with suction capability that's well above average. It's one of the very best upright vacuums I've tested, as well as one of the best vacuums for carpet.

Sure, the vacuum head is a bit bulky, and the cord may get in the way, but Shark made this upright vacuum as versatile as possible. You can remove the pod (which holds the dust bin) from the wand, allowing you to use it as a stick vacuum to reach under couches and beds or in conjunction with one of the three accessories to clean tight spaces. If you need something less bulky, there's a stick vac in the same range – read about it in my Shark PowerDetect Cordless review, or head to TechRadar's best Shark vacuums guide to see other options, some of which have similar features.

All in all, the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum is a great choice for those who have homes with carpet and/or lots of rugs as it does a stand-up job with deep cleaning.

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum review: price & availability

• List price: from $549.99 / £399.99 / $699.99
• Launched: Announced September 2024
• Available: Worldwide, including US, UK and Australia

In the US, there are a couple of different PowerDetect Upright options – the one I reviewed is the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum with TruePet Upgrade, and it's priced at $549.99. There's also the Shark PowerDetect Upright Bagless Vacuum With Ultimate Cleaning Tools, which costs $449.99. The base model is the same, but the different bundles come with different cleaning tools. In the UK and Australia, there's just one Shark PowerDetect Upright, with a list price of £399.99 / AU$699.99.

At full price, that puts this vacuum in the upper-mid or premium price bracket. However, at time of writing, there are significant discounts available in all territories, taking this vacuum down more firmly into the mid-range market.

I think it's good value for what you're getting here. There are cheaper upright vacuums on the market, but this one has a flexible design and several advanced features that help set it apart from the competition. As you might have gathered from the above, this brand isn't averse to a discount either, and I expect more price drops to appear as time goes on.

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum specs

Weight:

17.6 lbs / 8 kg

Bin size:

2 qts / 1.3 L

Cord length:

30 ft / 9 m

Cleaning path:

12 in / 30.5 cm

Flexible hose length:

1.9 ft / 0.6 m

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum review: design

• Corded vacuum with LED lights and a 12in cleaning path
• Detachable dust cup lets you use the wand with the three specialty tools
• Four cleaning modes including an automatic mode

The Shark PowerDetect Upright is a corded upright vacuum that can be used in various configurations for different cleaning tasks.

Although typically I prefer the freedom of a cordless stick vacuum, I do understand the appeal of a corded upright – in a battle of upright vs cordless vacuums, the former tends to last longer, will never run out of juice, and almost always deliver more powerful suction too.

(Image credit: Future)

The cable here is fairly generous at 30 feet / 9m long – that's not the longest on the market, but it should still enable you to clean a decent-sized space before having to unplug and replug.

Similarly, at 17.6 lbs / 8kg, it's not the lightest vacuum but it's not overly heavy either. The vacuum head is a bit bulky, but comes with useful design features like a self-cleaning brushroll which means the vacuum can pick up pet and human hair easily without it tangling on the brush, and LED headlights to make it easier to see in dark corners. In fact, you'll notice a lot more lights and indicators on this vacuum than most, plus an odor neutralizer capsule designed to prevent bad smells and keep your floors smelling fresh.

(Image credit: Future)

The handle has five buttons: a power button and four cleaning mode buttons (Detect mode, Hard floor, Carpet/Low pile, and Thick Carpet/Area rug. When using the Detect mode, this upright vacuum senses the floor type and adjusts the speed of the brushroll and the suction power to clean. Upon sensing dirt, the LED indicator light on the vacuum head turns purple. When the light is white, users know that section of the floor is free of dust and dirt.

(Image credit: Future)

The vacuum is outfitted with two other Detect modes. With Edge Detect, arrows on the top sides of the vacuum light up when the vacuum moves close to an edge of a room, and the suction increases on the relevant side of the floorhead to clear any dust that might have gathered there. There's also Direction detect, which is designed so that the vacuum cleans just as well on the reverse stroke as it does when it's pushed forwards.

The dust cup on this PowerDetect vac has a capacity of 2 quarts / 1.3L, which is on the smaller side for an upright vacuum, but is still far bigger than the bin you'd find on a cordless stick vacuum.

For greater flexibility, this dustbin section can also be removed and held in the hand. A flexible hose connects the wand to the dustbin, and from there you can reattach the motorized vacuum head to the wand, to allow you to reach under furniture without the dustbin getting in the way.

(Image credit: Future)

You can also attach one of the detail tools, to tackle awkward or hard-to reach areas. Exactly what tools are included depends on which bundle you opt for. The review model I tested here came with a Duster crevice tool, Pet multi-tool, and HairPro Self-cleaning pet power brush.

As far as sound goes, the vacuum has a dB rating between 77-83, which is dependent on the mode being used or the increase in suction by the vacuum when it senses dirty floors.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum review: performance

• Excellent edge and reverse cleaning
• Accessories make it easy to clean furniture, ceiling, and tight spaces
• Great at detecting dirt and adjusting suction on various floor types

The Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum took only a couple of minutes to assemble. When I first tried to use it, the machine wouldn't turn on despite pressing the power button and having it properly plugged in. Eventually, I realized I didn't have the hose connected all the way. I love that the vacuum 'protects' the user from accidentally turning the vacuum on and sending dust and debris they've just vacuumed back into the room.

On test, the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum did not disappoint. I have historic hardwood floors, laminate floors, and low pile rugs in my house. On my first go, I cleaned my entire house with the vacuum, jumping between the Detect mode and manual surface modes (hard floor, carpet/low pile, and thick carpet/area rug) to get a feel on how each one worked.

(Image credit: Future)

I've tested a number of Shark vacuums, and I'm a huge fan of the Detect mode, which detects unseen dirt on the ground. I love when the lights turn from purple to white, indicating the surface is dust-free. So many vacuums lack this feature and it's truly a shame, because it's difficult otherwise to know if my floors are actually clean.

No matter the mode, I felt like the vacuum picked up dirt, dust, and debris on all my different floor types wonderfully. The only drawback I observed was that the vacuum head wasn't able to fit into tight spaces. Not to mention, I was unable to reach under my couch or bed because the dustbin got in the way. (There is a workaround this; keep reading.)

(Image credit: Future)

During my testing period, I had the opportunity to take the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum to my parents' home and test it on the carpet in their bedrooms. I was stunned by how much dust and dirt it picked up from the carpet. When using the Detect mode on their carpets, I found myself vacuuming over one strip of floor about six times before the light turned from purple to white indicating it was clean. (According to my dad, they hadn't deep cleaned their carpets in a while…) Anyone who has carpet in their home would do well to have this vacuum on hand.

(Image credit: Future)

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this upright vacuum is the ability to break it down and use the detail tools provided. The main pod (which holds the dust bin) can be removed from the wand, and the wand can be removed from the vacuum head. This allowed me to attach the duster crevice tool to the end of the wand and clean the corners or my ceiling.

Granted, I had to hold the pod in one hand and the wand in the other, but there aren't too many upright vacuums that offer this feature, and it's very useful. I was also able to use the wand and the vacuum head to clean under my couch and bed without the pod getting in the way.

The only drawback to breaking down the vacuum is that it's not easy to move the unit around the house in that mode. I'd have to pick up the pod in one hand and hold the wand in the other and walk to a new spot. Sometimes, I'd have to go back and grab accessories or the vacuum head or make sure not to get the hose tangled in the cord.

(Image credit: Future)

I don't have pets so I used the Pet Multi Tool and HairPro Self-Cleaning Pet Power Brush to remove my own hair from my couch. Compared to other vacuums that offer similar accessories, I thought they performed slightly better – although that might be more to do with the fact that the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum has a more powerful suction. Nevertheless, it's worth putting this model in the mix if you're looking for the best vacuum for pet hair.

Maintenance isn't too much of a hassle. When I was done cleaning, I removed the dust bin and placed it over a trash can before opening the latch, allowing the dust and debris to fall in. Because the dust cup is much larger than you'd find on most cordless vacuums, you shouldn't have to do this too regularly. The only other required maintenance is cleaning the pre-motor filters every month, the HEPA filter every year, and hand washing the soft roller as needed. Sensors must also be occasionally cleaned, and blockages must be checked for in the hose, wand, and nozzle. The squeegee bristle strip has to be cleaned or replaced occasionally too.

Suction tests

I went on to run a few standardized tests so I can get an even better look into the suction power of the vacuum and how it compares to other models. To do that, I placed loose leaf tea and oats on one of my rugs and on the laminate floor in my kitchen. From there, I used both the Detect mode and the manual modes of Hard Floor and Thick Carpet/Area Rug to see how well the vacuum sucked up the debris.

One update on this Shark range is 'Direction direction' tech, where the vacuum is designed to vacuum just as well when pushed forwards as when it's pulled backwards (some previous Shark vacuums tend to pool debris behind the floorhead when reversing). I also kept an eye on this aspect in my tests.

(Image credit: Future)

When it came to the loose-leaf tea, the vacuum performed perfectly on my laminate floor and area rug. No matter if I vacuumed forward or in reverse, or what mode I used, it sucked up every single piece of the fine material in a single pass.

(Image credit: Future)

Now for the oats test… When it came to vacuuming oats on my laminate floor, the vacuum did a pretty good job. It looked like the vacuum had picked up all the oats in a single pass. However, I later found that the vacuum missed five clusters. Compared to other models I've tested, this is still impressive. Most vacuums push the oats forward or I find that the oats get trapped behind the wheels. The Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum didn't do that. Sure, it missed a couple of oats, but they were quite large clusters and only needed one more pass to remove them from my floors.

(Image credit: Future)

For the carpet/rug test, the results were slightly different. No matter the mode, the vacuum suctioned oats perfectly when vacuuming in reverse. Oddly, it missed a few of the larger clusters of oats when vacuuming forward. It took me two to three swipes of the vacuum to remove all the oats from the rug. Again, this is not as big of a drawback as it seems. Most vacuums struggle with picking up x-large clusters of oats, no matter the floor type.

(Image credit: Future)

With its Edge detect feature, the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum senses when it's near the edge of a room, where dust can collect, and boosts suction on the relevant side of the floorhead to clear it. To test this feature, I sprinkled loose leaf tea along a wall. The vacuum head picked up every bit of the fine material in a single pass. I give the edge cleaning a perfect rating.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Should you buy the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum?

Attribute

Notes

Rating

Value

Sits in the upper-mid / premium price bracket, and while it's not the cheapest upright option, the flexibility and features justify the cost.

4.5 / 5

Design

An upright corded vacuum with four cleaning modes and sensors that detect edges, vacuuming direction, surfaces, and dirt. Versatile design that can be broken down into different configurations.

4.5 / 5

Performance

In addition to superb edge and reverse cleaning, it excels in cleaning all floor types, especially carpet. It may miss extra-large debris on a single pass but still outperforms most battery-powered vacuums.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You have carpet or lots of rugs

Carpet and rugs hide a lot of dust and debris, but this exceptionally powerful upright vacuum can grab even the finest materials like tea.

You're a pet owner

The suction on this vacuum is excellent, and that combined with useful detail tools and a large dust cup make it well suited to those who need something that can cope with lots of pet hair.

You want more assurance that your floors are clean

The vacuum is outfitted with a Detect mode, which informs you when your floors are clean or dirty with lighting cues.

Don't buy it if...

You don't like to be limited by cords

While corded vacuums are not limited by battery life, they do limit how far you can go from an outlet. Not to mention, a cord can get in your way or get tangled.View Deal

You don't want to mess around with different configurations

The bulky vacuum head doesn't fit in tight spaces and the dust bin can prevent you from reaching under furniture. Although you can break down the vacuum to clean hard-to-reach areas, it will take you some time to do so and can be a bit of a hassle to move everything from one spot to the next. For ultimate freedom, try one of the best cordless vacuums instead.

You only have hard floors
Those with hard floors don't really need the power of an upright vacuum. Something lighter like the Shark PowerDetect Cordless Stick Vacuum will perform just as well.

How I tested the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum

I tested the Shark PowerDetect Upright Vacuum with TruePet Upgrade over the course of two weeks. Not only did I use the numerous cleaning modes on my hard floors and low pile carpets, but I also took the vacuum to my parents' house and tested the vacuum on the high pile carpets in their bedrooms. As part of my review, I ran two vacuum tests with fine and thick materials on two different floor types to see how well the vacuum picked up the items on the lowest suction setting.

Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners

• First reviewed May 2025

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Two-minute review

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Samsung understood the assignment with the Galaxy S25 Edge, but it didn’t strive for extra credit. The goal was to make a Galaxy S25 Plus that’s easier to hold, but Samsung did not set out to make the thinnest phone possible – in fact the Galaxy S25 Edge isn’t even the thinnest phone Samsung makes today. Instead, it did what Samsung does best: it gave us a little more inside a little less.

The Galaxy S25 Edge is a very good phone, and it feels like something unique compared to every other phone I’ve reviewed. The difference is noticeable; it’s much slimmer and lighter than almost everything else, even when wearing a case. Still, the S25 Edge isn’t a revolutionary new design, and I can’t help but anticipate the competition it’s going to face from Apple in the shape of the rumored iPhone 17 Air.

This is the thinnest Galaxy S device Samsung has ever crafted. It’s 1.5mm thinner than the Galaxy S25 Plus, and almost 2.5mm thinner than the Galaxy S25 UItra.

Could I feel that millimeter in my hand? I’m not sure, but between the thinness and the weight reduction – it’s almost a full ounce lighter than the Plus and two ounces lighter than the Ultra – the Galaxy S25 Edge is undoubtedly a standout.

Front to back: Galaxy S25 Edge, Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, Galaxy S25 Ultra (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Galaxy S25 Edge isn’t the phone for you if you want the thinnest phone possible. It’s the phone for you if you want a Galaxy S25 Plus, but wish it were easier to hold. It’s the Galaxy S25 Ultra, minus the extra bits that you wouldn’t use, like the S Pen stylus. It’s not something totally new, but it’s a better option for the right buyer.

But why didn’t Samsung go for broke? Why not make the Edge the absolute thinnest smartphone ever? The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 5.6mm thin when it’s unfolded. Had it shaved another 0.3mm off the Edge, Samsung could have at least said that this is the thinnest Samsung phone you can buy.

The answer, of course, is battery life. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is super thin, but the battery is split between the two halves. Each half of the Z Fold 6 packs only about 2,200mAh of battery life (for 4,400mAh total), which is a lot less than the 3,800mAh the Galaxy S25 Edge offers.

A thinner Galaxy S25 Edge would have meant a smaller battery, and based on my testing, the S25 Edge is using the smallest battery it can get away with.

The Edge had trouble lasting past dinner time in my testing period. If Samsung had made the Edge the thinnest phone ever!, it probably wouldn’t last through my lunch break. I have no doubt Samsung could build such a phone, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

That makes the S25 Edge a pleasantly thin phone that is simply not very special. There are no special features that set it apart from the rest of the Galaxy S25 family. There’s nothing new here. It’s a well-crafted device that delivers exactly what I expected; no more and no less. That’s not a bad thing! It’s just… predictable.

Front to back: Galaxy S25 Edge, iPhone 16 Pro Max, Galaxy S25 Ultra (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The big problem is that Samsung is competing against a specter. The iPhone 17 Air could arrive later this year, and it’s hard not to see the Galaxy S25 Edge as a preemptive attack by Samsung on Apple’s next design concept. Because make no mistake, Apple is going to make a big deal out of going thin.

Apple is going to pretend it invented the millimeter. If and when Apple launches an iPhone Air in September, it will act like thinness is the biggest design innovation since the capacitive touchscreen. All other specs be damned! And I think Apple will be willing to shrink the battery and cut back on cameras even more severely than Samsung.

If that happens, the iPhone 17 Air will probably be less capable than the Galaxy S25 Edge in many ways, but it will give Apple the all-important bragging rights. Apple could use the dual-OLED display found on the iPad Pro, and recent rumors suggest the rumored phone will be around 5.5mm, making it thinner than any phone Samsung currently sells.

In a way, this takes the pressure off Samsung. The Galaxy S25 Edge is a very nice phone, and it fits neatly into Samsung’s price ladder as a little nicer than the Galaxy S25 Plus, but not as feature-packed as the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It doesn’t need to prove anything – the Galaxy S25 Edge does fine with less, without trying to be the most.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Price and availability

• Starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849 for 256GB/12GB configuration
• That’s $100 / £100 / AU$500 more than S25 Plus, $200 / £150 less than the Ultra

Left to right: Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Edge, Galaxy S25 Plus, Galaxy S25 (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Galaxy S25 Edge slots in neatly between the Galaxy S25 Plus and S25 Ultra in Samsung’s lineup. It’s closer to the Plus, which makes sense because it lacks more of the Ultra features than it possesses – there’s no S Pen, no telescopic zoom lens, and no big battery inside, for instance, although it is, like the S25 Ultra, built from titanium.

Otherwise, you get most of what you’d expect from the Galaxy S25 Plus, minus the zoom camera. It packs a sensor with a lot of megapixels, and that sensor is actually larger than the main sensor on the Galaxy S25 Plus. Both cameras use sensors that are smaller than the main 200MP sensor on the mighty Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Now I need a moment with my Australian friends, because something very odd is happening down under. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has come down in price by AU$400 since launch, which means it costs less than the Galaxy S25 Edge by AU$100. Also, the S25 Edge seems priced a bit high in Australia compared to the rest of the world – it’s AU$500 more than the Galaxy S25 Plus?! That seems like a mistake, but it’s the real price for now, so I would wait until Samsung offers a discount to buy the Edge.

Storage

US price

UK price

AU price

256GB

$1,099

£1,099

AU$1,849

512GB

$1,219

£1,199

AU$2,049

• Value score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge (left) and Galaxy S25 Plus (right) are very similar inside (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Like the rest of the Galaxy S25 family, the S25 Edge gets 12GB of RAM to support the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset inside. This platform has proven powerful and very efficient in my reviews of the best Android phones this year.

The 6.7-inch display on the S25 Edge seems to be identical to that on the S25 Plus. The main camera uses a new 200MP sensor that we haven’t seen before, which is a bit smaller than the 200MP sensor on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but larger than the 50MP sensor on the Galaxy S25 Plus. There’s no telephoto lens, but the Edge seems to use the same 12MP ultrawide camera as the S25 Plus.

The Galaxy S25 Edge comes with a 3,900mAh battery under its display, which is even smaller than the 4,000mAh battery beneath the Galaxy S25’s 6.2-inch screen. That’s what you sacrifice when you make a phone thin.

Samsung Galaxy S25

Dimensions

158.2 x 75.6 x 5.8mm

Weight

163g

OS

OneUI 7, Android 15. 7 major Android upgrades promised.

Display

6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz

Chipset

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy

RAM

12GB

Storage

256GB / 512GB

Battery

3,900mAh

Rear cameras

200MP main, 12MP ultra-wide

Front camera

12MP

Charging

25W wired, 15W wireless

Colors

Titanium Silver, Titanium Icyblue, Titanium Jetblack

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Design

• Feels exceptionally light when you hold it
• Even with a case, it’s a very thin phone

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The real selling point for the Galaxy S25 Edge isn’t the thinness, it’s the lightness. You have to hold this phone to appreciate it; you can’t just look at the S25 Edge if you want to experience how thin and light it is. Photos don’t do justice to the remarkably light weight, and that’s a big part of the experience.

If you get pinky-finger fatigue from balancing your phone, the S25 Edge might be the phone that will save your favorite digit. Even though it has a huge 6.7-inch display, the Galaxy S25 Edge is lighter than the iPhone 16 (6.1-inch screen, 170g), or the Pixel 9 (6.3-inch screen, 198g). It’s only one gram heavier than the 6.2-inch Galaxy S25, but it feels lighter since it’s less dense.

I almost always use a case with my phone, and since Samsung did not have cases ready for my review period, I asked my friends at Casetify to send over their thinnest cases for the Galaxy S25 Edge. Even with a case on the phone, it still feels remarkably thin and light, especially considering that huge screen size. My S25 Edge in a protective Casetify shell is still lighter than my Galaxy S25 Ultra with no case.

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The Galaxy S25 Ultra is almost as thick as the Galaxy S25 Edge in a case, including the camera bump (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 2 of 3

The MagSafe magnets make this Casetify case worth buying (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Image 3 of 3

Still thin, even in a case (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The design overall looks nearly identical to that of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but on very close inspection things are less impressive. Frankly, the build quality of the Galaxy S25 Edge seems messy compared to the Ultra or to any Apple iPhone.

There are gaps between the frame and the back glass. The SIM card tray doesn’t line up perfectly. There’s a gap between the camera bump and the back of the phone that I worried would pick up dirt – and by the end of my review period, that was the dingiest part of the phone.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

This phone could have been special. Samsung could have tried something new, like capacitive buttons on the side – a trick that rumors say Apple is considering. It could have had super-fast charging to go with that slim battery. It could have had unique colors or a unique finish.

Instead, it’s just a slimmer version of a phone we got six months ago, and it’s not even a really nice version at that.

• Design score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Display

• More Galaxy S25 Plus than Ultra, but that’s pretty great
• Fingerprint scanner was totally unreliable

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Galaxy S25 Edge, like the Galaxy S25 Plus, is sort of a hidden gem in Samsung’s lineup when it comes to display quality. While the S25 Ultra has a slightly-larger 6.9-inch screen, all three phones all have the same resolution. When you pack the same pixels into a smaller display, you get a screen that’s technically sharper, in terms of pixel density.

Which is to say the Galaxy S25 Edge has a fantastic screen, one of the best you can find on any phone. It is plenty bright, even in bright sunlight, though the Ultra does beat the Edge thanks to the addition of the remarkable coating that Samsung has been using for a couple of years to eliminate glare on its flagship flat phone.

The display can refresh at up to 120Hz – take that iPhone 16 Plus – and thanks to LTPO tech you can even get a full-color always-on display that refreshes as slowly as 1Hz to save power.

I’ve never had great luck with Samsung’s fingerprint scanners, and the S25 Edge didn’t recognize me any faster than other Galaxy phones, and unlocking failed more often than not. I know I have fingerprints because my OnePlus 13 sees them with 99% accuracy, so I assume this is a Samsung problem, not a me problem.

• Display score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Software

• OneUI 7 is well built, but doesn’t add much to the Edge experience
• AI features can be useful, but many feel like even more bloat

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

For better and for worse, the Galaxy S25 Edge uses the same One UI 7 interface as the rest of the Galaxy S25 family, with Android 15 serving as the engine. Samsung and Google seem to be locked in a perpetual struggle to control Samsung’s phones, so you’ll get two web browsers, two photo gallery apps, even two wallets and two different password managers.

It’s getting to be a bit much. I’m the first to insist that Samsung’s software – like its Internet web browser – performs better than Google’s alternative. But nobody wants two of everything; you don’t get an extra steering wheel when you buy a car. It’s time for Samsung to end the duplicate-apps project.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

There are plenty of Galaxy AI features on the phone, and it comes with Google Gemini preloaded and ready to take over the power button at your beck and call.

I think we may have already hit the wall with AI features. Samsung has been touting its Now Brief widget and app since the Galaxy S25 launched, and it’s a completely useless piece of software. It’s supposed to learn things about me and then offer information tailored to my needs, but nothing like that happens.

I’ve been wearing a Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro while using the S25 Edge for weeks. The Now Brief offers no more than today’s weather, a missive that feels creepy coming from an AI (‘Wishing you well’?!), and the first few events on my work calendar, which are usually the first three people who took the day off and logged it properly.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

At worst, Now Brief offers me partisan political news. I filter out most politics from my social feeds, and I don’t talk about politics in my text messages, so I’m not sure why Now Brief thinks politics are what interests me. It’s inescapable.

Thankfully, Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S25 Edge will get seven years of major Android and security updates, so it should last through Android 22, just like the rest of the Galaxy S25 family.

• Software score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Cameras

• Exactly what I expected based on the specs
• Samsung’s processing can be fun, or inconsistent

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

When I heard that the Galaxy S25 Edge would use fewer cameras than its S25 stablemates, with one big 200MP main sensor and a supporting ultra-wide, I was excited at the prospect. After all, one of Leica’s most popular cameras, the Leica Q3, uses a single large sensor and a wide lens, and fakes all of the zoom with digital cropping. If anybody can pull off the same trick on a camera phone, it’s Samsung.

Nope. I’m disappointed to say the cameras are fine, but not groundbreaking. I was hoping the Edge would be a trendsetter. Instead, it runs down the middle of the road without faltering. It does a great job at the things Samsung camera phones do well, but it can’t handle the all-in-one duties of the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

There are no surprises with the Galaxy S25 Edge cameras. The main camera uses a 200MP sensor with a wide lens, and that sensor is a bit smaller than the 200MP sensor on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. No surprise then that the Ultra is still the best Samsung camera phone, in more ways than one.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The main camera produces images that are a bit fuzzier than what I got from the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and I was surprised to find the colors dialed back a bit as well. The Edge’s cameras don’t seem to be tuned to pop colors as much as the Ultra cameras do. It still managed to take excellent food photos and warm portraits, like I expect from Samsung.

Image 1 of 2

Taken with Galaxy S25 Edge (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Galaxy S25 Edge 100% cropImage 2 of 2

Taken with Galaxy S25 Ultra (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)Galaxy S25 Ultra 100% crop

If you need a zoom lens, the S25 Edge isn’t going to satisfy you. The digital zoom doesn’t come close to providing the detail and quality I get with optical zoom on the Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max. A heron across the river looked like a white, featherless blob when I snapped a pic with the Edge. The iPhone and Galaxy Ultra images revealed a beak and some plumage.

Image 1 of 2

Taken with the Galaxy S25 Edge (Image credit: Philip BerneFuture)Galaxy S25 Edge 10X digital zoomImage 2 of 2

Taken with the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)iPhone 16 Pro Max 5X optical zoom, enhanced to 10X

If you take a lot of photos outdoors, the S25 Ultra has a coating on the display to reduce glare, and it makes a big difference even compared to the S25 Edge, which has a nearly-identical display otherwise. The Edge can get bright, but it’s much easier to see the Ultra’s screen if the sun is shining directly on you.

• Camera score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Camera samplesImage 1 of 7

(Image credit: Philip BerneFuture)Image 2 of 7

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(Image credit: Philip BerneFuture)Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Performance

• Excellent performance from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
• The Edge stayed very cool under conditions that break other phones

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I was expecting excellent performance from the Galaxy S25 Edge, and this phone delivered beyond my expectations. It was plenty fast, with that overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset providing a bit more boost than you’ll get on a non-Samsung Snapdragon phone. Samsung has also done a remarkable job of keeping the phone cool, even when you push the performance to the limit.

I perform a stress test where I run multiple mapping apps on a phone, and play music over Bluetooth, then sit the phone above my car dashboard in the sunshine. Most phones take less than an hour of this punishment before they shut down due to overheating.

The S25 Edge never quit, managing to stay cool enough to function for as long as I needed. That’s incredible – every iPhone, Pixel phone, and Galaxy phone I’ve tested has failed this endurance test. The Edge really lives up to Samsung’s claims of much better cooling – that 10% larger vapor chamber clearly makes a real difference.

This makes the Galaxy S25 Edge an easy contender for a best gaming phone ranking. It offers great performance and superior cooling – everything a gaming phone needs.

I also had fun playing games with the Galaxy S25 Edge clipped onto my Xbox wireless controller using a cheap third-party attachment from Amazon. The phone is so lightweight that gaming for long periods was a breeze – it’s a nice way to kill time while I wait for my Switch 2 to arrive.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Battery

• Good battery for the thin size, but not great
• Couldn’t last a full day if I used it aggressively

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

As I said above, Samsung could have made a thinner Galaxy S25 Edge, but the battery life would be terrible – as it is, during my review period the S25 Edge often needed a recharge while I was eating dinner, especially if I played games, took a lot of photos, or otherwise taxed the phone heavily.

If I scrolled my social feeds and listened to music on the train into work, I would be concerned about whether the battery would last until the train ride home.

It’s too bad Samsung didn’t use the latest silicon carbon battery technology found in the OnePlus 13, which might have helped it to pack in more power. I also wish this phone charged faster than other Galaxy S25 models, not slower – if it had 80W charging like the latest OnePlus phones I wouldn’t be worried about having to top up throughout the day, because that top-up would take less than 15 minutes.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

As it stands, 15 minutes of charging got me just past 25%, and a full charge took about an hour. That’s pretty slow by today’s standards, especially considering that this battery is smaller than any other inside a Galaxy S25 phone.

Samsung might also be exaggerating its battery claims. It told us to expect the Edge to offer longevity somewhere between the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S25, but in our lab benchmark tests the S25 Edge lasted for less than 13 hours of constant use where the Galaxy S24 lasted more than 13 hours, and the Galaxy S25 topped 15 hours.

If you really need good battery life the Galaxy S25 Plus is the Samsung champ, delivering almost 19 hours of screen time in our rundown test. But it’s not the Edge’s lack of battery life as such that bugs me; it’s how long it takes to top the phone up.

• Battery score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge score card

Value

Not a bad price for the svelte design and pocketability. You know what you’re getting, there are no surprises, so it seems like a fair upgrade from the Galaxy S25 Plus (or is it a downgrade from the Ultra?)

4/5

Design

A bit thinner and much lighter than any other flat phone you’ve tried. You can’t tell by looking; you have to pick it up to feel the difference. The finish is a bit shoddy, but the design might still satisfy buyers with a sore pinky.

3/5

Display

The same great display I saw on the Galaxy S25 Plus (with the same lousy fingerprint scanner). It’s super sharp and very bright, though if you’ll often be in bright sunshine the Ultra has a better anti-glare coating that makes it worth a look.

5/5

Software

Samsung’s One UI looks as good as ever, though the AI features are starting to wane in terms of their usefulness. Thankfully, this phone gets seven years of updates, so it will have no problem running your favorite apps and hopefully improving in the years to come.

3/5

Cameras

You get fewer cameras on a thinner phone, but the main camera still takes fantastic shots, albeit ones that are a bit subdued by normal Samsung standards. They don’t pack the same detail as the Ultra, but food photos and portraits are especially gorgeous.

3/5

Performance

Fantastic performance from the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy is paired with some of the most impressive cooling I’ve experienced on a smartphone. I couldn’t get the Edge to fry itself, no matter how much I pushed past its performance limits.

5/5

Battery

Battery life isn’t terrible considering the weight reduction, but I wish the smaller battery came with faster charging to make me forget how long I need to wait. I had to charge the phone most nights after dinner, unless I was careful.

3/5

Buy it if...

The Galaxy S25 Plus would be perfect if it were easier to hold
The Galaxy S25 Edge is the Galaxy S25 Plus minus millimeters and ounces, so it’s easier to grab and easier to hold for longer.

You want the second-thinnest Samsung phone
The Galaxy S25 Edge is the thinnest Galaxy S phone, and if you don’t like foldable phones it’s the thinnest Samsung phone you care about.

Don't buy it if...

You thought it would be the thinnest
The Galaxy S25 Edge isn’t really the thinnest anything, but it is very light, and that might be more important when you’re holding it for a long time.

You’re taking photos in bright sunlight… from far away
The Galaxy S25 Ultra remains the Samsung camera champ, with its anti-glare screen coating that helps in bright light plus its real optical zoom lenses… plural.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus
The Galaxy S25 Plus isn’t as thin as the Galaxy S25 Edge, but it has the same specs with much, much longer battery life. It even gives you a real zoom camera.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
If you don’t need an S Pen, or anti-glare, or two zoom lenses, or incredible battery life and faster charging, or up to 1TB of storage, you don’t need the Ultra, but you want it.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus

Galaxy S25 Ultra

Price:

$1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849

$999 / £999 / AU$1,699

$1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,149

Display:

6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED

6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED

6.9-inch LTPO AMOLED

Cameras:

200MP main, 12MP ultra-wide

50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP 3x telephoto

200MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 10MP 3x telephoto, 50MP 5x telephoto

Battery Life HH:MM (Future Labs test):

12:45

18:46

18:35

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

• I tested the phone for two weeks
• I took dozens of photos
• I played games and watched movies
• I checked email and worked in Slack
• I used AI features extensively
• Benchmark testing is for comparison, not scoring purposes

I tested the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge for more than two weeks before posting this review. I received the Edge before I traveled to Google I/O, and I took the phone along as my primary work device and for entertainment on flights.

When I got back from Google I/O I had Covid, so the Galaxy S25 Edge was my primary couch companion, and my source of entertainment and contact with the world. I used it to play games, watch movies, and listen to audiobooks.

When I’d recovered, I took the S25 Edge car shopping and connected it to a number of different cars to test. I used the phone to take photos, research cars, and more. I even asked for help from Google Gemini and Samsung’s Galaxy AI to do research, answer calls, and respond to solicitors.

I connected the Galaxy S25 Edge to a Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, and an Xbox Wireless controller, among numerous other devices.

Future Labs tests phones using a mix of third-party benchmark software and proprietary, real-world tests. We use Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, WebXPRT and Mobile XPRT, and 3DMark for performance testing. We test a phone's performance on video tasks using Adobe Premiere Rush. We also measure display color output and brightness.

For battery testing we perform proprietary tests that are the same for every phone, which enable us to determine how long it takes for the battery to run down.

Read more about how we test

Why you can trust TechRadar

☑️ 100s of gaming laptops reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech

Shokz OpenFit 2: Two-minute review

At their core, the Shokz OpenFit 2 are a great pair of open earbuds that provide a crucial mix of traffic awareness and solid sound quality that runners of all skill levels are sure to appreciate. I know they’ll be my go-to for running – for quite some time. Surely, that makes them some of the best open earbuds around, right?

Sort of, but that's not the whole story. Yes, there are some notable improvements here over the original Shokz OpenFit earbuds, including a massive leap in the available battery life, a more robust soundscape and, my personal favourite upgrade, the addition of physical buttons which just makes controlling playback on the go so much easier.

It’s a great package overall, but there’s a big asterisk over how much money you have to spend. Now at the increased price of $179.95 / £169 (which is around AU$350, give or take), the OpenFit 2 aren’t quite as affordable as their predecessor, so they're oddly less viable as a sports-specific second buy alongside a traditional pair of in-ear buds like the AirPods Pro 2 or the Sony WH-1000XM5.

Lastly, there's the existence of the also-just-launched Shokz OpenFit 2 Plus (or OpenFit 2+), which throws quite the spanner in the works. Despite only being £10 more expensive than the OpenFit 2, the 2+ come with wireless charging and Dolby Atmos compatibility, two features which are easily worth such a nominal uptick at the checkout.

If you can get the OpenFit 2 at a discount then none of this will be an issue, but at full price it’s a tricky one to recommend to the masses.

(Image credit: Future)Shokz OpenFit 2: Specifications

Water resistance

IP55

Active noise cancellation

No

Battery life

11 hours, 48 in total

Weight

9.4g ± 0.2g per earbud

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.3

Earbud type

Open-ear

Compatible profiles

A2DP, AVRCP, HFP

Shokz OpenFit 2: Price and availability

• Priced $179.95 / £169.00 (around AU$350, where sold)
• Available from June 5th 2025 (announced January 2025)
• Available in the US and UK, at the time of writing

The Shokz OpenFit 2 are priced at £169 / $179.95, hitting store shelves on June 5th 2025 in the UK, despite having been available since January in the US. The earbuds are also launching at the same time as the more premium Shokz OpenFit 2 Plus which are just slightly more expensive at £179, with US pricing unannounced at the time of writing.

This is a notable price increase, particularly in the UK, against the $159.95 / £129 of the previous Shokz OpenFit, and it’s also worth bearing in mind that the entry-level Shokz OpenFit Air, priced at $119.95 / £94, are still readily available via the company's website. This does make the OpenFit 2 a tricky sell to budget-conscious buyers, but I do think that when you factor in the amount of upgrades that have been crammed into the OpenFit’s successor, there’s a lot for the avid runner in your life to appreciate.

(Image credit: Future)Shokz OpenFit 2: Features

• Maintain traffic awareness while listening to music
• Vastly improved battery life
• Multi-point pairing

The main allure with the OpenFit 2 remains very much the same from every other product within Shokz’s wares. It is spatial (read also: environmental, traffic, general hubbub of life happening all around you) awareness. As any runner can attest, the last thing you want is to be caught off guard by a passing car or cyclist – if you don't have your wits about you then you can end up doing harm to yourself and others. However, going for a run without your favourite playlists is like going on a flight and staring at the tray table in front of you for the duration. Thankfully, Shokz’s open-ear format helps to bring together the best of both worlds.

Because the Shokz OpenFit 2 don’t block your ear canals in order to deliver sound, you can still hear everything that goes on around you, all while enjoying your go-to running tracks. It sounds simple enough, but it’s not easy to pipe good quality audio to ears when the product's drivers aren't covering them. It is a great feature to have in practice, and it's precisely why I’ve been using Shokz headphones and earbuds exclusively for the last several years when going for a run. For that reason alone, the Shokz OpenFit 2 will now supplant my existing Shokz headphones.

As you've no doubt guessed, the caveat to all of this is that Shokz’s products aren't great if you're trying to block out the world and focus. Simply put, with no noise cancellation to speak of, the OpenFit 2 are a terrible option to have for the commute or when working at a nearby cafe. It's not all negative however – I do find that the OpenFit 2, and earbuds of their ilk, are quite handy in an office environment as you can enjoy listening to a podcast as you work, but your colleagues won't have to flail their arms just to get your attention (unless it's a really good podcast).

Still, if you do want to use the OpenFit 2 in noisier environments, you can help to mitigate things by diving into the accompanying Shokz app and toggling the ‘Vocal’ setting to elevate voices and lead singers. There are other equaliser modes including ‘Bass Boost' and ‘Treble Boost’, but these are best enjoyed in quieter surroundings (Bass Boost is almost inaudible outdoors without cranking up the volume). Multi-point pairing has also found its way to the OpenFit 2 after being noticeably absent on the original OpenFit, so you can jump between devices without issue.

According to Shokz, the OpenFit 2 have the same four built-in noise cancelling mics as the OpenFit, but this time there’s some AI optimisation going on under the hood to improve the quality even further. While I will say that the actual quality of voice recordings with the microphones is fairly standard (legible but nothing to write home about), I was very impressed to see just how much heavy lifting the noise cancelling could do. Even with loud music blaring on my Sonos Ray nearby, I could still take down voice notes and listen to them without any hint of external sound getting in the way. For taking a quick call mid-run, the OpenFit 2 are more than up to the task.

Arguably the biggest shake-up on paper is the massive leap forward in battery life offered by the OpenFit 2, now boasting up to 11-hours of listening time on a single charge, and a total of 48-hours when the charging case is factored in. Given that the total use time capped out at 28-hours on the OpenFit, that’s a big improvement and it means you'll be able to get in more runs without needing to worry about giving the Shokz OpenFit 2 a top up.

Putting those claims to the test, I was able to drain about 10% from both earbuds after 30-minutes of playback at 50% volume. At that rate, it would have taken roughly five hours for the batteries to drop to 0%, but it's far more likely that you'll get closer to that 11-hour claim at a reasonable volume.

(Image credit: Shokz)

• Features score: 4 / 5

Shokz OpenFit 2: Sound quality

• New dual driver system
• Rich bass and vocals
• Easliy some of the best sounding open-ear earbuds I've tried

One of the upgrades that Shokz has been keen to point out is the inclusion of a dual driver system in each earbud for the OpenFit 2, which is designed to deliver enhanced clarity for both the bass and the vocals of any given track.

Coming in from my usual trusty pair of Shokz OpenRun Pro (which are a few years old now), the difference was immediate and tangible. Shokz was spot on in highlighting bass and vocals in particular as they both have a richer quality to them on the OpenFit 2. I knew this from the moment I kicked off a run with a tried and true classic, Linkin Park and Jay-Z’s Points of Authority / 99 Problems / One Step Closer mash-up – the opening guitar riff is as crisp and cutting as expected, but it’s when the backing vocals kick in that you can really hear the depth. And that’s only elevated once the bass drops (no small feat for earbuds of this type) to bring the whole song into view.

Further on in the playlist, the Black Eyed Peas’ Boom Boom Pow came up and I was impressed to see just how bouncy and impactful the percussion sounded throughout the song. Again, this is a pair of earbuds that attempting to convey sound without obstructing your ear canal, but as any fans of in-ear headphones can attest, that tends to be the way to get the most fulfilling sound quality, so the fact that the OpenFit 2 can still do justice to a song like this is quite something.

I did notice that at certain frequencies, the bass was unable to fully come to the surface and replicate what I'd expect from 'regular' buds. Megan Thee Stallion’s Opposite Day, a song that I rely on for weightlifting because of the thumping bass right from the start, just didn’t sound quite as powerful as it usually does with the OpenFit 2, but I will say that moments like this were certainly the exception to the norm.

If you prefer to listen to podcasts while you run, you won’t have any problems here as vocals come across as clearly as intended, although if you are in a busy area then you can always toggle the aforementioned Vocal equaliser to give it a bit of a boost.

At this money, the Shokz OpenFit 2 aren’t that far off some of the best earbuds you can buy, and I’ve lost track of the amount of times that the epic AirPods Pro 2 have dropped to around the same price during sales events. Even though I would sooner bring a pair of Shokz headphones or earbuds with me on a run ahead of anything else, I still use my AirPods the rest of the time, and if you’re tied to a strict budget then this might be something you have to weigh up at the checkout.

What is also odd is that for an extra £10, you can get the Shokz OpenFit 2 Plus, which add Dolby Atmos support for a more cinematic soundscape if you’re streaming video content. When you also throw the addition of wireless charging into the mix, I don’t know why you wouldn’t just go for the OpenFit 2 Plus, unless you’re desperate to hold on to a tenner.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Shokz OpenFit 2 (left) placed next to the OpenFit Air (right) (Image credit: Future)Shokz OpenFit 2: Design

• New silicone finish is very comfortable over long periods
• The earbuds stay firmly in place when running
• Physical inputs now sit alongside touch controls

If sound quality is the one area where the Shokz OpenFit 2 struggle to truly kick away from the competition, this is thankfully not the case where the design is concerned. These are a comfortable pair of open-fit earbuds that have been constructed with all-day wear in mind, a feat that’s largely achievable thanks to the new material used for the chassis.

The OpenFit 2 are largely encased in a soft silicone finish, which feels so comfortable against the ear that after a while, you start to forget they're there.

The hooks also remain sturdy and at no point during my runs with the Shokz OpenFit 2 was I ever concerned that the earbuds might become dislodged and lost, which is far more than I can say for most in-ear headphones which do not provide the same peace of mind.

One of the more welcome additions is a revamp of the control scheme on the OpenFit 2, finally bringing physical buttons into the mix. Both the OpenFit and the OpenFit Air relied entirely on touch controls which, I can tell you, was certainly a mixed bag from my experience with the latter. I could never quite wrap my head around the input system which is why, after a while, I ended up ditching them in favour of an older pair of Shokz headphones with physical controls.

This time around, there’s a push button sat on top of both earbuds and they can be customised (not independently) to recognise different actions. For example, I set the buttons to tweak the volume after a long press, and move either backwards or forwards through a playlist with a double click. There are still touch controls available, but they can only be assigned to wake your preferred digital assistant.

There are two colorways available, black and beige, and while they’re not quite as eye-catching as some of the more vibrant colours that Shokz has offered in the past, there is a refined quality about them that makes the earbuds feel stylish in their own way.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Shokz OpenFit 2: Value

• Cheaper options are available within this market
• The more feature-packed Shokz OpenFit 2+ aren't much pricier

It’s a shame – I do genuinely appreciate what Shokz has achieved with the OpenFit 2, what with a more comfortable design, improved sound quality and the inclusion of physical buttons (finally), but the one thing that holds it all back is the product’s pricing, which has left me scratching my head for two reasons.

First off, as I’ve mentioned a few times, $179.95 / £169 just feels far too expensive for a pair of open-ear headphones. Even though I still think that open-ear is the way to go if you’re an avid runner, or hoping to get into running, they’re just not great options for any other setting. This hasn’t been too much of an issue in the past thanks to cheaper pricing, but with this increase the Shokz OpenFit 2 are encroaching on the space typically held by more premium earbuds.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the more premium version of these earbuds, the Shokz OpenFit 2 Plus, are only £10 more expensive but for that minimal amount you get wireless charging and Dolby Atmos compatibility which begs the question – why on earth would you opt for the regular OpenFit 2 when the OpenFit 2 Plus are almost the same price? I don’t know if this is an intentional tactic from Shokz to get people to upgrade to the pricier pick, but the result is that it undermines the OpenFit 2’s position on the market.

• Value score: 3 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Shokz OpenFit 2: Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

Battery life is fantastic and there are tons of EQ options to play with.

4 / 5

Sound quality

Great within its category but it’ll never outdo in-ear headphones.

4 / 5

Design

Comfortable to wear and easier to use thanks to physical controls.

5 / 5

Value

A price increase and a similarly priced upgrade hurt these earbuds.

3 / 5

Should I buy the Shokz OpenFit 2?Buy them if...

You’re an avid runner
These are still some of the best earbuds you can buy for running, so if you regularly hit the track then you’ll love the spatial awareness and sound quality these provide.

You need all-day earbuds for the office
With outstanding battery life, the OpenFit 2 are handy for the office as it means colleagues can still get your attention while you listen to music.

Don't buy them if...

You’re tied to a strict budget
If you can’t afford both a pair of open-ear headphones and standard in-ear headphones, then the latter can provide better value overall.

You want wireless charging
Given that wireless charging is available for just £10 more on the OpenFit 2 Plus, I don’t know why you wouldn’t make the upgrade for more versatile charging.

Also consider

Shokz OpenFit
While the sound quality isn’t up to the same standard, these predecessors are still much cheaper and crucially provide the spatial awareness that runners are after. Read our full Shokz OpenFit review

Shokz OpenRun

These open-ear headphones are a much cheaper alternative from the same company, plus they’re incredibly quick to charge between runs. Read our full Shokz OpenRun review

(Image credit: Future)How I tested

• Tested for two weeks
• Used in indoor and outdoor scenarios
• Connected to both iPhone and Android handsets

For testing, I wore the Shokz OpenFit 2 over the course of two weeks. I began my initial tests by taking the earbuds with me for a run at a local park with slight elevation, to get an idea of how well they could stay in place.

I also took the earbuds with me on a trip to Central London, listening to music and podcasts against the backdrop of a commuter train, passing cars and conversations, as well as the occasional spot of roadworks.

• First reviewed June 2025

Shokz OpenFit 2+: One minute review

After just 24 hours with the Shokz OpenFit 2+ I can already tell they’re great headphones that are worthy of inclusion in our best open-ear headphones buying guide, and perhaps our best running headphones guide as well.

They're comfortable to wear, even for glasses wearers like myself, with Shokz’ flexible nickel-titanium alloy ear hooks looping over your ears and weighted down by a bulbous end, while the driver sits snugly against your temples.

The silicon covering, which Shokz labels its “ultra soft silicone 2.0” is comfortable to wear in sweaty conditions. The whole earbud weighs 9.4g, making it light, but a gram heavier than the original OpenFit.

The drivers aren’t bone-conduction headphones like the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 or Shokz Openswim Pro. Instead, they’re more like traditional drivers or speakers, directing sound towards your ears without covering the lughole entirely.

The sound is really very good, perhaps even coming close to the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (our gold standard in open-ear sound) in terms of quality. The addition of Dolby is noticeable from the moment you flip the setting on in the Shokz app: everything becomes richer and more pronounced.

(Image credit: Future)

Likewise, I had fun tinkering with the EQ settings in the app, switching from Vocal mode to listen to my podcast during the first part of the run, and Bass Boost once I got up the giant hill I'd foolishly decided to tackle. I needed something heavier to get myself through the second part of my run, and Bass Boost paired nicely with the pounding roars of Linken Park’s new Heavy is the Crown.

While the sound is comparable to the Bose Ultra Open, the OpenFit 2+ are certainly more reassuring to wear during strenuous exercise. I was continually worried that the Ultra Open would fall off my ears during jogs due to their pendulous wobbly clip design, and I personally know one person who had this happen during a marathon – a disaster, as the earbuds are very expensive.

Taking the Shokz OpenFit 2+ on a run, I felt very secure even during a trail that demanded a little lateral agility to navigate: I felt them shift slightly a few times, but never feared they would drop off.

I probably wouldn’t, however, wear them during circuit training with explosive movements like burpees, as I’d feel they might leave my ears during dynamic jumps. That’s something to test and report back on in my full review.

Shokz OpenFit 2+: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• $179.95 / £169
• $100 / £100 cheaper than Bose Ultra Open Earbuds at launch
• Only $20 / £10 more expensive than regular OpenFit 2

The Shokz OpenFit 2 cost $179.95 / £169 (about AU$350), while the Shokz OpenFit 2+ cost $199.95 / £179 (about AU$370). Official pricing for other regions is TBC. The Shokz are available to order now.

For the extra few dollars and pounds, you get the Dolby audio setting and wireless charging on the hard plastic case, whereas the OpenFit 2 need to be charged via USB, and they're still much cheaper than the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds were at launch.

It’s such a nice convenience, and Dolby makes a big difference for such a small price increase, that my initial thoughts are that the standard OpenFit 2 will rapidly become obsolete; I can’t imagine a situation in which I’d recommend them over the 2+.

Shokz OpenFit 2+: Early Verdict

The Shokz OpenFit 2+: are great open-ear headphones for both workouts and general listening, with Dolby Audio as the flagship sound-enhancing feature – and the OpenFit 2 now seem a bit redundant as the two models are so similar in price. You’ll be able to check back soon for our definitive verdict in our full Shokz OpenFit 2+ review,.

First reviewed: June 2025

Ballerina is a real litmus-test moment for the John Wick universe.

The Continental, the franchise's first TV project, was a risky prequel series that lacked Keanu Reeves' star power and, by proxy, indicated that Lionsgate's billion dollar-spinning enterprise couldn't flourish without Reeves' iconic hitman being front and center in its various productions.

Ballerina appears to suggest otherwise. The fifth film in the series – and the first that doesn't feature Reeves as its lead – is a typically thrilling franchise entry that shows 'The World of Wick' could have a bright future without Reeves at the helm. Well, that is as long as future Wick-Verse movies and shows don't fall into the same hackneyed traps that Ballerina occasionally does.

When you think of me, you should think of fire

Ana de Armas stars as Eve Macarro, a Ruska Roma assassin who goes rogue to avenge her father's death (Image credit: Lionsgate)

Set between John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum and John Wick Chapter 4 (learn more about the franchise's timeline in my guide on how to watch the John Wick movies in order), Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro.

The child of an assassin who was gunned down for apparently betraying the criminal organization he was a member of, the orphaned Eve is taken in by the Ruska Roma, the crime syndicate that also raised and trained Wick.

It's easy to draw comparisons between Ballerina and the first John Wick movie

Years later, the now-adult Eve carries out covert missions for the Ruska Roma. However, when she realizes her latest target has ties to the enigmatic gang that murdered her father, Eve ignores the orders of her surrogate family's matriarch in The Director (Angelica Huston) to let things lie. Cue Eve going rogue as she embarks on a one-woman quest to track down her father's killers and seek vengeance.

Eve enlists the help of The Continental New York's manager Winston (Ian McShane) to find her father's killers (Image credit: Lionsgate)

With its classic tale-of-revenge format, it's easy to draw comparisons between Ballerina – or, to type out its full title, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina – and the first John Wick movie.

Sure, there are subtle differences between their plots. 2014's John Wick sees Reeves' retired hitman punish those who stole his beloved Mustang and killed the puppy that his deceased wife posthumously gifted Wick to help him through the process of grieving her loss.

Here, Eve seeks retribution for her dad's murder, and in the process she unearths some big secrets about her past that, as plot twists go, are so derivative I spotted them from the get-go. Those narrative distinctions aside, though, the basic plot structure and themes explored in both films are the same, which is why parallels will inevitably be drawn between them.

Watching Eve's competency in the field improve... makes for pleasant viewing

That said, the narrative disparity between this duo is felt most keenly in how Ballerina sets up its tale. Act one is an origin story in all but name, with the film's first 45 minutes establishing Eve's backstory and events that led to her joining the Ruska Roma before transitioning to the modern day. In that sense, Ballerina's opening act isn't unlike that of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, whose five-act plot plays out in a similar manner.

Interesting as it to witness Eve's transition from traumatized child to skilled assassin, Ballerina's first act feels drawn out. For a movie that clocks in at two hours, the fact that it takes 45 minutes to get to the meat of the story is a disproportionate amount of time to spend on narrative set-up. Sure, it's fun to see Eve's competency in the field improve – she makes plenty of mistakes along the way, mind you – as the first act progresses, but Ballerina could've reached its critical storytelling juncture far earlier than it does.

Enemy of my enemy

Daniel, a mysterious individual played by Norman Reedus, is tracked down by Eve (Image credit: Lionsgate)

Once its actual story gets going, Ballerina becomes an exercise in hasty plot exposition and world-building, and typically breathless and violent action.

Ballerina further embellishes the seedy nature of this fictional world

Where the former is concerned, Ballerina's intriguing expansion of the John Wick universe further proves that it's not just a world where assassin guilds are commonplace.

Previous Wick-Verse films have tentatively spotlighted other criminal gangs that inhabit this franchise. However, Ballerina, which shouldn't be called a John Wick spin-off, according to director Len Wiseman, confidently embellishes the seedy, complicated nature of this fictional world by revealing that the High Table isn't the sole establishment that governs the criminal underworld's various factions. Spoilers notwithstanding, I'm eager to see how future films and TV shows will expand on the splinter organizations introduced in this movie and establish others with their own mythos.

Ballerina's action sequences are as fantastical, violent, and over the top as you'd expect (Image credit: Lionsgate)

As for its physically demanding set-pieces, Ballerina's will draw "oohs" and the odd expletive-laden comment from audiences. Like John Wick, Eve is a quick-thinker who uses everyday items to gain the upper hand in combat and take out the foes she faces in her big-screen debut. The flamethrower-centric action sequence, which featured heavily in Ballerina's official trailer, is likely to be many viewers' most-loved set-piece in this film, but separate fights involving a stack of plates and a pair of ice skates were my particular favorites.

Entertained as I was by Ballerina's action, some moments felt a little amateurish. Indeed, there are a couple of set-pieces in act two where there's a notable delay between actors – or their stunt doubles – taking hits and reacting to said body blows, which temporarily pulled me out of the moment. They're not the worst situations I've seen in an action thriller flick, but they reduce the believability of the duels on show.

Rules and consequences

Yeah, we're thinking he's back (Image credit: Lionsgate)

Those occasional moments may be missteps, but the manner in which Ballerina handles Wick's small but significant appearance isn't.

Fans have known that Reeves' legendary gun-for-hire would turn up since Ballerina's first trailer was released last September. Thankfully, his role in proceedings – I didn't time it, but I'd say Reeves' screentime is around 10 minutes – is not only a natural fit for the story Ballerina tells, but also ensures Reeves doesn't upstage de Armas in her own movie.

Don't worry, though, Wick fans, he gets his own incredibly satisfying action sequence – one that takes place after the suspense-filled confrontation he has with Eve –that'll satiate your desire to see him take names and kick ass.

Angelica Huston's The Director gets a semblance of character development in Ballerina (Image credit: Lionsgate)

The supplemental appearance from Reeves' beloved hitman aside, if I had to be hyper-critical of Ballerina, it doesn't do much with the rest of its starry ensemble.

Norman Reedus' Daniel... is criminally underused

Yes, Huston's The Director earns more screentime here than she has in prior John Wick films. Ian McShane's Winston and the late Lance Reddick's Charon earn their stripes in their respective minor and cameo roles, too. Given Ballerina's sharper focus on the Ruska Roma, plus Winston's active role in shaping Eve's life, though, I expected them to feature more than they did.

The same goes for Norman Reedus' Daniel, a mysterious individual with ties to those who killed Eve's father who, aside from inadvertently complicating Eve's quest for revenge, is criminally underused. Considering Ballerina's release was delayed so additional photography could take place to include scenes that were initially removed from the script, I'm baffled over the lack of airtime afforded to Reedus and some of his contemporaries.

My verdict

Ballerina is an entertaining, largely self-contained story whose typically high-octane nature will appease John Wick devotees and offers a soft narrative reset that makes it accessible to franchise newcomers. With de Armas' likable badass at the helm, it's an entry that could spawn its own film series within the wider John Wick universe, and it's one I certainly think is worth exploring.

That said, Lionsgate and Wick's chief creative team can't rely on the shock value of its violence, nor copy and paste its revenge tale formula into stories starring other characters, forever. Whether it's the very-early-in-development John Wick Chapter 5, the forthcoming flick starring Donnie Yen's Cain, or the franchise's anime-style TV show, fans will demand something far more creative or fresh in the future.

If Ballerina is popular and financially successful to warrant a sequel, and if said follow-up cracks the originality code, we could look back on this de Armas-fronted film as the one that proved the Wick-Verse is in safe hands without Reeves steering the ship. Fail to do so and, to paraphrase Marvel anti-hero Wade Wilson from Deadpool and Wolverine: "Lionsgate will make Reeves do this until he's 90!".

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina opens in theaters worldwide on Friday, June 6.

Microsoft Surface Pro 12 (2025): Two-minute review

The new Microsoft Surface Pro 12 (2025) comes at an interesting time for the Surface family of devices. Once upon a time, Surface products were pitched as flagship devices that were showcases for the latest and greatest Windows features, while also allowing Microsoft to directly compete with its arch nemesis Apple and its MacBook and iPad devices.

Surface devices were also often quite innovative, with unusual form factors that would again be used to showcase various Windows features, and they were championed by Panos Paney, an enthusiastic spokesperson for Surface devices. This meant that despite Surface devices never gaining the kind of mainstream success that Apple’s devices enjoyed, it was always interesting to see what new products the Surface team were working on.

But times change. Panay left for Amazon, and a lot of the enthusiasm and excitement about Surface devices seemed to leave Microsoft with him. The company simplified the Surface lineup, dropping some of the more experimental models, and focused more on commercial customers. The Surface Pro 12 (2025) is seemingly out to prove that Microsoft hasn’t abandoned its consumers, nor has it forgotten about its Surface lineup – I just worry if it’s a case of too little, too late.

(Image credit: Future)

The trimming down of the Surface product line means there’s going to be no more Surface Go devices (I asked Microsoft about this directly), which were affordable versions of the usual premium Surface devices. While I appreciated the aim of Surface Go devices – it’s always nice to see a company make more affordable versions of its expensive devices – they never quite hit the mark in my view, with a few too many compromises being made to lower the price at the expense of performance.

Thankfully, that doesn’t mean that people on a budget won’t be able to afford a Surface device, as the base model of the new Surface Pro 12-inch (2025) is now considered the entry level model. Starting at $799.99 / £799 / AU$1,499, it is now the cheapest Surface Pro model, and is a fair bit less expensive than last year’s Surface Pro 11, which started at $999.99 /£1,049.99 / AU$1,899.99.

It’s also a lot less expensive than its biggest competitor, the iPad Pro 13-inch (2024), which launched at a rather staggering $1,299 / £1,299 / $2,199.

While at first glance this seems like a great deal – a newer model for a lot less than the previous model – there are a number of differences between the Surface Pro 12 and Surface Pro 11 that show that Microsoft has still made certain sacrifices to lower the price of the new model. I certainly wouldn’t think of it as an upgrade, rather a more affordable alternative to last year’s model. That’s not a bad thing, of course, but it’s worth pointing out so you know what you’re getting if you buy the new Surface Pro 12 (2025).

Let’s start with the screen: rather confusingly, the number in the Surface Pro 11’s name refers to the fact that it is the 11th edition of the Surface Pro.

Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 12 is named after its screen-size. So, the Surface Pro 11 actually has a larger screen – and a higher resolution as well.

The Surface Pro 12 comes with a 12-inch screen with a 2196 x 1464 resolution and refresh rate of up to 90Hz. The Surface Pro 11, meanwhile, comes with a 13-inch screen with a 2880 x 1920 resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate. It can also be configured to come with an OLED panel.

Other changes are that the Surface Pro 12 comes with just one memory configuration: 16GB, whereas last year’s model can be configured up to 32GB. The Surface Pro 12 comes with a single processor choice – the Arm-based, eight-core Snapdragon X Plus, a more affordable, yet less powerful, version of the 10-core X Plus that comes in the Surface Pro 11. That model can also be configured with the even more powerful 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chip.

The Surface Pro 12 also drops support for 5G data connections (though it still features cutting-edge Wi-Fi 7 technology), and the two USB-C ports in this model are USB 3.2, rather than the faster USB4 connections in last year's model.

These are quite substantial differences, and while some people might consider them a downgrade compared to the Surface Pro 11, it’s important to note that Microsoft continues to sell that model alongside the Surface Pro 12, so if you’re looking for a flagship experience, you’ll want the (slightly) older model. This could, of course, confuse people who assume the latest model is also the most powerful, or that the only difference between them are the screen sizes. But, you know: Microsoft and confusing product names – name a more iconic duo.

As with previous Surface Pro devices, the Surface Pro 12 is a Windows 11 tablet, and Microsoft is one of the few companies continuing to release them. The dominance of iPads running iPadOS and Android tablets has seemingly turned off many manufacturers from making Windows tablets.

In a way that’s a shame, as while Windows 11 isn’t an operating system primarily designed for touchscreen devices, unlike iPadOS or Android, the touchscreen experience has come a long way, and you can comfortably find your way around Windows 11 and run most tasks and actions via the touchscreen thanks to large, easy-to-hit, icons and buttons. However, there are still times when Windows 11’s origins as an operating system designed for desktop PCs are apparent, such as when a menu or dialogue box appears that feels clumsy when prodded by a finger and requires a mouse and keyboard for the best experience.

(Image credit: Future)

On the other hand, by running Windows 11, you can install full desktop versions of applications, such as Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop, rather than the more limited tablet apps. This is the one area I feel Microsoft has the advantage over Apple’s iPad Pro, which, despite featuring the powerful M4 chip found in the best MacBooks and Macs, still uses iPadOS, which means it’s limited to the same basic apps that the iPad mini and iPad Air can run. This makes it feel like a lot of that power is wasted, and it’s something that the Surface Pro 12 avoids by being able to run almost any full desktop program. Plus, the Surface Pro 12 (2025) is nowhere near as powerful, or as expensive, as the iPad Pro, meaning you won’t be quite as concerned about paying for performance you’re not using.

I say ‘almost’ every Windows 11 app because it’s important to note that the Surface Pro 12 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chip, which is based on Arm architecture. Without getting too caught up in the weeds of tech mumbo-jumbo, in the past most consumer laptops and PCs used x86-based chips, primarily from Intel and AMD, and that meant that the majority of Windows applications were coded for x86 hardware, so Windows devices using Arm hardware couldn’t run them – instead you had to hope that the app makers would take the time to make an Arm-compatible version, and because sales of Windows on Arm hardware was so small compared to x86, very few developers thought it was worth doing.

Thankfully that’s changed a lot, mainly because the recent generation of Windows 11 laptops using Arm hardware (specifically the Snapdragon X), pushed by Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC branding, have been very popular (and deservedly so, just check out our Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 review and Dell XPS 13 (2024) review for two recent examples of why Snapdragon X laptops are so good).

Microsoft has also released its Prism tool, which is essentially an emulator that allows x86 apps to run on Arm hardware with minimal impact to performance. This, combined with a growing library of native Arm apps for Windows 11 means that most of your favorite apps will run on the Surface Pro 12 – though there might still be cases where an app you often use can’t run.

The Surface Pro 12 (2025) can also be fitted with the Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard, which offers a tactile, comfortable-to-use, full-size keyboard and trackpad, while also doubling as a protective cover for the screen. This turns the Surface Pro 12 into a 2-in-1 device that can be used as both a tablet and a keyboard, and for pretty much any task where you need to write reams of text, it’s an essential add-on.

Sadly, you have to buy it separately, which adds a further $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$274.95 – a not insubstantial extra expense that I feel most people will need to pay for to get the most out of the Surface Pro 12.

The Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard snaps on easily thanks to a proprietary magnetic connection, but because of the new screen size, it means you can’t use keyboards from older Surface devices. You can, at least, use a standard Bluetooth or wired keyboard, but that means you miss out on the portability.

Surface Pro 12 (2025): Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• How much does it cost? Starts at of $799.99 / £799 / AU$1,499
• When is it available? On sale now
• Where can you get it? You can get it in the US, UK, and Australia

With the affordable Surface Go lineup seemingly chucked in the trash, the Surface Pro 12 (2025) is now the most affordable way to get a new Surface Pro, with a starting price of $799.99 / £799 / AU$1,499, which is a fair bit cheaper than 2024’s Surface Pro 11 which starts at $999.99 /£1,049.99 / AU$1,899.99. Microsoft is continuing to sell the Surface Pro 11 alongside the Surface Pro 12, pitching the older model as the premium, flagship device, while the Surface Pro 12 takes the place of the Surface Go as the entry-level.

For that starting price, you get a Snapdragon X Plus 8-core CPU, 16GB RAM, and 256GB of storage. You can also configure it to come with 512GB of SSD storage for an extra $100 / £100 / AU$200. Apart from that, you’re unable to configure any other aspect of the hardware, though you can choose different colors (more of that in a moment).

The starting price is certainly competitive, especially considering the iPad Pro 13-inch starts at $1,299 / £1,299 / $2,199. Meanwhile, the latest iPad Air 13-inch starts at a similar $799 / £799 / AU$1,299 price, but comes with less storage and memory, and lacks Wi-Fi 7 support.

As a reasonably powerful tablet, then, the price is very good, though there are budget Android tablets out there for a lot less.

What’s not included in the price is a wall charger. The Surface Pro 12 no longer uses the proprietary Surface Connect port to charge – instead, any USB-C charger will work, so the lack of an included charger probably won’t be a huge deal for a lot of people, and at least helps keep the price down and reduce waste. If you need a charger, then you can buy an official one for $69.99 / £49.99 / AU$89.95, but because any USB-C power supply above 27W will work, there are plenty of cheaper options.

However, to get the most out of the Surface Pro 12 (and Windows 11, the operating system it runs), you’ll need the Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard, which turns it into a 2-in-1 device that can be used as either a tablet or a laptop.

The Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard is sold separately and will set you back $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$274.95, so unless you just want to use the Surface Pro 12 as a tablet, you should factor that into the price.

You can also get the 12-inch Keyboard with the Slim Pen stylus in a bundle for $249.99 / £249.99 / $454.95.

In the US and Australia, you can also buy the Surface Slim Pen on its own for $129.99 / AU$229.5. While the stylus is less essential to the overall experience, this does show that from the reasonable starting price, the Surface Pro 12 can quickly jump in cost when you start configuring it.

• Value: 4 / 5

Microsoft Surface Pro 12: Specs

Microsoft Surface Pro 12 (base model)

Microsoft Surface Pro 12 (highest specs)

Microsoft Surface Pro 11

Price

$799.99 / £799 / AU$1,499

$899.99 / £899.99 / AU$1,699

Starting at $999.99 /£1,049.99 / AU$1,899.99

CPU

8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus

8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus

10-core Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus

GPU

Qualcomm Adreno

Qualcomm Adreno

Qualcomm Adreno

NPU

Qualcomm Hexagon (45 TOPS)

Qualcomm Hexagon (45 TOPS)

Qualcomm Hexagon (45 TOPS)

RAM

16GB

16GB

16GB

Storage

256GB

512GB

256GB, 512GB

Display

12 inches LCD (2196 x 1464)

12 inches LCD (2196 x 1464)

13 inches LCD (2880 x 1920)

Ports

2x USB-C (3.2)

2x USB-C (3.2)

2x Thunderbolt 4

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Size

10.8 x 7.47 x 0.30 ins | 274 x 190 x 7.8mm

10.8 x 7.47 x 0.30 ins | 274 x 190 x 7.8mm

11.3 x 8.2 x 0.37 ins | 287 x 209 x 9.3mm

Weight

1.5 lbs | 686g

1.5 lbs | 686g

1.97 lbs | 895g

Microsoft Surface Pro 12 (2025): Design

(Image credit: Future)

• New screen size
• Thinnest Copilot+ PC
• New color options

If you’ve ever seen a Surface Pro device in the wild, then you’ll pretty much know what to expect with the Surface Pro 12 (2025). On its own it looks like a pretty standard tablet, though I have to say that the thick bezels around the screen does make it feel a little outdated compared to some of its rivals (and even the older Surface Pro 11 has thinner bezels on two of the sides of the screen).

As with previous models, the back has an embossed Windows logo, and the bottom half can be pulled out to make a kick stand, a nice feature that the likes of the iPad don’t have. In the center of the bottom side, there’s also a magnetic port that you use to affix the Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard to – though if you have an existing Surface Keyboard or Type Cover it won’t work due to the new size.

There are some subtle – and mostly welcome – changes introduced to the design of the Surface Pro 12, however. The proprietary Surface Connect port has been ditched – thankfully – and instead you charge the Surface Pro 12 (2025) via one of the two USB-C ports. While this change has been mainly introduced to comply with a European Union (EU) directive that states that all new electronic devices sold in the EU must support USB-C charging, it’s a positive one for consumers I feel, and does mean that for many of us that already have plenty of USB-C chargers we’re not getting yet another charger that will just be wasted.

(Image credit: Future)

Because of the new, smaller, screen, the Surface Pro 12 feels more comfortable to hold in the hand than the larger 13-inch Surface Pro from 2024 (I have both). The Surface Pro 12’s dimensions of 10.8 x 7.47 x 0.30 inches (274mm x 190mm x 7.8mm) are noticeably more compact than the Surface Pro 11’s dimensions of 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.37 inches (287mm x 208.6mm x 9.3mm), and the weight difference (1.5 pounds (686g) for the Surface Pro 12 vs 1.97 pounds (0.89kg) for the Pro 11) means if portability is a priority for you (and if you’re planning on using it as a tablet, then it should be), the Surface Pro 12 could, on paper, be the device to get.

However, it’s not just the screensize that’s different, and you should be aware of some of the changes Microsoft has made to keep the price of the Surface Pro 12 down.

For a start, there’s no OLED model, and the refresh rate is capped at 90Hz (rather than 120Hz of the Surface Pro 11).

The Surface Pro 12 also has a lower resolution of 2196 x 1464 vs 2880 x 1920 of the Pro 11, and that also means a lower pixel density of 220 PPI (pixels per inch) compared to the 267 PPI of the Pro 11. This means the image quality isn’t as sharp on the Pro 12.

The Surface Pro 12 also lacks the easily accessed NVMe port of the Surface Pro 11, which was located on the older model behind the kickstand, and was a nice addition that allowed you to quickly upgrade the storage space of the Pro 11.

(Image credit: Future)

On the back of the Surface Pro 12 is a new indent which is where you magnetically attach the Slim Pen stylus (sold separately). Microsoft sent me one to review along with the Surface Pro 12, and I was impressed with how secure the Slim Pen felt when it was magnetically attached – I certainly didn’t worry that the stylus would drop off the tablet.

The Slim Pen also wirelessly charges when attached, which is a nice touch. Despite the indent, however, having the Slim Pen attached does mean that the Surface Pro 12 doesn’t sit flush when placed back-down on a table or desk.

(Image credit: Future)

Connecting the Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard (also sold separately, and supplied by Microsoft for this review) is also quick and easy thanks to a magnetic connection. It adds a bit more weight and bulk, but when closed will protect the screen. It also allows you to use the Surface Pro 12 as a laptop-like device, and I think it’s worth getting. You’ll need to use the kickstand to support the Surface Pro 12 when it’s used as a screen, which isn’t the most comfortable if you’re using it on your lap, but it does work. However, you can’t really adjust the angle of the screen, unlike Apple’s Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro.

The Surface Pro 12’s USB-C ports are also limited to USB 3.2, rather than USB4, which is supported by the Surface Pro 11. You’ll still be able to plug in the same peripherals, but data transfer will be slower.

(Image credit: Future)

A more positive design tweak are the two new color schemes, Violet and Ocean, along with the same Platinum color that previous Surface Pros came in. I’ve seen the new Surface Laptop in Violet, and it looks lovely. However, the base model of the new Surface Pro, which I have, only comes in Platinum – you’ll need to pay extra for more storage if you want the Surface Pro 12 in either Violet or Ocean.

Overall, the design of the Surface Pro 12 is solid, though not that excited, especially if you get it in Platinum. Compared to the iPad Air (2025), which has a weight of 460g and dimensions of 247.6mm x 178.5mm x 6.1mm for the 11-inch model, it feels chunkier and cheaper than Apple’s tablet. If you’re used to iPad tablets, you will likely much prefer Appe’s design. The compromises to screen quality and USB speeds with the Surface Pro 12 are also a shame.

• Design: 3.5 / 5

Microsoft Surface Pro 12 (2025): Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Good for general use
• 16GB RAM helps with multitasking
• AI features remain pointless

Benchmarks

These are the results of our benchmarking tests for the Microsoft Surface Pro 12 (2025):

3DMark Solar Bay: 5,921
3DMark Wildlife Extreme: 3,179
Geekbench 6.4 Single-core: 2,263
Geekbench 6.4 Multi-core: 9,913
Crossmark Overall: 1,103
Crossmark Responsiveness: 1,003
PugetBench Photoshop: 4,043
Battery (TechRadar test): 17 hours, 49 minutes

Microsoft might argue that the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chip within the Surface Pro 12 is the most exciting component, and I’d agree, but likely not for the same reason.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus is an Arm-based chip (similar to the M4 chip in the MacBook), with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) of 45 Trillion Operations per Second (TOPS) – an essential specification for it to be called a ‘Copilot+ PC’, which is Microsoft’s catch-all term for Windows 11 laptops that come with NPUs that can handle on-device AI tasks.

You might have noticed that a lot of companies are shoving AI into their products, and Microsoft is arguably one of the most ambitious. Like it or not, AI tools are now tightly integrated into Windows 11, and there’s no sign of that slowing down, with Microsoft’s Copilot AI tool becoming a fundamental part of the operating system, even getting its own dedicated key on the keyboard.

Of course, if you don’t have a Copilot+ PC you can still use Copilot – the key difference is that thanks to the NPU, you can use Copilot and other AI tools locally on the Surface Pro 12 itself, rather than relying on an internet connection and cloud-based AI tools.

The benefits are that you can work offline with these tools, and as all the data you provide the AI with is stored locally, there should be no danger of your data being shared with third parties or used to train AI models. This is good if you’re using AI tools with personal and private information, but less so if you’re just messing around with turning scribbles into AI-generated images in Paint.

Speaking of which, doing that is OK on the Surface Pro 12. Asking Paint to generate an image based on a photo I loaded took about 20 seconds, and the results were… well, what you’d expect from AI-generated art these days. Fine, and initially impressive, but not much more than a brief diversion, as the ‘art’ it produces comes with familiar tell-tale signs that it’s been made by AI. It’s likely a tool you’ll try once and then forget about it.

(Image credit: Future)

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus’ NPU also gives you access to some exclusive Windows 11 features, namely Click To Do. This feature, which is still in ‘preview’, so not the finished article, is pitched by Microsoft as a way to do things more quickly and easily in Windows 11 with the help of AI.

By holding down the Windows key on the keyboard, you’ll see the mouse cursor turn into a white dot. Clicking on something (or tapping using the Surface Pro 12 screen) will give the screen a blue tint to show that Click To Do is enabled. If you only have the Surface Pro 12 and no keyboard, you can also bring this up quickly by swiping from the right-hand side of the screen.

Click To Do should then intelligently offer up some quick actions supposedly based on what it sees on your screen, such as opening an image in the Photos app and removing the background.

In theory, this could save some time, though to be honest, right-clicking a document and choosing what app to open it in covers a lot of that, is much faster, and doesn’t require a Copilot+ PC.

In practice, however, the feature seems pretty useless. I used Click To Do with my Pictures folder open, then clicked on a photo, then selected Remove background with Paint, thinking that this would open the photo in Paint and remove the background. Instead, it opened the thumbnail preview of the image (which is tiny and pixellated) and removed the background.

Thinking maybe it was Paint’s fault, I did it again, but this time selected Blur background with Photos. This opened up the Photos app, but again, it was just the thumbnail; it didn’t actually open the file.

So what Click To Do is really doing is taking a screenshot of whatever is open, and all you can really do is interact with the screenshot, not the actual files. Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick, but it felt like Click To Do was promising something quite complex, but in reality, it was just basic and of no use.

I tried it with a web browser open and some Bing (of course) search results. Click To Do offered to copy text to Notepad. A bit pointless, but I gave it a go, and it pasted a single line of unintelligible nonsense. Sure, Click To Do is supposedly still in ‘preview’, but it’s in no fit state at the moment, and as a key selling point of Copilot+ PCs like the Surface Pro 12, it’s embarrassing.

(Image credit: Future)

Recall, another feature touted as a key selling point for Copilot+ PCs, is in a similar preview state. I’ve gone over the controversies of this plenty of times before but the general thrust of this feature is that it runs in the background and takes constant screenshots that you can then scroll back through and search for things.

Recall was supposed to launch with the initial wave of Copilot+ PCs, but a big backlash amidst privacy and security concerns kept Microsoft from rolling it out. Now it’s here (albeit in preview form), and most of my privacy concerns have been alleviated. First, unusually for Microsoft, you have to turn on this feature yourself; it’s not turned on by default (as it was initially). All the images and data are stored locally, and thanks to the NPU, all AI tasks are done on the Surface Pro 12 itself.

Recall, and the data it collects, can also only be accessed by the user when logged in, and needs to have advanced Windows Hello biometric security enabled.

While the security aspect seems improved, if not completely perfect, my other big concern about just how useful Recall will prove to be remains. On the Surface Pro 12, it can feel a bit sluggish, and it even crashed once, and the results were mixed. It did find screenshots containing search results I’d asked for reasonably well, but once it brings up the screenshots, you’re a bit limited to what you can do – a lot like Click To Do, you can’t click on a file or folder to open it up, though to be fair it does allow you to open the folder location in Windows Explorer.

But it just doesn’t seem that useful, and because you now have to turn it on yourself, and considering the performance and storage impact Recall has when taking all these screenshots, Microsoft needs to really make Recall worth using – and so far it hasn’t.

(Image credit: Future)

On a (much) more positive note, the general performance of the Surface Pro 12 (2025) is good. Even demanding apps like Photoshop installed and launched without issue, and because you’re able to run Windows 11 applications, it makes the Surface Pro 12 (2025) a much better tool, in my mind, than the iPad Pro, which despite all its power is limited to iPadOS apps, which are more basic.

Having multiple desktop apps open at once and switching between them was fine, though if you are going to be mainly using standard Windows 11 apps, you’ll need to invest in the Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard, frankly, as these apps can be fiddly if you’re just using the touchscreen to control them. I did notice, however, that trying to perform too many tasks at once can make the performance of the Surface Pro 12-inch lag, with the occasional app crash. Nothing too out of the ordinary if you’re used to Windows 11, but it means there’s not the slick experience you might expect from an iPad.

Logging into the Surface Pro 12 is handled by the Windows Hello biometric tool, which uses the built-in webcams of the tablet to recognise your face. I found it worked reliably in a range of different lighting conditions, and meant logging in was both quick and secure. If Windows Hello can’t detect you, you can use a PIN or password to log in.

The front-facing webcam does a decent job, though at 1080p, it’s not as sharp or detailed as the 1440p webcam on last year’s model. As the Surface Pro 12 is a Copilot+ PC, you can use the Windows Studio effects tool to tweak the webcam’s footage live. Using AI and the NPU of the Snapdragon chip, you can blur the background, or add creative filters that make you look like a cell-shaded animation, watercolor painting, and automatically center yourself in frame.

(Image credit: Future)

These work fine, but they are nothing we haven’t seen before, and the background blur feature seemed less effective as other background blurring features I’ve tried, such as when using Google Meet, with noticeable gaps in the blur where the clear background could be seen.

One feature I did like was Eye Contact, which uses AI to make it seem like you’re looking directly at the screen. As with a lot of devices, the webcam of the Surface Pro 12 is either at the top, bottom or side of the screen, depending on the orientation, and this can result in video calls where it appears like you’re looking away (as you’re usually focusing on the screen). With this feature, it does a good job of adjusting your eyes so they are looking directly at the person you’re talking to.

It sounds a bit creepy, but it does make video calls (or just taking selfies) feel more natural, and the feature does a good job of matching your eye color. When I first tried this feature a while ago, it felt fake, with a definite element of ‘uncanny valley’ where you can tell something isn’t quite right, but it seems the feature has been improved a lot.

The rear camera is Ultra HD, though the photos I took with it weren’t particularly impressive, with quite a bit of noticeable noise in darker conditions. While taking photos, the Camera app became unresponsive, which means I could not adjust the focus; instead, I had to wait a few seconds. This also means that some photos I thought I had taken hadn’t actually been saved, so I wouldn’t recommend depending on the Surface Pro 12 to take once-in-a-lifetime photos – you’d be much safer sticking to your smartphone.

Throughout my time with the Surface Pro 12, I appreciated how silent it was. Like Apple’s M-series chips in modern MacBook Air laptops, the Snapdragon X Plus is efficient enough that the Surface Pro 12 it powers doesn’t need internal fans to keep it cool, so you don’t get any distracting and annoying fan noise when the tablet is working hard. However, with the occasional hangs that I experienced using Windows 11 on the Surface Pro 12, trading silence for a more reliable experience (as cooling the components could improve performance) might have been one compromise I’d have liked.

• Performance: 3 / 5

Microsoft Surface Pro 12: Battery life

• Microsoft promises 16 hours of local video playback
• Lower refresh rate of screen helps give battery life a boost
• Almost 18 hours in our battery tests

A common frustration I have with Copilot+ PC devices running on Arm hardware is that the marketing material often focuses solely on AI features and capabilities, but they are the least interesting thing about products like the Surface Pro 12.

Thanks to the power efficiency of the latest Snapdragon X chips, battery lives of these Copilot+ PC devices are impressively long, and considering that battery life is one of the most important considerations people have when buying a new laptop (it is for me, anyway), it's a shame that this aspect is often glossed over.

The Surface Pro 12 continues this theme, with a battery that lasted an excellent 17 hours and 49 minutes in my battery life benchmark test, which involved playing a looped HD video until the battery died.

While this isn't the longest battery life I've seen with a Copilot+ PC, it's great that we seem to be in an era where battery lives for Windows 11 devices that are near 20 hours are increasingly common (though even the best gaming laptops won't get anywhere near that). You'll certainly be able to bring it on long international flights to work and watch films on, and have plenty of battery left.

Most importantly, it means you can go several work days on a single charge in most cases, since you likely won't be using it for 18 hours straight, making it a great choice for people looking for a thin and light device to work on.

(Image credit: Future)

• Battery Life: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Microsoft Surface Pro 12 (2025)?Microsoft Surface Pro 12 (2025) report card

Remarks

Score

Value

The starting price of the Surface Pro 12 is excellent, though you'll need to pay extra for the keyboard cover.

4 / 5

Design

A slick, if uninspiring, design that's thin and light. Shame about the thick bezels around the screen, though.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Windows 11 runs well for most tasks, and Arm support is improving. It does struggle with intensive use, however.

3 / 5

Battery Life

Almost 18 hours of battery on a single charge is excellent, and testament to the efficiency of the Arm chip powering this tablet.

5 / 5

Buy the Microsoft Surface Pro 12 if...

You want an easily portable Windows 11 device
This 2-in-1 can seriously challenge the iPad Pro's claim to the title of best tablet computer.

You’re after a 2-in-1 device
The Surface Pro 12 works well as a tablet, and with the addition of the Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard (sold separately), it becomes a decent laptop-like device for more complex tasks.

You hate fan noise
It’s a rare joy to use a Windows 11 device and not have the fans kicking in when you’re being too ambitious with your multitasking, but the Surface Pro 12’s fanless design shows it can be done.

Don't buy it if...

You feel like you’re missing out on AI features
Given the hype, it’s understandable if you already have a Windows 11 laptop, but want a Copilot+ PC like the Surface Pro 12 for the extra AI features – but trust me, they aren’t worth upgrading for… yet.

You want a slick experience
While running the full Windows 11 operating system is a big plus for productivity, it does mean the user experience, especially when the Surface Pro 12 is used exclusively as a tablet, is lacking.

You want the very best Surface Pro
The Surface Pro 12 (2025) is the latest Surface Pro, but it’s not the most powerful one – that’ll be last year’s Surface Pro 11. Microsoft has made a lot of compromises to get the price of the new Surface Pro down, which is commendable, but it does limit the device’s potential.

Also consider

Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025)
The latest iPad Air impressed us with its M3-powered performance and overall slickness, and it's priced around the same as the Surface Pro 12 (2025). You're limited to mobile apps with the iPad Air, unlike the Surface Pro 12, but this does mean that the overall experience of using the iPad Air as a tablet is much smoother, thanks to the iPadOS operating system that's been built from the ground-up to support touchscreen controls.

Read our full Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025) review

Microsoft Surface Pro 11
The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is slightly older than the Surface Pro 12, but comes with a larger, and nicer screen, faster USB ports and better webcam - though it does cost more. However, you should find it on sale more often, which could make it better value.

Read the full Microsoft Surface Pro 11 review

How I tested the Microsoft Surface Pro 12

• I spent about a week with the Surface Pro 12
• I used it for everyday productivity
• I ran our standard suite of Windows laptop benchmarks

I've been using the Surface Pro 11 daily to write articles (including some of this review), browse the web and make video calls. I switched between using it in tablet mode, and with the Surface Pro 12-inch Keyboard attached, turning it into a laptop-like device.

As well as using it for real-world tasks, I also ran TechRadar's standard suite of benchmark results. I've reviewed numerous iterations of Surface Pro devices, as well as competing tablets like the iPad Pro and some of the best laptops money can buy.

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed June 2025

Motorola Edge 60 Pro two-minute review

When Motorola first started releasing its line of more affordable 'premium' Edge smartphones in 2020, it never could have expected that it'd be the last mobile brand to make truly eye-catching flagship phones.

That's not quite true, of course, but with expensive phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25, iPhone 16, and Xiaomi 15 all offering relatively boring designs that defy their hefty price tags, Moto is one of the few flagbearers whose top-end phones actually feel... well, top-end in 2025.

Moto has released a new generation of Edge phones each year since the debut of the Motorola Edge in 2020, and the Edge 60 Pro is the most advanced model of the current crop (at least until the next Ultra-branded model arrives). And thankfully, almost all of the previous models' selling points remain valid on the Edge 60 Pro.

Glancing at the phone's specs list, you might think it’s not an upgraded Edge 50 Pro, but rather a different ‘take' on it. And to a certain extent, that's true. The Edge 60 Pro and Edge 50 Pro are very similar phones, with the former bringing as many upgrades as downgrades. The newer model, for instance, has a bigger battery, a higher-res ultra-wide camera, and upgraded speakers, but those positives are counterbalanced by a lower screen refresh rate and slower charging (both wired and wireless).

Some users, then, might consider the Edge 60 Pro to be worse than, or equal to, its predecessor, but the proof is in the pudding, not on the specs sheet.

With the Edge 60 Pro, Motorola has rounded down some unnecessarily high features and balanced those perceived downgrades with upgrades that really matter. I don’t imagine many people need a 144Hz refresh display over 120Hz, for instance, or truly require the extra few minutes that 125W charging saves you over 90W.

The inclusion of Dolby Atmos speakers, meanwhile, tangibly improves the experience of watching movies and TV shows on the Edge 60 Pro, while the jump to another chipset provider results in a useful jump in power. The addition of reverse wired charging, too, is really useful if you're reliant on other gadgets.

These small-but-important improvements result in a phone that's strong in all areas, though not the best in any of them, and for the 99% of people who don't actually need the literal top specs available to them, that's okay.

The only exception comes in the camera department, which is still a weak point of the Edge series. A few annoying issues abound, but the real problem is that photos taken on the Edge 60 Pro are too devoid of color. They look lifeless and dull, as though the AI scene optimization shrugged and said, "I can't be bothered". The phone's camera performance doesn't compare to that of any top-end rivals.

That would be a bigger problem if the Edge 60 Pro were hampered by an extreme price tag, but it isn't. It undercuts pretty much all of the best Android phones by a decent margin, making it a borderline budget alternative that arguably feels fancier.

As sanded-down premium phones, Moto's Edge devices appeal to those who want to feel like they own a powerful phone but won't ever put that power to the test. Sure, the Edge 60 Pro won't win any benchmark battles, but in a year's time, when even the ultra-pricey Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has been transformed into an ugly box, Motorola's latest flagship will at least look the part. It's one of the best Motorola phones you can buy today.

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Released in April 2025
• Phone sells for £599 (roughly $800, AU$1,250)
• Price matches predecessor

The Motorola Edge 60 Pro was announced alongside a non-Pro version in April 2025, roughly a year on from the release of the previous series, albeit with a different selection of sibling suffixes.

You can pick up the phone for £599 (roughly $800, AU$1,250). Due to precedent, we don’t expect that Moto will release the Edge 60 Pro in the US, but an Australian announcement seems likely later this year, especially with the Edge 60 Fusion already selling in the country.

That price makes the Edge 60 Pro the most expensive non-folding smartphone sold by Motorola, but in the wider smartphone world, it’s on the border of mid-range and premium – which means it undercuts a lot of big-name flagship rivals. The Google Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S25, and iPhone 16 all cost more, while the supposedly budget-friendly iPhone 16e retails for the same price.

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: specsMotorola Edge 60 Pro specs

Dimensions:

160.69 x 73.06 x 8.24mm

Weight:

186g

Screen:

6.7-inch FHD (1220 x 2712) 120Hz AMOLED

Chipset:

Mediatek Dimensity 8350

RAM:

12GB

Storage:

512GB

OS:

Android 15

Primary camera:

50MP, f/1.8

Ultra-wide camera:

50MP f/2.0 120-degree

Telephoto camera:

10MP, f/2.0 2x optical

Front camera:

50MP, f/2.0

Audio:

Dolby Atmos stereo speakers

Battery:

6,000mAh

Charging:

90W wired, 15W wireless

Colors:

Dazzling Blue, Sparkling Grape, Shadow

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: design

(Image credit: Future)

• Premium curved-edge design
• Thin and lightweight
• Pantone-designed blue, khaki or purple

With companies like Samsung having seemingly jettisoned ‘attractive design’ from the list of important smartphone traits this year, I was worried that Motorola might abandon the Edge’s roots and follow suit. Fear not: the Motorola Edge 60 Pro is just as appealing as past entries (largely because it’s a dead ringer for past models).

To discuss the eye-catching part, we’ll have to start at the back: Moto typically offers these mobiles in a range of Pantone-designed hues, and it’s no different this time around. The model you see in the review images is Dazzling Blue, and there’s a greenish-khaki Shadow option too, but the real eye-catcher is Sparkling Grape, a vibrant and commanding purple. Unlike in some previous generations, Moto hasn’t included a literal color swatch on the back of the Edge 60 Pro, so you don’t feel like you’re texting on a walking paint advertisement.

Instead, the back features a slightly raised camera bump that’s incorporated well into the overall design; it's reminiscent of Oppo Find X phones before they became overdesigned. It doesn’t stick that far from the phone’s body, so you can put the handset flat on a surface without undue wobbling. The phone’s rear is also textured – slightly differently depending on the color option you pick – making it feel more premium than your average Android.

Moving to the sides reveals the Edge 60 Pro’s other premium feature: a curved-edge display (admittedly, the name does give it away). This means that the phone’s screen curves slightly at the edges to become incorporated seamlessly into the sides of the phone without ending at an abrupt angle. While curved edges are divisive, and admittedly are slightly frail and prone to accidental touches, they’re still considered a trait of premium mobiles. As a result, the Edge 60 Pro is much more comfortable to hold in the hand than your average flagship, and it just feels more advanced.

The edges of the phone also feature all the mandatory buttons, plus one extra one. The right edge has a power button – just about within thumb’s reach on my hand – and above it a volume rocker, which I had to stretch to use. But on the left side, high enough up that I couldn’t really reach it, is a new addition: the AI Key.

Pressing and holding this button brings up Motorola’s AI assistant, while double-pressing it either opens a note-taking function or quickly summarizes your notifications – all of these require a separate Motorola account. If you’ve no interest in AI features like this, you can turn them off in the settings menu.

Let’s briefly continue our tour around the Edge 60 Pro: the bottom edge has its USB-C charging port and the SIM card slot. There’s no 3.5mm jack for wired audio, like in past generations. And that's that in terms of design – except for the display, which we have a whole section about.

The total dimensions of the phone are 160.69 x 73.06 x 8.24mm, and it weighs 186g, so it’s on the lighter side of things.

Moto is also making a song and dance about the Edge 60 Pro’s protections. It has IP69 certification, indicating that it’s safe from dust ingress and high-pressure beams of water, plus the military MIL-STD-810H accreditation, which means it’s safe from shocks, high and low temperatures, high altitudes, and strong vibrations. We usually only see this kind of certification in rugged phones, but a growing number of consumer ones have them too – and it’s nice to know that your handset is protected from the unexpected.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: display

(Image credit: Future)

• 6.7 inches, 2712 x 1220 resolution
• 120Hz refresh rate and 4500-nit max brightness
• Various filters and modes to tweak

The Motorola Edge 60 Pro’s screen is 6.7-inches diagonally, a size Edge fans will be used to, and that’s not the only spec that the 60 Pro has in common with its predecessors: the resolution is once again 2712 x 1220, or FHD+, and the 20:9 aspect ratio makes the screen feel long and thin.

We can’t knock Motorola for a lack of design upgrades year-on-year, but some tech fans might be upset that the refresh rate has seen a downgrade from the Edge 50 Pro: it’s now 120Hz. But that’s matched by a massive brightness increase, of over double, to a new high of 4500 nits: suffice to say this is a phone that’s easy to use when you’re outdoors in the sun.

The screen is broken up by a pretty minimal punch-hole cut-out for the front-facing camera at the top. It has an embedded fingerprint scanner which… worked when it wanted to, let’s put it that way.

Motorola has stuffed quite a few design features into the Edge 60 Pro's display, including support for HDR10+ and DCI-P3 color space. There are also filters to reduce the amount of blue light coming from the display, which may placate people who use blue light filters to help them sleep (despite the scientific evidence that your phone’s blue light doesn’t affect sleep).

Pantone also shows its face for some display tweakery, with Moto’s listing for the Edge 60 Pro also mentioning “Pantone Validated Colour” and “Pantone Skintone Validated”, which suggests the color company had a hand in optimizing the screen.

Good job, too, because the Edge 60 Pro is pleasant to look at while watching movies and playing games, with nice contrast and vibrant colors.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: software

(Image credit: Future)

• Android 15 with four years of updates
• Customization options galore
• Moto AI useful for small tasks, not big ones

The Motorola Edge 60 Pro comes with Android 15 as its default software. This is stock Android, ostensibly how Google designed it, but with every new generation, Moto adds more and more tweaks that make it feel distinct from Pixel or Nokia phones.

I’ve already discussed arguably the biggest software change – the AI key and Moto AI in general, which the brand seems to be presenting as something you’ll opt to use over Google Assistant for various tasks and needs.

Moto AI is at its best when you’re using it for little tasks around your phone: you can ask it to take notes, set an update reminder, or create a new background for your device. But like other AI chatbots like ChatGPT, if you start to ask it questions, it provides you with the usual factually inaccurate (and oftentimes totally irrelevant) gibberish that you love to mock.

Some of the features that Moto is touting most simply don’t make sense – unless you’ve received an absolute deluge of messages since you last checked your phone, it takes longer to use Moto AI’s notification summary tool than simply to check your messages. There’s also a function that creates a bespoke playlist based on your mood, but it only supports Amazon Music, so if you use Spotify or Tidal, you’re out of luck.

What's more, every time I used the AI Key, the pop-up appeared with my last search or command, which I’d need to backspace from before starting my new task. I found it pretty frustrating.

Beyond its AI, the Edge 60 Pro retains Moto’s suite of personalization features, from the big things like background, font, and color scheme to the shape of icons and the animation that appears when you use the fingerprint unlock.

You can now also generate wallpapers based on your own prompt or a photo from your gallery. I sent this feature a photo of a cat, and it returned some patterned decals that looked like a marbled chocolate cake. Thanks, but I think I’ll just use the photo of the cat as my background. The point being: some of the AI's creations were very tangential from the original photo, but I appreciate that none of them resembled the phony tripe you usually get from AI image generators, which is definitely a plus.

Motorola has committed four years of software updates to the Edge 60 Pro. It’s a perfectly acceptable amount of time that’ll future-proof your phone, though it falls just shy of being an industry-leading figure.

• Software score: 3.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

• 50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide and 10MP telephoto cameras
• 50MP front-facing
• Pictures look dull and colorless
• Offers the standard range of camera modes

There are three cameras on the back of the Moto Edge 60 Pro: a 50MP f/1.8 main snapper, a 50MP f/2.0 ultra-wide one with a 120-degree lens, and a 10MP f/2.0 telephoto camera which supports 3x optical zoom.

On paper, that seems like a solid range of snappers, giving you a range of ways to take pictures, whether you want to zoom in from a distance or get yourself nice and close (the ultra-wide snapper also supports a macro mode). But Moto has yet to put out a killer camera phone, and the Edge 60 Pro doesn’t change that streak.

The main issue, which certainly isn’t new for Moto phones, is that pictures are just a little more dull and desaturated than they’d be on any other phone. While many brands pride themselves on the vibrancy of snaps you can take with their phone cameras, the pictures I took on the Edge simply weren’t social media-worthy due to how lifeless they look.

It’s a shame, because technically, the photos taken aren't terrible – I was really fond of using the telephoto lens, for instance, as its depth of field was exquisite, and thanks to the high-res snappers, photos have lots of detail. But while some photos could be saved by dropping them into Photoshop, this shouldn’t be a necessary step for smartphone photographs to look worthy.

(Image credit: Future)

That’s not my only issue with the Edge 60 Pro's cameras, though it’s the only one that can’t be deactivated. Firstly, the background bokeh blur on Portrait shots is intense – you can change this, but I only noticed after taking a few shots, so make sure to tweak it yourself. But the other biggie is macro mode, which by default turns on when you put the phone near a close-up subject.

When this mode turns on, it jumps over to the ultra-wide lens, which is lower positionally than the other two (when you’re holding the phone horizontally to take a shot). This often meant that the subject was in a different spot of the frame, or not in frame, causing the camera to decide that I was no longer trying to take a macro snap, and jump back to the main camera, whereupon it’d see the subject again. Rinse and repeat, you can see how this goes.

The camera app features most of the photography and video modes that you’re used to seeing on an Android phone, like slow-mo video, night vision shots, and tilt-shift photography. Video recording goes up to 4K at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps.

The selfie camera is a 50MP f/2.0 snapper, and it uses an ultra-wide lens so that you can take wider group shots if you need, though it defaults to the one-person view. These pictures suffer from the aforementioned issues, specifically Portrait absolutely obliterating the background, and the color tuning being lackluster – in the examples below, there's an odd green hue to several of the images.

• Camera score: 3 / 5

Motorola Edge 60 Pro camera samplesImage 1 of 8

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(Image credit: Future)Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: performance and audio

(Image credit: Future)

• Uses the Dimensity 8350 chipset
• 12GB RAM and 512GB Storage
• Dolby Atmos-tuned stereo speakers

The Motorola Edge 60 Pro marks a shift for Moto in that it's moved from the dominant chipset maker Qualcomm to its underdog rival Mediatek.

The phone uses the Mediatek Dimensity 8350 chipset, a fairly powerful mid-range Android chip that we also saw in the Oppo Reno 13 Pro. Like in that contemporary handset, it provides good amounts of power, enough that most users won’t notice a difference between it and true top-end ones for most ordinary tasks.

A Geekbench 5 benchmark test on the Edge 60 Pro returned a multi-core score of 4,504, which is a solid upgrade on the roughly 3,000 score we saw on the Edge 50 Pro, and even better than the Reno 13’s 4,042.

The sole configuration on sale offers 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, which is generous: it means you’ve got loads of space to store years of photos and countless apps, and the RAM ensures the handset feels fast to use. There’s also RAM boost, which lets you sacrifice some storage space for a speed increase; a feature that has niche appeal but will be useful to certain users.

Audio-wise, Moto has long since binned off the 3.55mm jack in its Edge phones. However, you’re getting Dolby Atmos-tuned stereo speakers instead, which isn’t quite as good as wired headphones, but it’ll do.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: battery life

(Image credit: Future)

• Boosted 6,000mAh battery
• 90W wired charging, 15W wireless
• Reverse wired charging is new

Motorola has packed the Edge 60 Pro with a massive 6,000mAh battery, which is markedly bigger than the cell in its predecessor, though that upgrade is counterbalanced – on paper, at least – by a decrease in charging speed.

A big power pack like this ensures that the Edge 60 Pro can breeze through a day of use without running out of power, which isn’t a guarantee with big-screen phones these days. I also found that the Edge 60 Pro could withstand lengthy gaming sessions without draining too much power.

However, the amount of battery drain ensured that this isn't a two-day phone; it'll need daily recharges.

The charging speed sits at 90W, which, while technically a downgrade from the 125W powering on the Edge 50 Pro, is still an impressive figure. The difference between the two can be measured in mere minutes of charging speed, and I think most people won’t even notice the downgrade.

Motorola estimates that the charging time for the Edge 60 Pro is 40 minutes; however, to get this speed, it recommends that you use a sold-separately charger, which I couldn’t actually find on its website (in the box, you get a USB-C to USB-C cable but no mains plug). Mind you, even when using a third-party fast charger, my charging times weren’t that much longer.

Like any good premium phone, the Edge 60 Pro also offers wireless charging, although it too has seen a speed downgrade versus the last-gen model. It can support wireless charging at 15W and, while there’s no longer support for reverse wireless charging, the Edge 60 Pro does offer reverse wired charging, which lets you use it as a little power bank to charge other gadgets.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: value

(Image credit: Future)

Throughout this review, I've been mentally referring to the Motorola Edge 60 Pro as a premium phone, which is both correct and wrong.

It's a correct designation in that the specs are all there, but wrong in that the phone doesn't actually cost quite as much as a Galaxy, iPhone, or Pixel.

The bottom line: the Edge 60 Pro is a great-value phone if you want a top-end mobile, because you're paying a bit less for mostly-similar specs. Sure, its cameras will leave you wanting, but in almost every other department, the Edge 60 Pro is a winner.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Motorola Edge 60 Pro?Motorola Edge 60 Pro score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

You're basically getting a premium smartphone for a lower price, which sounds good to me!

4 / 5

Design

The phone feels and looks premium, and it's well-protected with military-grade accreditation.

4 / 5

Display

The Edge 60 Pro has a high-res screen with a top max brightness and useful extra features.

4 / 5

Software

It's a clean software with customization options and a long shelf life, even if Moto is relying too much on AI as a big new feature.

3.5 / 5

Camera

Photos look dull and there are one or two other issues with the cameras that lose it points.

3 / 5

Performance

The chipset suits most tasks and there's lots of storage and RAM to go around.

4 / 5

Battery

It's fast to charge and has a decently-sized battery, though there are some downgrades here.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a premium phone (without the price tag)
The Moto Edge 60 Pro is more or less a premium smartphone; however, it's cheaper than Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi rivals.

Looks are important
Some people swaddle their smartphone in a case, but if you prefer to let people see the mobile you're rocking, this svelte and colorful Moto is what you'll want them to see.

You want a smart AI assistant
If you're overly reliant on ChatGPT to make your shopping lists or plan your holidays, maybe Moto AI will be a good addition to your smartphone.

Don't buy it if...

You upload loads of pics to social media
Photos taken on the Edge 60 Pro will take some work in an editing app to make them social media-worthy; not great if you want to upload them quickly and without fuss.

You don't like curved-edge displays
Phones with curved-edge displays can be divisive and in the case of the Moto, the feature is so important that it's literally in the name.

Motorola Edge 60 Pro review: Also consider

Still not sold on the Motorola Edge 60 Pro? Here are some other comparable smartphones you should consider looking at instead:

iPhone 16e
For the same price as the Moto, you can pick up Apple's newest budget phone. It's an option for people who would rather an Apple over an Android, though you'll lose out on myriad flagship specs.

Read our full iPhone 16e review

Xiaomi Poco F7 Ultra
This burly Android phone costs a little more than the Moto, but not much. It has more processing power, a higher-res display, and faster charging, but it suffers from a cluttered operating system,a smaller battery, and fewer cameras. It's pretty colorfu,l though!

Read our full Xiaomi Poco F7 Ultra review

Motorola Edge 50 Pro
The previous-gen Moto was going to be an obvious comparison, but it's doubly true given that many of its specs actually trump the 60 Pro on paper. Plus, it's enjoyed a year's worth of price cuts.

Read our full Motorola Edge 50 Pro review

Motorola Edge 60 Pro

iPhone 16e

Xiaomi Poco F7 Ultra

Motorola Edge 50 Pro

Starting price (at launch):

£599 (roughly $800, AU$1,250)

$599 / £599 / AU$999

£649 (roughly $900, AU$1,400)

£599.99 / AU$999 (roughly $800)

Dimensions:

160.69 x 73.06 x 8.24mm

146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8mm

160.3 x 75 x 8.4mm

161.2 x 72.4 x 8.2mm

Weight:

186g

167g

212g

186g

OS (at launch):

Android 15

iOS 18

Android 15, HyperOS 2

Android 14

Screen Size:

6.7-inch

6.1-inch

6.67-inch

6.7-inch

Resolution:

2712 x 1220

2532 x 1170

1440 x 3200

1220 x 2712

CPU:

Mediatek Dimensity 8350

Apple A18

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3

RAM:

12GB

8GB

12GB / 16GB

up to 12GB

Storage (from):

512GB

128GB / 256GB / 512GB

256GB / 512GB

256GB / 512GB

Battery:

6,000mAh

4,005mAh

5,300mAh

4,500mAh

Rear Cameras:

50MP main, 10MP telephoto. 50MP ultra-wide

48MP main

50MP main, 32MP ultra-wide

50MP main, 10MP telephoto, 13MP ultra-wide

Front camera:

50MP

12MP

32MP

50MP

How I tested the Motorola Edge 60 Pro

• Review test period = 2 weeks
• Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
• Tools used = Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats

I tested the Motorola Edge 60 Pro for two weeks in order to write this review.

In that time, I used it as my normal phone, which involved socializing, listening to music, taking pictures, and playing games, as well as lots of other normal tasks.

I also did some 'lab' tests with the phone, as you'll have read about in the performance section of this review, in order to get a more objective understanding of its power.

I've been reviewing smartphones for TechRadar for over six years now, and even reviewed the original Moto Edge models. So, I'm well-versed in the brand and its various handsets.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed May 2025

Planning everyday activities can be hectic, both in corporate and personal settings. Juggling different duties becomes more difficult without proper scheduling and delegation. The best task management apps fulfill this need by providing platforms that make it easy to schedule and stay reminded about tasks.

Superlist is one of the most creative task management apps. It’s a versatile tool designed for both to-do lists, collaboration, and real-time communication. I thoroughly tested this tool to evaluate its features, user-friendliness, customer support, and other vital criteria. Read on to learn what Superlist offers as a task management solution.

Superlist: Plans and pricing

Superlist is a freemium task management app, i.e., it has both free and paid plans. The free plan is more permissive than most freemium task management apps I’ve reviewed. It allows you to add unlimited tasks and notes, and share lists with up to five people. You also have 500 MB of file storage under this plan.

The Pro plan costs $10 per month, unlocking access to more sophisticated features. It includes unlimited private lists, sublists within your existing lists, artificial intelligence (AI) features, third-party integrations, and 25 GB of file storage. The free plan is great, but the Pro plan unlocks access to many more features that I liked.

Superlist also offers a Pro plan for teams, costing $12 per member per month. It provides all features of the Pro plan and unlimited shared lists for a team.

I consider Superlist’s pricing fair, given the features it provides. It costs more than many task management apps I’ve tested, but it provides more advanced features.

Superlist: Features

Superlist is one of the most versatile task management tools I’ve tested. It features an interactive, user-friendly interface that distinguishes it from most of its rivals. Signing up was a seamless process, and I quickly moved to test its features.

I like that new users get on-screen tips to guide them through the interface. The “+ Create New” button is prominently featured at the bottom, and clicking it allows you to create a task.

You can place a task under a new list or a previously created one. Each task will have a unique title and notes to provide context. For example, you can add images to your task notes. Similarly, you can add videos, bullet points, and paragraphs to the notes.

(Image credit: Superlist)

I appreciate that Superlist allows users to add tasks via voice commands, although this feature is only available to Pro subscribers.

You can send a voice note dictating a task and its deadline, and Superlist will automatically add it to your dashboard. It occasionally provided incorrect details during my test, which was expected for an AI-based system still in its early stages of development. Yet, it’s an impressive feature that I enjoyed using.

I also liked the creative feature of turning emails into tasks. This feature works with Gmail, so you’ll need to first connect your Gmail account. Then, you'll mark emails with the "Superlist" label.

Superlist will convert emails with this label into tasks; the email subject line will serve as the task title, and the email body will appear in the task's details. You can also set Superlist to provide an AI-assisted summary of the emails it converts to tasks.

Task management apps always include reminders, and Superlist is no exception. You can set due dates and get reminders. Superlist will send push notifications to your desktop or smartphone or send alerts to your email address.

(Image credit: Superlist)

I’ve discussed the personal features so let’s now focus on the collaborative features. Superlist supports real-time collaboration with an intuitive interface that makes the process seamless and efficient. It features a chat tool that enables colleagues to communicate quickly with one another.

The chat tool felt like using Slack, a popular business communication app, although it lacks some of its features. You can send voice notes to colleagues or create chat groups to pass on relevant information.

As an administrator, you can invite team members to your lists, and they will be able to view their assigned tasks. You’ll control who can create or edit new tasks. If a permitted team member creates a task, everyone will get notified and receive a reminder on the specified date.

Although its collaborative features are designed for corporate teams, Superlist can also be used by friends or families seeking a shared task management app.

Superlist: Interface and in-use

Superlist has a unique interface among its rivals. Yes, it’s user-friendly, but that’s not all. It feels way smoother to navigate than most task management apps I’ve tested. It has a responsive interface with seamless continuity.

You can access Superlist from your web interface. Alternatively, you can download the app on your desktop (for macOS and Windows) or smartphone (for iOS and Android). This widespread compatibility is a main benefit of choosing Superlist.

Superlist: Customer support

Superlist provides detailed user guides in its Help Center. You can check the Help Center to troubleshoot issues you encounter while using the app.

If you need further help, you can contact Superlist’s support team via email. There is no live chat or telephone support, which I didn’t like, especially considering the tool costs $10 per month for individuals and more for teams.

Superlist: The competition

Any.do is the closest Superlist competitor I’d like to highlight. It boasts one of the most responsive interfaces, matching Superlist’s, and offers a wide range of features for both personal and collaborative task management.

Any.do supports voice commands, although indirectly via integration with Apple Siri. It allows you to convert emails directly into tasks, just like Superlist. Yet, it offers broader third-party integrations than Superlist, making it ideal for corporate use.

I prefer Superlist for individual use and Any.do for corporate use, but they can still work interchangeably.

Superlist: Final verdict

Superlist ranks as one of the best task management apps I’ve tested. It’s a relatively young platform, founded in 2020, so it isn’t as popular as many established rivals. However, it’s a hidden gem that I enjoyed using. It has some drawbacks, such as limited customer support, but the pros outweigh the cons.

We've also listed the best todo list apps.

Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe review

The Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe is a weighty charging stand that can wirelessly charge an Apple Watch along with a compatible phone or earbuds case. It has a list price of $119.99 / £109.99 on the Belkin website, and can also be found at Amazon, with occasional offers appearing from both retailers in the form of discounts or purchase incentives.

At that price, it’s clear the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe isn’t a budget option. But that doesn’t stop it offering a sturdy yet space-saving wireless charging solution that’ll happily charge three Apple devices, albeit not at the same time.

(Image credit: Future)

The 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe comes in two colorways: Charcoal or Sand. The charger I’ve tested is the Charcoal model, which is composed of a super-soft-to-the-touch silicone-like outer material, with metallic accents on the charging pad hinge and the Apple Watch charging puck holder that's fixed to the back of the charging stand. It became clear that dust could pose a problem straight out of the box, as the silicone material acted like a dust and lint magnet, so it took a bit of effort to keep it looking its best.

I was pleased to find that a 30W USB-C power supply comes as standard, as one should expect for the price, and the USB-C power cable is braided, giving it a more premium feel. This detail is something I don’t see all that often, even amongst the best wireless chargers, but very much appreciate when it comes along, as I did when I reviewed the ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger, too. This is not simply because it looks good, but because it can often withstand more action than standard flexible plastic coverings that can split over time. The cable isn’t removable, which I’m usually not a fan of, but I’m not fussed in this instance, as this charging dock clearly isn’t designed to be relocated regularly, plus it reduces the chance of someone else in your household pinching the cable to power something else.

(Image credit: Future)

As the 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe had dimensions of 4.1 x 2.8 x 3.1 inches / 105 x 71 x 78 mm, it was nice that I could charge all of my devices without taking up a load of desktop or nightstand space. And I really appreciated the adjustable viewing angles that the charging dock offered, as I could keep the pad flat to charge my earbuds, or angle it up to 70 degrees to watch content on my iPhone, or toggle StandBy Mode. I found the non-slip base, strong MagSafe grip, and 1 lb / 450g weight of the charging dock to be reliable for the entirity of my testing, standing its ground and keeping a firm hold of my phone despite my poking and prodding.

As a brand, Belkin looks to be paying particular attention to the environmental impact of their products, and it was nice to see that the BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe came in plastic-free packaging. Belkin also states this wireless charger includes a minimum of 60% post-consumer recycled materials, too.

(Image credit: Future)

In terms of iPhone charging speeds, this MagSafe charging dock lagged almost 20 minutes behind other 2-in-1 wireless chargers I’ve tested from competitors like Anker and UGreen, taking 142 minutes to recharge our iPhone 13 Pro, which has a battery capacity of 2,600mAh. The Apple Watch charging speed was another story, however, as it took just 58 minutes to fully charge my Apple Watch Series 9, making it one of the fastest Apple Watch chargers I’ve tested to date.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a reliable multi-device wireless charger to take up residence on your desk or nightstand, then the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe is well worth your consideration. It may not be the fastest iPhone charger out there, but it’s perfect for passive charging while you work or catch some Zs, and the speedy Apple Watch charging speed is definitely a bonus. If you’re still on the fence about which wireless charger format would work best for you, I recommend checking out my selection of the best wireless chargers for some inspiration.

Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe review: Price & specs

Price

$119.99 / £109.99

Model

WIZ020

Max power output

15W

Devices charged

2

Charging tech

MagSafe

Connection

Fixed – USB-C

Weight

1lb / 450g

Dimensions

4.1 x 2.8 x 3.1 inches / 104 x 71 x 78mm

Should I buy the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe?Buy it if…

You want a charger that’ll stand its ground
Despite having a compact footprint, this charger’s weight and low center of gravity mean it won’t be easily knocked down.

You want a convenient nightstand charger
The adjustable viewing angle, combined with how easy it is to rotate an iPhone on the MagSafe charging pad to trigger StandBy Mode, makes this a great charger for the bedside.

Don't buy it if…

You want speedy iPhone charging
While it made quick work of charging my Apple Watch, the iPhone charging speed proved underwhelming.

You want something easy to clean
As delightfully tactile as the silicone outer is, it acts like a dust magnet and has trouble letting go. So if you like to keep your things dust-free, this particular charger may prove a bit of a challenge.

Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Dock with MagSafe review: Also consider

Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand
If you want to charge all three of your devices at once and have the space to spare, then this 3-in-1 stand from Anker is a great choice. Not only does its wide base offer plenty of stability, but it also boasts satisfyingly fast iPhone and Apple Watch charging speeds, and it’s cheaper, too! Check out my full review of the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand if you’d like to learn more.

Klim Wind laptop cooling pad: review

The Klim Wind is a laptop cooling pad that's very much aimed at the average gamer. While it may not have the oomph required by pro esports players or creative studios, it’s aimed at those who just want to stop their CPUs cooking while playing Cyberpunk 2077.

It rocks four fans capable of spinning at up to 1200rpm and comes in a range of colorways, and it’s available from Amazon from just $19.97 / £19.97 / AU$49.97.

A big selling point of the Klim Wind is how quiet it is. In fact, the packaging describes it as ‘ultra silent’, which is a) redundant, given that something is either silent or it isn’t; and b) not actually true.

However, its fan noise is impressively muted – during testing, the combined noise of its fans at 1200rpm and the inbuilt cooling of our Acer Predator Helios 300 testing laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU only registered as 58.5dB from a few inches away and 44dB from my head height. That’s pretty much as quiet as any laptop cooling pad I’ve tested.

I feel a little lukewarm about the Klim’s design. On the one hand, its 16-degree angle is comfortable enough, even if I wish it had a few different height settings, and its blue LED lighting feels nicely understated. On the other, its build quality isn’t as high as some of the best laptop cooling pads, feeling a bit light and plasticky, while the flip-up laptop rests jabbed at my wrists when I was resting them on my laptop. Also, with all its notches and sharp angles, its looks are a bit on the nose – it looks like a cyber-goth butterfly, which is distinctly less charming than it sounds.

(Image credit: Future)

But all of this comes second to its core functionality – if it offers game-changing cooling, does anyone care what it looks like? Unfortunately, the Klim Wind does little to redeem itself here. The cooling it offers is, frankly, mediocre.

Using our testing laptop, I ran a 15-minute 3DMark stress test with the Wind on its max 1200rpm fan speed, measuring how much the laptop’s temperature changed. It increased from 85F / 29.5C to 120F / 49C, a 35F / 19.5C rise, which is the weakest cooling I’ve seen from any cooling pad I’ve tested, aside from the TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad’s 22.8C.

In light of this, I can’t really recommend the Klim Wind – there are simply too many similarly priced options that will keep your laptop cooler. The best cooling I’ve personally tested comes from the Llano RGB Laptop Cooling Pad, which I can't recommend highly enough, although its $119.99 / £129.99 (around AU$188.33) price tag won’t suit everyone’s budget.

If value is your biggest priority, the Liangstar Laptop Cooling Pad is a great option; it’s nearly as frosty as the Llano but costs just $19.99 / £20.99 / AU$66.91, which makes it a bit of a bargain in my book.

(Image credit: Future)Klim Wind laptop cooling pad review: price & availability

• Available now
• Retails from $19.97 / £19.97 / AU$49.97
• Wide range of colorways available

The Klim Wind is available from Amazon now. It retails for as little as $19.97 / £19.97 / AU$49.97, which will get you the blue-lit version we tested here. Although it has historically been reduced as low as £14.90 in the UK, this was way back in December 2019, while the price has never been lower stateside, so we’d argue you’re unlikely to get a better price for this now.

If black with blue lighting isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other, pricier colorways to choose from. Including options with red, cyan or green LED lighting, white metal and plastic or even an additional RGB strip, these max out at $29.97 / £29.97 / AU$149.97.

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Klim Wind laptop cooling pad?Buy it if…

You like accessories that are oh so quiet
The Klim Wind is as quiet as any laptop cooling pad we’ve tested. At 44dB from 21 inches away, it’s barely any noisier than most libraries, according to the Center for Hearing and Communication.

You don’t want to spend too much
Laptop cooling pads don’t get much cheaper than the Klim Wind, which sells from $19.97 / £19.97 / AU$49.97 on Amazon. So it’s definitely competitively priced.

Don't buy it if…

You want significant cooling
Unfortunately, its four 1200rpm fans simply can’t cut the heat as well as those on other products. Other products managed to keep our laptop’s temperature lower for essentially the same list price.

You’re not keen on edgy gamer styling
Style is individual and you might be a fan of angular, industrial gaming rigs and brutalist, sharp-edged accessories. If you’re not though, the look of this product likely won’t appeal.

(Image credit: Future)Klim Wind laptop cooling pad review: also consider

Llano RGB Laptop Cooling Pad
For truly arctic cooling, no product gets my stamp of approval more than the Llano RGB Laptop Cooling Pad. Even during our 3DMark stress test, it was able to limit our testing laptop’s temperature rise to just 8C and it looks seriously classy, with its quality build and tasteful RGB lighting. It does sound like a jet engine and comes at a premium price but few laptop cooling pads can rival its prodigious cooling. Read our full Llano RGB Laptop Cooling Pad review.

Liangstar Laptop Cooling Pad
Okay, it’s no Llano. But given it limited our laptop’s temperature rise to just 59.5F / 15.3C during stress testing, this still absolutely edges out the Klim Wind in terms of sheer sangfroid. Despite this, it retails for pretty much the same price, costing just $19.99 / £20.99 / AU$66.91. If you’re looking for a cheap laptop chiller, you’ll struggle to find one that’s better value. Read our full Liangstar Laptop Cooling Pad review.

(Image credit: Future)How I tested the Klim Wind laptop cooling pad

• Tested over the course of two days
• Recorded how much the product cooled our gaming laptop during a stress test
• Checked the volume of its fans using a sound level meter

I tested the Klim Wind using TechRadar’s standard laptop cooling pad testing process. First off, I used a thermal camera to measure the peak temperature of our Razer Predator Helios 300 with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 testing laptop to establish a baseline. Then I ran a 3DMark stress test on the laptop for 15 minutes with the laptop cooling pad set to maximum speed, before recording its final temperature so I could compare its cooling against other products.

To test the amount of sound it generated, I used a noise level meter to check the combined noise of the cooling pad and the laptop’s fans. I took two measurements, one from a few inches away and one from my head height (21 inches away) to get a sense of the absolute and subjective noise levels the device makes. I also used the laptop cooling pad in a range of scenarios, from gaming to day to day work to assess how ergonomic and comfortable it was.

I have plenty of experience to help support my testing. Not only have I reviewed a wide range of laptop cooling pads for TechRadar, I’ve also been a creative and an avid gamer for years, meaning I’m familiar with the struggle of trying to keep a laptop cool during very CPU-intensive tasks.

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

Acer Chromebook Plus 514: Two-minute review

The Acer Chromebook Plus 514 has some strong specs that make it suitable for all kinds of workloads. For a 14-inch device, it has a rather slender and light frame. The lid material also looks premium and is outlined with a gloss rim that adds a touch of elegance.

The keyboard looks cheaper by comparison but, still, it feels built to a sufficiently high standard. The touchpad is better on this front, with its smooth finish and solid construction.

The Chromebook Plus 514 has two USB-A and two USB-C ports, which helps to make it a practical machine to live with. It also has an HDMI port and a 3.5mm audio jack, both of which are also welcome additions – but it’s a slight shame there’s no SD card slot of any kind.

In action, the Chromebook Plus 514 is quite impressive, even compared to some of the best Chromebooks. It handled most tasks I threw at it with admirable composure. Multitasking is also possible, as it can switch between apps with speed and takes multiple browser tabs in its stride. However, fan noise is certainly noticeable when workloads become demanding, but thankfully I didn’t find it disruptive; the same goes for the mild heat it produces.

It also has some impressive gaming performance, allowing me to play mobile games with high settings and frame rates. It also streams 4K content without stuttering or buffering.

(Image credit: Future)

Such content is even more of a joy to experience thanks to the excellent WUXGA display in my unit, which is very clear and sharp with plenty of contrast. Colors are also rendered vibrantly, although perhaps not quite to the degree of some of the best Chromebook displays.

Typing on the Chromebook Plus 514 is pleasant enough, with the well-spaced keys and relatively long travel helping with feedback, although the lack of dampening can make it feel a little unrefined at times. The touchpad, although large, didn’t get in the way when hammering away at the keys, and it’s also easy to use thanks to its large size and smooth texture.

The battery life of the Chromebook Plus 514 is reasonable, lasting about eight and a half hours according to our tests. This is better than some of its competitors, but there are others that can beat it on this front.

With a starting price of $399 / £399 (about AU$560), the Chromebook Plus 514 sits in the middle of the Chromebook Plus market, but when you consider its performance for a Chromebook and sharp display, it’s certainly a device worth considering for work and play.

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Price and availability

• $399 / £399 (about AU$560)
• Available now with multiple configurations
• Middle of the Chromebook Plus market

The Chromebook Plus 514 starts from $399 / £399 (about AU$560) and is available in two colorways: Iron and Silver. Various configurations are possible, including a choice between Intel or AMD hardware and Full HD or WUXGA displays.

This is a mid-range price for a Chromebook Plus. It’s cheaper than the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch, for instance, which boasts a similar performance but does of course have a larger display, although it doesn’t have quite as high a resolution.

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly – but still very capable – Chromebook Plus, then the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is a great choice, and is our pick as the best student Chromebook. However, this doesn’t have an especially impressive battery life.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Specs

My review unit of the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 was specified with an Intel Core 3 CPU, WUXGA display, and 128GB of storage:

Price

$399 / £399 (about AU$560)

CPU

Intel Core 3 100U (8 threads, 4.7GHz)

Graphics

Integrated, Intel UHD Graphics

RAM

8GB LPDDR5

Screen

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

Storage

128GB UFS

Ports

2x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm audio

Wireless

Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth

Camera

HD 1080p

Weight

3.15lbs (1.43kg)

Dimensions

12.9 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches (32.7 x 22.5 x 2cm)

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Premium from the outside
• Strong yet smooth hinge
• Good port selection

The Chromebook Plus 514 has a slender, dynamic figure considering its 14-inch size. It’s also surprisingly light and thin, although the lid is a little thicker than I’ve seen on other Chromebooks. All its sides are pleasingly neat, although there are a few juts and ridges that spoil its clean lines.

The finish of the lid looks and feels premium, with its metallic edges doing a subtle but noticeable job of enhancing its quality. It’s easy to open thanks to the smooth hinge mechanism, which also provides plenty of stability at any angle – even when it's opened to its full 180 degrees, which is impressive for a Chromebook this size. However, this isn’t a convertible device, so it won’t be able to rival the usability of the best tablets.

The keyboard looks and feels less impressive, with the faux-metallic keycaps appearing quite cheap, and the lack of backlighting on my model was also something I lamented (although this can be optioned on certain models). However, the keys feel well made and their selection is reasonable, with their various shortcut functions clearly labeled. The touchpad is large and smooth, and seems to be engineered to an even higher standard than the keys.

The Chromebook Plus 514 also features the Quick Insert key, which can be used to summon a search box, with useful suggestions provided based on your recent files and web pages, among other items.

Underneath you’ll find vents and two large rubber bars in place of four individual feet. The back one is thicker than the front, which means the whole unit sits with a slight forward tilt, but this is barely noticeable in use.

I was pleased with the port selection for the most part. There’s no SD card slot, which is a little disappointing, but it has an HDMI port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and two USB-A and two USB-C ports, which lends the Chromebook Plus 514 versatile connectivity.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Handles productivity, video, and light gaming
• Sharp and bright display
• Noisy at times

Benchmarks

These are the results of our benchmarking tests for the Acer Chromebook Plus 514:

TechRadar Battery Life Test: 8 hours and 30 minutes
Jetstream2 Benchmark: 275.980
Kraken Benchmark: 438.7ms
Speedometer 3.0: 16.5 (±1.3)

I found the performance of the Chromebook Plus 514 quite impressive. Apps are quick to launch and switch between, and it handles multiple browser tabs without issue. This is thanks to its 8GB of RAM, which allows for seamless multitasking for the most part. Light productivity tasks, such as spreadsheet editing, are also dispatched without issue.

The Chromebook Plus 514 streams ultra-high-definition content with aplomb, too, and it even has capable gaming performance. I managed to play Asphalt Legends Unite on high graphics settings with next to no slowdown, which was impressive.

However, the downside of all this power is that the Chromebook Plus 514 can get quite loud as the fans kick in. It’s not as loud as other devices I’ve tried though, and the pitch at which they whir isn't grating. The chassis can also get quite warm at the rear, but again not to a bothersome degree.

On the other hand, the display is hard to fault in any regard. The WUGXA resolution is very clean and sharp, capable of surprisingly high brightness levels for a Chromebook. Contrast is also strong and colors are vivid, although perhaps not quite to the extent of some displays.

(Image credit: Future)

However, plenty of viewing angles are possible and it does a respectable job of eliminating glare in unfavorable lighting conditions. In essence, it rivals the displays of not only the best Chromebooks, but also some of the best laptops.

Typing on the Chromebook Plus 514 is a mostly pleasant experience, thanks to the generous spacing of the keys. Their travel is quite deep, which helps with tactility; however, they lack dampening, which can make them feel a little harsh when you're thumping away rapidly.

Thankfully, despite its large size, the trackpad didn’t get in my way while typing. It’s also precise and responsive, as well as offering smooth gliding. Its large surface area helps to make navigation that little bit easier, too.

Unfortunately, the speakers on the Chromebook Plus 514 aren’t particularly impressive, producing a tinny sound owing to the lack of bass response. Small amounts of distortion can also be heard at times, but the overall audio quality is clear enough to be usable, if not enjoyable.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Battery life

(Image credit: Future)

The battery life of the Chromebook Plus 514 is reasonable. During our test, which involved running a movie on a continuous loop, it managed to last about eight and a half hours, which is about average compared to other Chromebooks we’ve tried.

It’s a markedly better performance than the Acer Chromebook Plus 515, which we rate as the best student Chromebook, as that device only managed a paltry five hours. However, it's worse than the Acer Chromebook Spin 314 (2023), which managed to exceed over ten hours.

• Battery life: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the Acer Chromebook Plus 514?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Price

The Chromebook Plus 514 has a reasonable starting price, placing it somewhere in the middle of the Chromebook Plus market.

3.5 / 5

Design

The Chromebook Plus 514 looks good from the outside, although the keyboard is a little drab. Overall build quality is good, though, and the port selection is useful.

4 / 5

Performance

For a Chromebook, it’s fast no matter the task, and it can handle multiple workloads quite well, although it can get a little noisy in such cases.

4.5 / 5

Battery life

Battery life is fairly average relative to other Chromebooks, outlasting the weakest among them but falling short of the strongest.

3.5 / 5

Total Score

The Chromebook Plus 514 is fast at all kinds of tasks and has a fantastic WUXGA display. Starting prices are reasonable as well, all of which makes it worth your consideration.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You have diverse uses in mind
The Chromebook Plus 514 handles productivity, video playback, and mobile games very well, thanks to its spec and display quality.

You need good ports
The Chromebook Plus 514 has plenty of USB ports and includes HDMI and audio jacks, all of which are useful.

Don't buy it if...

You want a convertible Chromebook
Reclining the screeen to 180 degrees is useful, but the display can’t be folded back and used like a tablet.

You want silence
If you want the silent operation of, say, the best MacBooks, then the Chromebook Plus 514 isn’t going to be for you.

Acer Chromebook Plus 514 review: Also consider

Acer Chromebook Plus 514

HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch

Acer Chromebook Plus 515

Price

$399 / £399 (about AU$560)

$549.99 / £449.99 / AU$749

$399.99 / £399.99 (around AU$633)

CPU

Intel Core 3 100U (8 threads, 4.7GHz)

Intel Core i3-N305 (8 threads, 3.80GHz)

Intel Core i3-1215U

Graphics

Integrated, Intel UHD Graphics

Integrated, Intel UHD Graphics

Intel UHD Graphics

RAM

8GB LPDDR5

8GB LPDDR5

8GB

Screen

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

15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080), 144Hz, 16:9, non-touch screen

15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) IPS, 16:9

Storage

128GB UFS

128GB UFS

128GB

Ports

2x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm audio

1x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 1x microSD, 1x 3.5mm audio

1x Type-A USB port, 2x Type-C ports, 1x HDMI port, and 1x headset jack

Wireless

Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth

MediaTek Wi-Fi 6 MT7921 (2x2), Bluetooth 5.3

Intel Wireless Wi-Fi 6E AX211, Bluetooth 5.1

Camera

HD 1080p

1080p FHD camera with privacy shutter

1080p HD video at 60 fps

Weight

3.15lbs (1.43kg)

3.81lbs (1.73kg)

3.7lbs (1.68 kg)

Dimensions

12.9 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches (32.7 x 22.5 x 2cm)

14.28 x 9.5 x 0.78 inches (36.26 x 24.15 x 1.98cm)

14.2 x 9.39 x 0.79 inches (360.6 x 238.5 x 19.99 mm; W x D x H)

HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch
The HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch offers a performance close to the Chromebook Plus 514, courtesy of its similar specs. However, it doesn’t quite have the same premium veneer of the Chromebook Plus 514, and while its display is also excellent, its Full HD resolution lacks the sharpness of WUXGA. Read our full HP Chromebook Plus review.

Acer Chromebook Plus 515
If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly Chromebook Plus, the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is a fine choice, thanks to its strong performance and great display. It’s not as quick as the Chromebook Plus 514, and the battery life pales in comparison, but for the price, it represents great value all the same. Read our full Acer Chromebook Plus 515 review.

How I tested the Acer Chromebook Plus 514

• Tested for two days
• Used for work and entertainment
• Chromebook reviewing experience

I tested the Chromebook Plus 514 for two days, during which time I used it for working and for entertainment.

I streamed 4K content on YouTube and played games such as Asphalt Legends Unite. I also connected it to various peripherals via Bluetooth and its ports.

I have plentiful experience with Chromebooks and other mobile devices, and have reviewed a number of them as well.

• First reviewed June 2025
• Read more about how we test

In a world where many of the best antivirus tools are just brands run by the same few companies, Malwarebytes is refreshingly different. Despite being informally established way back in 2004, it’s still independent, still run by its founder, Marcin Kleczynski, and still providing effective malware-hunting software for millions of users worldwide.

Malwarebytes Premium Security is a capable antivirus range with phishing protection, identity protection, and (at the top of the range) even a full and unlimited Mullvad-powered VPN (no restrictive ‘200MB a day’ limits here, you can use it as much as you like.) There are apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS and you can try them right now with limited free editions.

(Image credit: Malwarebytes)Malwarebytes Premium Security: Pricing

Malwarebytes Premium Security is available in various flavors, depending where you are in the world.

Premium Security Standard is the full antivirus with browsing protection. It’s priced from $44.99 a year for a one device license, dropping to $78.73 if you sign up for two years. A five device license costs $79.99 for one year, $139.98 for two; a 20-device license costs $229.99 for one year, $402.48 for two (that’s $10.6 per device per year.)

Premium Security Plus adds an unlimited VPN, but is only a little more expensive at $59.99 for a one device, one year license; and $99.99 to protect five devices for one year, or $184.98 for two.

Premium Security Ultimate includes full identity protection with data removal, 3 bureau credit monitoring and $2 million in identity theft insurance. As with similar products, it’s priced significantly higher. Even a single user, one-year license costs $119.99 in year one, and it doubles on renewal to $239.99.

If you’ll use the VPN, then these look like reasonable prices. Norton 360 Standard has antivirus, a full VPN and one or two extra features (password manager, 2GB cloud backup), but although it looks cheap at $39.99 for a one year, three device license, it jumps to $94.99 on renewal. Premium Security Standard can protect five devices for a similar price.

If you’re unsure, Malwarebytes also has a limited free version. This doesn’t include real-time protection; it detects and removes existing threats, but can’t protect you from new attacks. But it’s still an easy way to sample the app and get a free for how Malwarebytes Premium might work for you.

The Malwarebytes interface puts most common tasks just a click or two away. (Image credit: Malwarebytes)Malwarebytes Premium Security: App design

Malwarebytes Premium Security has a simple and straightforward design. While many security suites expect you to decipher cryptic icons and browse through panel after panel after panel to find what you need, Premium Security displays all its essentials up-front. Even total security newbies will figure out the basics at a glance.

There’s a Scan button to, well, launch an antivirus scan, for instance. The VPN panel has your selected location and a Connect button. Real-Time Protection status is displayed in a reassuring green, and although there are some complex settings, you won’t see them unless you go looking.

Having captions for almost every option means the dashboard has a text-heavy look, and it’s not as visually stylish as some of the competition. But it’s also less intimidating and much easier to use, and that’s what matters most.

We still found a few tasks that were a little awkward. When Malwarebytes incorrectly identified a safe file as malicious, for instance, we went into Quarantine, chose the file and hit Restore. But because there was no ‘Restore and never detect this file in future’ option, Malwarebytes restored the file, then immediately detected it as a threat and quarantined it again. We had to manually add the file’s folder to Malwarebytes’ ‘Allow List’ before we could restore it properly.

There were technical issues, too. Antivirus needs to protect itself from malware, but we found it was theoretically possible for an attacker to remove Malwarebytes’ filter drivers. We’re not marking Premium Security down for this because it didn’t seem to affect detection, but it’s an unnecessary potential vulnerability that we don’t see with the best antivirus.

(Image credit: Malwarebytes)Malwarebytes Premium Security: Antivirus scanning

Malwarebytes didn’t launch a full antivirus scan on launch, so we clicked the Scan button to manually run one of our own. First-time antivirus scans can sometimes take hours as an app crawls every corner of your device, but Malwarebytes Premium Security takes a lighter approach and scans the most commonly infected areas only. This worked well, with the scan completely in only 13 minutes, but still finding all our test malicious files.

A Scan Scheduler enables automatically running future scans without getting in your way. Set a start date, a frequency (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, once or on reboot), and when a scan is due and your device is idle, Malwarebytes pops up to run its checks. We would like a few more controls (many antivirus have an option to postpone scans when your device is on battery), but, overall it’s a flexible scheduler which makes it easy to scans for threats.

Malwarebytes Premium Security works well with Explorer. You can check files, folders or drives directly from the right-click menu, and have a verdict in a few seconds. Well, normally: the app doesn’t handle simultaneous scans, so if there’s already a system scan running in the background (or you just haven’t closed the report window from a previous scan), you can check anything else until it’s finished. But this isn’t unusual, and Malwarebytes does at least display a big notification as a warning.

(Image credit: Malwarebytes)

We spotted one potential scanning issue. If Malwarebytes tries and fails to scan a password-protected zip, it doesn’t display any warning: it just tells you it’s scanned the file and everything’s fine. If you’ve accidentally included malware in that zip, you’ll assume it’s safe, and if you send it to a colleague then they might do the same. That’s a recipe for trouble.

Bitdefender handles this much better. If a Bitdefender app detects a password-protected archive, it asks you for the password so it can check the file properly. And if you don’t know the password or the file otherwise can’t be scanned, it displays a warning, so it’s clear that you’ve not been given a completely clean bill of health. That’s a much safer approach, and we’d like to see Malwarebytes do the same.

Malwarebytes isn’t tested often by the labs, but we found some decent results at MRG Effitas. (Image credit: Malwarebytes)Malwarebytes Premium Security: Independent lab results

Malwarebytes isn’t tested by most of the independent antivirus labs, making it more difficult to compare with the big name competition, but the company does appear in a handful of reports.

The Malwarebytes website proudly points to its AVLab ‘Product of the Year’ award, but this isn’t quite as impressive as it sounds. ‘Top Product’ award doesn’t mean ‘better than all other products’; any provider gets it if they appear in three tests in a year and block at least 99% of threats each time. Nine vendors were awarded’ Product of the Year’ in 2024 alone.

Malwarebytes does better at MRG Effitas, where Malwarebytes Mobile Security and its business product, ThreatDown, blocked all threats in their respective Android 360 Programme and 360 Assessment tests. That’s good to know, but it’s not enough data to calculate a position for Malwarebytes in our overall Malware Protection chart.

Malwarebytes quickly spotted most of our test threats. (Image credit: Malwarebytes)Malwarebytes Premium Security: Malware protection

Lab results are important, but we also run plenty of our own tests. These began by connecting a USB key with 50x known malware samples. Premium Security didn’t immediately scan the drive, but when we tried to open a file, it detected it as a threat, then scanned the rest of the drive and detected the others.

We would like an option to scan removable drives when they’re connected, but Malwarebytes’ scan-on-access approach is faster, and the app did a good job of protecting us from known threats.

Next, we launched a custom ransomware simulator on our review laptop. An antivirus can’t detect this from the file signature alone because we’ve never released it into the wild, making the simulator a great test of behavior monitoring.

The results were disappointing: Malwarebytes Premium Security watched but did nothing as our simulator encrypted thousands of user documents. We don’t read too much into that - Malwarebytes detected every real-world ransomware sample at MRG Effitas, so it’s clearly working well on the tests that matter - but most antivirus apps detect and block our ransomware immediately, and we’d be a little happier if Malwarebytes did the same.

(Image credit: Malwarebytes)Malwarebytes Premium Security: Anti-phishing

Malwarebytes Premium Security includes what the website calls ‘Robust scam protection’, where the app ‘shuts down robocalls, scam texts, phishing attempts, and dangerous decoy websites.’

To get a feel for Malwarebytes’ effectiveness, we first compiled and tried to access 50 of the very latest phishing sites. The results were disappointing, with Malwarebytes blocking a poor 16% (the best web protection tools stop 70-90% of threats.)

Fortunately, Malwarebytes has a second layer of protection in its BrowserGuard browser extension. We installed this on Chrome, ran the test again and it made a big difference, with the two layers now blocking 62% of our test malicious links.

That’s good news, although we still prefer anti-phishing tools to block threats at the system level. BrowserGuard protects all the top browsers - Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, there’s even a Telegram beta - but it can’t shield smaller browsers or any of your other apps.

Next, we tried to access 50 malware-hosting links. Malwarebytes performed much, much better here, with Premium Security alone (no need for BrowserGuard) blocking 94% at the URL level. The remaining files reached our hard drive without detection, but were spotted and blocked on launch.

Overall, Malwarebytes does a reasonable job of protecting users from online threats. We would like to see less reliance on the BrowserGuard extension, though, and other antivirus providers typically do a much better job of blocking phishing sites.

(Image credit: Malwarebytes)Malwarebytes Premium Security: Unlimited VPN

Malwarebytes Premium Security Plus (the middle of Premium Security’s three plans has a very valuable extra in an unlimited VPN. This encrypts your traffic when you connect to public Wi-Fi, ensuring snoopers and malicious hotspots can’t spy on what you’re doing or direct you to fake websites. It allows you to change your IP address to make it seem like you’re in another country, maybe allowing you to access streaming content or other websites that are normally blocked.

Malwarebytes’ VPN is essentially Mullvad underneath, with the same network and locations. It’s not quite as good as buying Mullvad direct, because Malwarebytes’ apps don’t have quite as many VPN features and the company can’t offer the same level of specialist VPN support. But it’s good news overall because Mullvad is fast, powerful, and has a great reputation for privacy.

The VPN has a decent-sized network of 87 locations spread across 49 countries. It’s strong in Europe and North America, with 19 locations in the US alone. There’s less coverage elsewhere, but Malwarebytes still manages 10 locations in Asia, 4 in South America, 2 in Africa, and it covers all the key countries we expect.

Malwarebytes VPN is easy to use. A panel displays the VPN status (on or off) and the currently selected location. Tap Change and you can choose a new country, or tapping Connect activates the VPN in a few seconds.

There are lots of features underneath, especially for an antivirus app VPN (they’re usually basic.) Auto-connect tells the VPN to automatically activate when the app starts or you connect to public Wi-Fi; a kill switch blocks your internet if the VPN drops; split tunneling allows you to choose apps which won’t use the VPN; enabling Multi-Hop VPN gives you extra security at the expense of a little speed, and the list goes on.

Malwarebytes misses out some useful settings (you can’t choose a VPN protocol, for instance presumably because it’s trying not to overload consumers with too many technical options. We checked , but overall it looks more capable than the average security suite VPN. But how does it perform in real-world testing? We wanted to find out.

(Image credit: Malwarebytes)Malwarebytes Premium Security: VPN Performance

We tested Malwarebytes VPN by running multiple tests across several top speed-testing sites and platforms, including SpeedTest.net’s website and command line tool, Measurement Labs and Cloudflare.

The results were inconsistent, though always acceptable. Median speeds across sessions ranged from an excellent high of 950Mbps (as good as we see from any provider), to a low of 398Mbps (a little below average, but more than enough to browse or watch the highest resolution of streams.)

Malwarebytes VPN includes a kill switch to protect your traffic. It’s, well, a little inconvenient to use. Most kill switches only block your internet if the VPN drops accidentally, but Malwarebytes’ is always active. You can’t use the internet at all unless the VPN is connected, or you keep manually turning the kill switch off and on again (like we said: inconvenient.)

Malwarebytes is based on Mullvad VPN, and although that’s great for privacy, it’s much less impressive at unblocking streaming sites in other countries. In our last tests, it got us into BBC iPlayer, the UK’s ITV and Channel 4, and Australia’s 9 Now, but failed with Netflix, US Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus.

This is no great surprise - security suite VPNs are never as capable as the best stand-alone VPNs - but, still, Malwarebytes VPN is better than most of the antivirus-related competition. If you only need the VPN basics then it’s a valuable extra for the suite.

(Image credit: Malwarebytes)Malwarebytes Premium Security: Identity Protection

Malwarebytes Premium Security doesn’t include its full identity theft protection as standard, but there is one bonus feature. A ‘digital footprint’ tool scans previous data breaches for your email address and reports on anything it finds.

This starts by Premium Security prompting for your email address. The search box warns that entering the address automatically gives permission for Malwarebytes to send you ‘product updates and security tips’, which doesn’t seem entirely fair. If you’ve bought the product already, why should Malwarebytes expect you to accept more marketing emails before you can even use one of its features?

We entered and verified our email anyway, hit Scan, and waited a few seconds for the results.

These began with a list of the breaches where our email appeared. There were an impressive 67, including - oops - a 2016 breach when Malwarebytes’ own forum was compromised.

Every antivirus ‘dark web scanner’ can do that, but Malwarebytes goes further. Rather than force us to wade through all 67 breaches, it gives us separate tabs to instantly see our exposed accounts, passwords or personal information.

These might relate to breaches from long ago, but they’re still important. Scroll down the Passwords tab and, if you see a password you’re still using, that’s an important warning: hackers could try it with different platforms to compromise those accounts.

The Personal Information section is more worrying. We found some of the breaches contained our address and a landline phone number. We can’t do much (okay, anything) about that, but it’s still good to know.

US users get one other big plus: Malwarebytes also identifies any breaches containing your SSN (Social Security Number), which could be misused to claim benefits, access credit or commit fraud.

Most antivirus apps have some kind of dark web scanner, but these usually have even less features than free websites like haveibeenpwned.com. Malwarebytes’ identity scanner leaves these trailing in its digital dust, by finding significantly more details and making them much, much easier to access. It’s a very welcome feature which adds real value to Malwarebytes Premium Security.

Malwarebytes Premium Security: Final verdict

Malwarebytes Premium Security is an unusual antivirus range. It’s missing a lot of features compared to the high-end competition : there’s no password manager, parental controls, webcam hijacking protection, secure file deletion and more. But that also makes it more lightweight, simpler and cheaper, and Premium Security Plus and Ultimate do have a very valuable extra in their unlimited VPN.

Malwarebytes’ core malware protection is strong, too, especially if you can add an extra layer in its BrowserGuard extension. If you’re a Malwarebytes fan and you only need the security basics, it might be worth a try, but everyone else will get better protection elsewhere. Bitdefender and Norton 360 have more features, and Avast One has a great antivirus engine and a limited 5GB-a-week VPN for free.

We feature the best cloud antivirus.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless: one-minute review

(Image credit: Future)

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless is a refresh of the company’s previous midrange gaming headset option, back to impress us all as a wireless iteration with tons of functionality that makes it battlestation-ready.

The thing is, there used to be a clear and immediate difference between the sound, feel, and design of gaming headsets. In 2025, though, establishing the hierarchy of available models isn’t as simple. Gaming headsets are a hotly contested space, and there’s very little difference in sound quality between these wireless, dual-connectivity $110 / £100 cans and anything priced within $50 / £50 from competitors like Razer, Logitech G, Corsair, or HyperX. That means its feature set needs to line up with your specific use case for this headset to make sense as your next purchase.

Some of its selling points are universal: great sound, easy setup, and 40 hours of battery life with rapid charging. Over the 30 hours or so I’ve spent using it (the 'X' variant designed with Xbox in mind, specifically), those promises have held true, and there’s no one who wouldn’t appreciate them.

Then it gets more specific. If you want a premium headset that you can easily switch between console and PC sources with, and you’re likely to use the companion app, this is a fantastic package. If you’re more of a minimalist who’ll likely only use it with one device and doesn’t care too much about tweaking settings, the price starts to look steeper, and the likes of Corsair’s meat-and-potatoes wired HS55 Surround headset might meet your needs and save you $40 in the process.

Bottom line: there are plenty of desirable features here and they’re bundled in with the signature comfort and crisp, breezy sound characteristic we’ve all come to expect – and love – from the Arctis range over the years. But the $110 / £100 pricing of these Arctis Nova 3s is a long way north of the wired Nova 3s, which are available for $75.

(Image credit: Future)SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless: Price and availability

• List price: $109.99 / £99.99 / AU$109.99
• Much pricier than the wired Arctis Nova 3s, albeit with more features
• Closest rival with similar specs is the Corsair HS80 RGB

The price of this lower-end 3-series of the Arctis range is creeping up, and while there are certainly enough additional bells and whistles to justify it, it does leave a bit of a gap between the $60 and $110 price points within the Arctis lineup.

Conversely, the Arctis Nova 5s and the discounted Nova 7s and 9s are all regularly going for between $120-$140 now, so it feels like it would have made more sense for the Nova 3X to offer a genuine low-budget option.

With this MSRP, the closest competitor that offers similar specs is Corsair’s HS80 RGB. Both are wireless gaming headsets with multi-device support, but on the specs sheet, it’s the SteelSeries that comes out most favorably, thanks to the Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless connectivity and fast charging.

The appearance and tactile feel might not yell ‘premium!’ at the top of its voice, but once you get those soft earcups over your ears and feel how lightweight this model is, it starts to make more sense.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless: specs

Price

$109.99 / £99.99 / AU$109.99

Weight

267g / 0.57 lbs

Battery life

40 hours

Connection type

Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless (USB-C receiver)

Compatibility

PC, Xbox Series X (Xbox version only), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

(Image credit: Future)SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless: design and features

• Typically comfortable design
• You feel the benefit of those lightweight materials
• Not the flashiest headset in the world

The ‘Nova’ part of this headset’s name delineates SteelSeries’ refresh of the Arctis line from its original ‘ski goggle headband’ ancestors that debuted in 2017 and gobbled up all the awards, ever.

That means the headband on this model runs underneath a hard plastic support band, popping into place via plastic press studs and suspending the weight of the heavier materials via the lateral tension of the elasticated band.

It’s a smart design that doesn’t look like it should work as well as it does, and it’s helped along by an extremely lightweight construction. On the scales (and the specs sheet), the new 3 Wireless weighs just 9.4oz / 267g. And thanks to that headband, it feels like even less than that.

Not much clamping force is needed to keep this firmly attached around your ears, so there’s a very different sensation than you’d find on the aviator-style HyperX Cloud or Razer Blackshark designs that hug your ears like suction cups.

That all contributes to a wonderful level of long-term wearing comfort, and also, one suspects, to the airy, crisp sound quality that Arctis cans always seem to produce.

(Image credit: Future)

In terms of physical controls, it’s a simple array, arranged on the rear-left earcup: a mic mute button, notched volume scroll wheel, power button with light ring, then a USB-C connection and the 3.5mm detachable mic input.

My only gripe with this array is that the plastic surrounding the mic connector doesn’t fit exactly with the shape of the female connection, but that’s really only an aesthetic quibble. Otherwise, all the controls look and feel really nicely built, and they’re sensibly laid out. The scroll wheel feels fantastic, in particular.

On to the visual design. It appears the gaming peripherals market has come full circle: after years of shoving RGB-laden tat with tribal designs all over it, it appears that all those collabs with pro players have paid off, and we’re getting simpler, cleaner designs now that don’t lean into the gamer aesthetic. For that, the Arctis line past and present deserves a pat on the elasticated headband.

However, I’m in the strange and unexpected position of wishing for a bit more edginess here. Not quite a tribal pattern, but… something to better distinguish it from productivity hardware and make me feel like the price is a no-brainer. Perhaps a mix of matte and gloss finishes might have helped.

One last point on the design: it’s too early to tell for this model, but I know through years of using numerous Arctis and Arctis Nova headsets that the headbands do slacken over time, and this affects the comfort level.

Fortunately, SteelSeries sells replacement headbands at a very reasonable price, so when this happens, it’s not a biggie to restore that factory-fresh feeling.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless: performance

• Crisp and distinctive audio
• Switch between PC and console easily
• Rapid charging is a lifesaver

Let’s talk about sound. At the start of this review, I mentioned that there’s not much in it between the huge range of gaming headsets you could go out and buy in 2025.

Ten years ago, when manufacturers were obsessed with packing the biggest drivers possible into their headsets and shaking your fillings loose with their bass response, there was a huge variance in audio characteristics. Now the difference between models and manufacturers is much subtler.

That said, there’s always been an ‘Arctis sound’. SteelSeries has always preferred a flatter EQ response for this range, with a crisper high end and a pleasant airiness that makes sound cues easier to identify in competitive games, and makes music and movies sound less soupy than historical gaming cans might have done.

That holds true to this Nova 3 Wireless. Part of it’s probably the cloth surface around the earcups, and the light clamping force. They create an almost open-backed headphone sensation, which I find very agreeable, but this is a matter of taste, not an empirical plus point.

EQ profile tweaking can be achieved – to an absurdly exhaustive degree, frankly – via the companion app on your phone. There are presets for tons of specific games already on there at release, but personally, I’d caution that this feature is way more about marketing than user experience. In reality, Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Fortnite don’t really need distinct presets from each other.

It’s all gunfire and shouting at the end of the day. It’s added value, but unlikely to transform your experience of using this headset. So think carefully about this component and how it fits into the price before you take the leap.

On to more universal wins: I love the fast USB-C charging. The literature states nine hours of battery life from 15 minutes of charge time, and while it’s hard to measure how accurate that statement is during real-world use, based on my week of heavy use, it sounds roughly correct. I’ve certainly never had a session disrupted by battery level, and that’s the bottom line.

As for the mic, it sounds like there’s more compression and noise cancellation happening by default than you’d typically hear on a modern headset mic, and that means it’s prioritising clarity over a full-bodied, boom mic-style sound.

This is the correct priority placement for the vast majority of users, who need a mic to be heard over game audio by their team-mates, rather than to sound broadcast quality to their streaming audiences. If you do create content using a headset mic rather than a dedicated unit, this might not be ideal for you as it’ll require some parameter-fiddling to get a more rounded sound.

Finally, let’s tackle the biggie: multi-device connectivity via 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth. The idea here is that ‘battlestation’-type gamers play on several devices in one area, switching between PC and console from one title to the next. Traditionally, using one headset for both can be a slight hassle due to varying connection standards and compatibility. The USB-C dongle here means you can just plug it into whichever device you want to use, and that’s the extent of the setup.

The Nova 3 Wireless’s dual connectivity means you can also stay connected to a gaming device plus your smartphone at the same time, and apply different presets for each via the mobile app so you don’t accidentally end up with Fortnite EQ on your TikTok videos.

Maybe this is a big deal for you. The presets don’t move the needle much for me, but dual-wireless is always a big plus, and it adds a lot to the pricing.

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless?Buy it if...

You play on several devices regularly
The USB dongle and dual wireless connectivity make this a great ‘battlestation’ headset which you can switch between devices with easily.

You’re forgetful about charging
Low charge bleeps the bane of your existence? You’ll appreciate the nine hours of use you get from 15 minutes plugged in.

You prefer clarity over booming bass response
The Arctis range has always had a pleasant sharp and crisp EQ response that keeps the low end subdued to give the other frequencies some space. The Nova 3 Wireless has that same characteristic.

Don't buy it if...

You’re not going to mess around with presets
The accompanying smartphone app gives you game-specific presets and plenty of tweakable parameters, but that’s not how everyone uses a gaming headset, so consider the value you’d get from it.

You only game on one device
If that USB-C dongle’s getting plugged into one console and one console only, you won’t get much benefit from the dual-wireless and multi-platform support.

You’re on a budget
Although this new model has far more functionality than the wired Nova 3, $110 / £100 can’t quite be considered an entry-level offering.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless: Also consider

Is the Arctis Nova 3 Wireless leaving you cold? Consider these cable-free, multi-platform alternatives.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 Wireless

Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (gen 3)

PlayStation Pulse Elite

Price

$109.99 / £99.99 / AU$109.99

$99.99 / £99.99 / AU$179

$149.99 / £129.99 / AU$239.95

Weight

267g / 0.57 lbs

0.66lbs / 301g

0.76lbs / 347g

Battery life

40 hours

80 hours

30 hours

Connection type

Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless (USB-C receiver)

Wireless (USB-A dongle), wired (USB-C to USB-A)

Wireless (PlayStation Link via dongle), Wired (3.5mm audio jack), Bluetooth

Compatibility

PC, Xbox Series X (Xbox version only), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

Xbox, Playstation, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

PlayStation 5, PlayStation Portal, PC

Turtle Beach Stealth 600
Priced under the new Arctis lineup entrant (unless you live in Australia, sorry), these Stealth 600s pack a mighty battery life and similar multi-device compatibility into a cost-effective package. The comfort and sound levels aren’t quite as strong as SteelSeries’ model, but there’s not much in it.

For more information, check out our full Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (gen 3) review

PlayStation Pulse Elite
Obviously, Xbox players need not apply here, but for switching between PlayStation devices and PC, Sony’s wireless cans offer great comfort and audio quality for a surprisingly affordable price that’s not too far above the Nova 3X’s tag. Plus, they make you look like you’re in Star Trek.

For more information, check out our full PlayStation Pulse Elite review

How I tested the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3X Wireless

• 25-30 hours spent testing across multiple devices
• PC games and iPhone apps used throughout
• Comfort and battery life evaluated via long-term usage and extended play sessions, audio via music and in-game sound

Over the course of a full week of testing, I spent time in MotoGP 25, Hitman 3, and Shadow Man Remastered on PC. The latter’s 25-year-old audio might not have pushed the 3X’s drivers to their limits, but the new engine audio capture in MotoGP 25 conveyed a lot of detail across the EQ spectrum, and the engine pops sounded particularly rousing. Meanwhile, in a stealth environment like Hitman, the strong surround landscape of this headset gave me plenty of precision about where guard dialogue lines and footsteps were coming from.

I also had the 3 Wireless connected to my iPhone 12 Pro Max via Bluetooth and used them to browse YouTube videos and listen to music on Spotify between PC game sessions. I had plenty of Discord chat on both devices, taking impressions from my mates about mic quality before recording audio directly into Ableton Live for a true analysis.

Finally, I did some A/B testing with my daily drivers, the Razer Blackshark V2 Pros, switching between headsets during the same game to hear the precise differences in audio characteristics from the same sound cues.

First reviewed June 2025

Read more about how we test

Marshall Heston 120: two-minute review

The Marshall Heston 120 Dolby Atmos soundbar is a product that aims to make a mark in a world of hulking black boxes. This amp-inspired, meter-long bar is powered by 11 active drivers and looks to offer room-swallowing bass output, a colorful spatial impression, and top-tier music replication. Still, it comes with a price-tag that’s far from small. So, is it worth taking the plunge on the Marshall Heston 120?

Well, if you’re looking for a one-box soundbar (ie, no subwoofer or rear speakers) that’s capable of phenomenal Dolby Atmos and DTS:X performance, the answer is almost certainly yes. You get really impressive expansiveness from the Marshall Heston 120, with side-firing drivers providing mind-boggling width and up-firing tweeters presenting lifelike verticality. Would a multi-box alternative whip up an even more fleshed-out cinematic experience? Possibly. But for a standalone soundbar, it’s hard to beat the Heston 120.

Whether you’re watching movies with Dolby Atmos or not, the Marshall Heston 120 delivers truly exceptional performance. You’ll hear crystal-clear speech from the center channel whether you’re in Movie or Voice mode and, most of all, get to experience shockingly shaking bass from the Heston’s dual rear-facing subwoofers. Seriously, the bass rumble alone puts the Marshall Heston 120 right up there with the best soundbars around.

But something that truly sets the Heston 120 apart from a vast sea of competitors is its class-leading performance for music – whether you’re listening to an Atmos or stereo mix. With spotless channel separation, delicious depth, a broad soundstage, and wonderful control right across all frequencies, the Marshall Heston 120 is a musical maestro as well as a movie marvel.

Of course, given its price and one-box status, the Heston 120’s obvious rival is the Sonos Arc Ultra, which is easily one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars that money can buy. The Marshall may not have a voice assistant or quite as much power as the Arc Ultra – but it does have HDMI passthrough (4K at 120Hz, too) and DTS support – a couple of factors that we really missed from the Arc Ultra.

And though the Arc Ultra is a rounded, clean-looking character, I have to say that the Heston 120 is a real work of art. Everything from its gold details, its amp-like aesthetic and its classy knurled metal dials truly screams premium. You should know that you might catch a few reflections on those tactile knobs when watching TV in low-lit spaces, depending on your angle – but still, they make for a unique, attractive addition.

(Image credit: Future)

The Heston 120 is a standalone soundbar in the truest sense. There are no additional speakers – at least not yet, though the Heston Sub 200 is coming later this year. And you won’t even find a remote here – everything is controlled via the flashy new Marshall app, which lets you flick through four sound modes, calibrate the bar to your room’s shape and size, adjust volume, EQ… you name it. I love the pure simplicity of this – I don't want another remote laying around, personally.

You won’t find a display on the soundbar – everything you need to see is in that app – which may be more of a frustration for some. If you want to know whether the Heston 120 is playing Atmos, you'll need to check the app.

I’ll drill into the finer details below, but if you just want the lowdown, then the Marshall Heston 120 is frankly an exemplary soundbar that fuses Marshall’s musical heritage with top-drawer cinematic sound for the modern era. It’s built to last – Marshall will even sell parts if something goes wrong – it sounds amazing, and… well, just look at it!

Yes it’s expensive and you may well be able to find a strong multi-box option at a similar cost. But if you want to take your movie-watching or music-listening experiences to the next level, all via one expertly crafted hub, the Marshall Heston 120 is my choice.

(Image credit: Future)Marshall Heston 120 review: price & release date

• Priced at $999 / £899 / AU$1,799
• Launched on 3 June 2025
• Will also be available via select retailers from September 16, 2025

The Marshall Heston 120 released on 3rd June 2025 and is the very first soundbar Marshall has ever brought to market. It is, admittedly pretty pricey, coming in at $999 / £899 / AU$1,799. But even if it’s expensive, there are pricier all-in-one rivals. The Sonos Arc Ultra is £100 more for UK customers (the same in the US), while the Devialet Dione and Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 carry list prices of $2,399 / £1,990 / AU$3,999 and $1,399 / £1,399 / AU$1,795 respectively.

Of course, you can get multi-box soundbar systems for a similar price or less – even the wonderful Samsung HW-Q990D can be found for only a touch more than the Heston across many territories. But this is a true all-in-one option that doesn’t rely on separate speakers for a full-sounding cinematic experience, so they're different propositions in some ways.

(Image credit: Future)Marshall Heston 120 review: Specs

Dimensions

43.3 x 5.7 x 3.0 inches / 1100 x 145 x 76mm

Speaker channels

5.1.2

Connections

HDMI eARC, HDMI IN (passthrough), RCA Stereo, RCA Mono (sub out), USB-C, Ethernet, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi

Dolby Atmos/DTS:X

Yes/Yes

Sub included

No

Rear speakers included

No

Marshall Heston 120 review: features

• 5.1.2 speaker configuration with 11 active drivers
• Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support
• Feature-filled Marshall companion app replaces a remote

Although the Marshall Heston 120 makes use of a 5.1.2 channel setup, there are, in fact, 11 active drivers powering the soundbar. They all combine to deliver a maximum power output of 150W.

The top of the soundbar houses two midwoofers for lateral sound as well as two up-firing tweeters, with two side drivers also included to reflect sounds off walls for a wider spatial impression. In addition, there are three front-facing drivers for clear dialogue reproduction and dual rear-facing subwoofers that do the heavy-lifting in the low end. You’ll find four passive radiators installed on the reverse side of the soundbar too, which support the Heston’s whopping bass output.

Of course, there are no external speakers that come alongside the main bar itself – this is a true all-in-one offering from Marshall. There will be a separate sub released later in 2025, though, dubbed the Heston Sub 200.

Even still, the Heston 120 can create a wonderfully expansive sound thanks to its support for Dolby Atmos, as well as DTS:X – notably, that latter format is missing on the soundbar’s main rival, the Sonos Arc Ultra. I’ll drill more into the quality of Atmos effects in the ‘Performance’ section, but they’re impressive to say the least.

And whether you’re watching movies with DTS:X or tuning into your favorite Atmos mixes, there are so many ways to harness the power of your Heston 120. There’s an HDMI eARC for easily connecting the soundbar up to your TV, HDMI in for passthrough (and yes, it’s 4K at up to 144Hz), Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as RCA – a nod to Marshall’s musical roots.

There’s even Auracast – a type of Bluetooth technology that enables you to tune into an audio broadcast transmitted from a phone, TV or similar device without any pairing.

Marshall has also integrated a whole host of music services into the Heston 120, ensuring seamless connectivity without long-winded pairing processes. At the moment, these include: Google Cast; Spotify Connect; Internet Radio; Tidal Connect; and Apple AirPlay 2. These can also be bound to preset buttons for easy access. And it’s worth noting that the soundbar supports hi-res files such as ALAC and FLAC, so you can get the best out of those music apps.

You can view all of the integrated services via Marshall’s revamped app, which has a whole bunch of features to sink your teeth into. A few nuggets include a five-band equalizer, AV sync to adjusts audio delay to sync up with video, and Room correction, which plays a range of sounds to optimize your soundbar for the space that you’re using it in.

There’s no remote included with the Heston 120, with the app acting as a full on replacement. It enables you to adjust volume, switch between the different sound modes, cycle through sources and view whether Atmos or DTS:X are in-use or not. Much of this can be done through the soundbar’s physical controls too, but we’ll get onto those later.

• Features score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future)Marshall Heston 120 review: performance

• Earth-shaking bass output
• Great Atmos with impressive width and verticality
• Impeccable for music, especially stereo

So the Heston 120 gets the title of Marshall’s first ever soundbar, as the legendary audio brand takes its first step into the world of home cinema entertainment. No pressure then. From marketing alone, it’s clear that Marshall is confident in the Heston 120’s “rumbling” bass, “immersive” Dolby Atmos sound and “natural vocal clarity” – but can it live up to the hype?

Well, before I answer that, let’s go through the Heston 120’s key focal areas and see how it measures up. When I spoke to the audio engineers that worked on the Marshall Heston 120, I was told there were three focal points: Dolby Atmos for movies; Dolby Atmos music; and stereo music.

Let’s go big and start things off with Atmos for movies. I have to say, the Heston 120 performs incredibly well here. I started my testing by watching a 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Nosferatu – you know, the one where Pennywise plays the eponymous role. And even from the Universal Studios fanfare, I knew I was in for a treat, with booming bass filling our TV testing facility.

During a scene where Count Orlok confronts Ellen, the vampire’s haunting voice came through with incredible depth and haunting levels of detail, with each breathy detail and deep inhale coming through cleanly. Quaking sub-bass also rippled through part of the scene, perfectly capturing the picture’s tense, fear-inducing nature. Whether it was that giant sub-bass, frantic dialogue or piercing high-pitched screeches, the Heston was more than up to the task. I watched this film when it was first released and, honestly, the Heston had enough talent to make me feel as if I was back in the cinema.

But when I think about Atmos, I think, first and foremost about expansive, directional sound that really makes me feel part of the action. And I really want to give the Heston 120 some kudos there, because it performed very admirably indeed in that department.

When watching The Boy and the Heron, the soundbar effortlessly tracked elements such as the width of the heron’s flight path or the verticality of an arrow being fired into the sky. Similarly, when tuning into The Batman, the movement of bats flying towards me had me inching back in my seat – and the Heston gave me a genuine sense that they flew over my shoulder too.

Still, if you’re searching for the most complete surround sound on the market, you’re not going to get it from the Marshall Heston 120 – at least not right now. There are no rear speakers included to give you ultimate wraparound sound and, at the point of launch, there’s no separate sub to take low frequency output to yet another level – both things that would be ideal for those with larger living rooms especially. An option like the JBL Bar 1300X, for example, has a main soundbar with a sub and two rears, meaning you get an even more fleshed-out spatial impression.

Still, I’m here to judge the Heston 120 for what it is – not what it could be, and it really did impress me when it comes to Dolby Atmos effects, dialogue clarity and low-end punch. So, it only seems right to next tackle the area of Dolby Atmos music.

This format, I concede won’t be everyone’s favorite way to listen to tunes, but the Heston, as you’d expect, gets the best out of Atmos mixes. When blasting I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby by Barry White, I was astonished by the width of audio emitting from the Heston 120. Guitars sounded as if they were playing from the sides of the room, rather than from the bar itself, with funky drums dancing and keys dancing across the room.

That was paired with a controlled, balanced vocal performance playing from the center and a total lack of harshness or distortion, ensuring a really enjoyable and three-dimensional listening experience.

Despite all of that, I have to tell you that the absolute highlight of my time spent with the Marshall Heston 120, was listening to stereo music. That really isn’t to take away from the incredible Atmos effects – it’s just all too common for soundbars to miss the mark on musicality, but the Heston is truly class-leading.

When listening to Strange Meadow Lark by Dave Brubeck, the channel separation was phenomenal, drums subtly enter the left side, keys work their magic subtly on the right with punchy bass holding it down throughout the track without smothering the mix.

Again, with Affirmation by George Benson, every instrument was given plenty of breathing space. Each element – whether emotive strings, rhythmic percussion or smooth bass – was positioned beautifully. I genuinely sat for hours listening to albums in this format, I really couldn’t get enough.

I preferred stereo music on the Heston 120 over what the amazing Samsung HW-Q800D could offer – a soundbar that I’ve been happily using for almost half a year, so… it may be time for an upgrade.

• Sound quality score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future)Marshall Heston 120 review: design

• Show-stopping amp-like aesthetic
• Tactile dial controls with haptic feedback
• Though these can catch reflections from TV

So, the Heston 120 has already wowed me with its fantastic feature-set and awesome audio, but there’s one aspect that’s even more appealing. And that is, of course, its gorgeous design, infused with Marshall’s amp-making heritage and finished off with eye-catching gold details.

When I spoke to Marshall at its Stockholm HQ, I was told that the Heston 120 was meant to stand alone in a sea of homogenous black bars. And yep, it definitely does that. Even the golden plate on top of the soundbar oozes class, with three knurled metal knobs positioned alongside well-sized preset and sound mode buttons.

LED lights around the knobs also indicate volume and EQ levels as well as source, which is a nice touch. There’s no display, which some may miss, but as I mentioned earlier, the app houses all the info you’ll need.

Let’s go back to those metal dials, though, because they really are a unique design choice for a soundbar. Firstly, I should emphasize that they’re a joy to use. They’re smooth and pleasing to turn, with haptic feedback included for a more interactive user experience.

But alas… they do bring a problem to the table. When watching movies in a low-lit or dark room, I found that they were illuminated by the TV and caught some reflections. This is nothing too invasive, of course, you’re not going to be blinded by Marshall’s knobs… but it can be a touch distracting.

It’s also worth noting that I had the Heston 120 positioned right under the TV, and the reflectivity will change depending on the gap between the dials at the screen, how far the soundbar is from the TV, and where you're sitting – and if you've wall-mounted them, that will also change things.

Speaking of a wall mount: you’re going to have to purchase that separately. You can grab one on Marshall’s website for $49 / £44 / AU$79 – a fair chunk less than the Sonos Arc Ultra’s mount, notably. I should also mention that the Marshall website is home to a bunch of replacement parts and an authorized repair service, just in case your Heston ever gets damaged.

Before we move on, it has to be said – the Heston is a chunky fella. It’s more than a meter long and weighs in at over 7kg. It will be well-suited under a TV sized 55-inches and up – just make sure your setup has plenty of room, or it may be a tight squeeze.

• Design score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Marshall Heston 120 review: setup & usability

• Super easy to install
• Everything you need is in the Marshall app
• Huge variety of connectivity options

When it comes to getting setup and ready to go, most modern soundbars are fairly straightforward, and the Marshall Heston 120 is no different. I simply plugged in my power cable and hooked the included HDMI cord from our testing TV into the eARC slot and I was done. Yep, really, that’s all you need to do.

Of course, if you want to truly optimize the Heston 120 for your living space, then it’s well-worth heading over to the Marshall app. One of the first things I did was make use of the Room Correction feature to make sure I was making the most of this stunning soundbar’s sonic talents.

And as we discussed earlier, the app has everything a user will need, from volume controls, source switching, sound mode selection and EQ adjustment. The lack of a remote, if anything, is most welcome for me. I really like the simplicity of an all-in-one digital hub.

One of the big wins the Heston gets over its rival, the Sonos Arc Ultra, is that it has an HDMI passthrough port. That’s incredibly useful if you’ve already used up all of your TV’s HDMI slots and it was one of the main reasons we didn’t rate the Arc Ultra higher than four stars in our review.

And just generally, there really are so many ways to connect the Heston 120. You get all those integrated music services like Spotify and Tidal Connect, plenty of ports, including HDMI, RCA and USB-C, as well as Bluetooth connectivity. The only thing that some may miss at the moment is some sort of voice-assistant support. That’s something you will get on the Arc Ultra, but honestly, it’s not a feature I typically make use of on a soundbar.

• Setup & usability score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future)Marshall Heston 120 review: value

• Comes at quite the cost
• But is class-leading in musicality and offers awesome Atmos
• You can get strong multi-box options at a similar price

Even though I’ve raved about the Heston 120 so far, it has to be said that it is a pricey piece of kit. At $999 / £899 / AU$1,799, it’s well and truly in the premium tier. It costs the same as its all-in-one rival, the Sonos Arc Ultra – that is if you’re in the US and Australia. The Heston is £100 cheaper for those of us in the UK, though.

Having said that, the Heston 120 is still priced competitively when you consider a rival like the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 comes in at $400 / £500 more. At the same time, though, you could get a highly competent surround sound system for a similar cost. The excellent Samsung HW-Q990D can regularly be found now for just over $1,200 / £1,000 and that comes with dual rear speakers and a separate sub – talk about value!

Again, though, as a single box, the Heston 120 really is up there with the best of the best. I’ve not heard better musicality from any soundbar before and as an all-in-one solution, the levels of bass and expansiveness are seriously impressive. That’s not to mention the fact that this model packs in essentially every feature and connectivity type that you’d hope to see. So yes – it’s pricey – but for good reason.

• Value score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Marshall Heston 120?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

Tons of connectivity options, Atmos and DTS:X, great companion app.

5/5

Performance

Booming bass output, excellent Atmos effects, best-in-class musicality.

5/5

Design

Stunning looks, handy repairability options, dials can catch reflections.

4.5/5

Setup & usability

Easy setup, app is perfect control hub, tons of connectivity options.

5/5

Value

It’s pricey, but comes with a load of handy features and stellar sound.

4/5

Buy it if…

You want cinematic sound in a standalone soundbar
Marshall has packed 11 active drivers into the Heston 120, which work in harmony to output incredibly clear, delightfully deep and pleasingly expansive audio. If your living space wouldn’t really suit additional speakers or you simply want an all-in-one solution, it doesn’t get much better than this.

You want a true statement piece
Sound-wise, the Marshall Heston 120 is excellent, but its looks are what really sets it apart. With an amp-inspired aesthetic, premium gold details and wraparound speaker grille, it’s hard to find any other soundbar that comes close on beauty points.

Don’t buy it if…

You want the best surround-sound experience available
Yes, the Heston 120 conjures an impressive spatial impression given its a one-box offering. But the lack of rear channels or a separate sub mean that some will be left wanting more for the true surround sound experience. If you have a larger room or simply want the additional rumble and multi-dimensional effects, it might be worth considering an option like the Samsung Q990D below. Or if you’ve got the cash, potentially even a Sonos sound system, with the Arc Ultra at the center.

You’re on a budget
The Marshall Heston 120 is probably not the ideal option if you’re on a tighter budget. But don’t worry, there really are a lot of great budget-friendly options out there. I should know – I’ve personally test a large number of models in our guide to the best cheap soundbars. But if you want a personal recommendation, I really do rate the Sony HT-S2000, which has talents way beyond anything I’d expect from a standalone bar with its price-tag.

Marshall Heston 120 review: also consider

Marshall Heston 120

Sonos Arc Ultra

Samsung HW-Q990D

Price

$999 / £899 / AU$1,799

$999 / £999 / AU$1,799

$1,799 / £1,699 / AU$1,995

Dimensions

43.3 x 5.7 x 3 inches / 1100 x 145 x 76mm

2.95 x 46.38 x 4.35 inches / 75 x 1178 x 110.6mm

Soundbar: 51.3 x 23.4 x 10.9 inches / 1309 x 595 x 277mm; Subwoofer: 8.6 x 16.2 x 16.1 inches / 220 x 413 x 410mm; Rear speakers: 5 x 7.9 x 5.5 inches / 129.5 x 201.3 x 140.4mm

Speaker channels

5.1.2

9.1.4

11.1.4

Connections

1x HDMI eARC, 1x HDMI in, RCA Stereo, RCA Mono (sub out), USB-C, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3

1x HDMI with eARC, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

1x HDMI eARC, 2x HDMI 2.1 in, optical digital audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Dolby Atmos/DTS:X

Yes/Yes

Yes/No

Yes/Yes

Sub included

No

No

Yes

Rear speakers included

No

No

Yes

Sonos Arc Ultra
The Sonos Arc Ultra is an outstanding one-box soundbar that is tough to beat when it comes down to pure performance. Thanks to its zealous bass, crystal-clear dialogue and convincing Dolby Atmos effects, we couldn’t get enough of the Arc Ultra during our time testing it. There’s no DTS:X support and the lack of HDMI passthrough is a shame, but if you’re not into the Heston’s amp-inspired design, this might be a better option for you. Read our full Sonos Arc Ultra review.

Samsung HW-Q990D
Thanks to a wave of price-cuts, you’ll now be able to regularly find 2024’s incredible Samsung Q990D for a similar cost to the Marshall Heston 120. And that’s pretty impressive, given it provides you with a main soundbar, subwoofer and rear speakers for mind-blowing surround sound. With full-sounding spatial audio, phenomenal sonic detail and plenty of connectivity options, you simply can’t do better for the cost. Read our full Samsung HW-990D review.

How I tested the Marshall Heston 120

• Tested across a week-long period
• Used in our TV testing space at Future Labs
• Both Dolby Atmos and stereo sound tested

When testing the Marshall Heston 120, I had it hooked up to the fantastic Panasonic MZ1500 TV via HDMI eARC. I also used Tidal Connect over Wi-Fi and Spotify over Bluetooth when tuning into my favorite tracks.

During testing, the soundbar was placed in front of the TV in our TV testing space at Future Labs. I tried viewing and listening to a vast array of content during an intensive testing period. This included a number of movies and TV shows and songs on our TechRadar testing playlist. For reference, I used the Panasonic DP-UB820 to view Dolby Atmos-enabled 4K UHD Blu-rays.

On top of that, I made extensive use of each listening mode: Movie; Music; Voice; and Night. I also dug into additional options on the Marshall app, ensuring each feature functioned as advertised.

I've tested tons of soundbars here at TechRadar – everything from ultra-cheap options like the Hisense HS214 through to pricier models like the Samsung HW-Q800D. I've also got plenty of experience testing other gear, including the best Bluetooth speakers and best headphones, which helped me to assess the caliber of the Heston 120's musicality.

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

LG xBoom Bounce: Two-minute review

Go to the LG website and you’ll see this Bluetooth speaker billed as the "LG xBoom Bounce by will.i.am". Recent marketing materials are rife with mentions of the Black Eyed Peas performer who, depending on where you look on LG's site, “crafted” the sound from the ground up, “fine-tuned” the sound of the Bounce after the fact or simply acted as... whatever an “Experiential Architect” is.

It’s a very loosely-defined partnership and I’ve no idea if the musician’s work really did involve engineering the Bounce’s sound or simply becoming a marketing figure, although a colleague at TechRadar did speak to the rapper, writer, actor, record producer and entrepreneur earlier this year on the collaboration. Anyway, the general gist is this: the LG xBoom Bounce is a new party speaker here to (hopefully) make you wanna Shake Ya Boom Boom – and thus, make its way into our best Bluetooth speakers roundup.

Its relative beefiness should have been clear from the name; LG’s busy line of xBoom speakers are all designed for room-filling sound, complete with hardy designs, high volumes and usually plenty of LED lights. The bounce was announced alongside the slightly-cheaper cylinder of the LG xBoom Grab and bigger, more expensive LG xBoom Stage 301.

I must admit that I’ve not been blown away by other xBoom devices I’ve used, and sadly the Bounce didn’t manage to change that.

The last xBoom I used was the petite Go XG2T, which is remarkable for its portability, a trait which is important for most Bluetooth speakers. Not in the Bounce, though, as it’s too big and heavy to slip in your bag and take to a picnic. It has an elastic carry band which loses form quickly, two unstable legs and a pet peeve of mine: no skip track button.

I can’t mark down the design too much though, with high-grade protections ensuring that the xBoom Bounce is safe from the hard knocks that could befall it when used in your garden (or forgotten in your garden after a few beers).

When it comes to features, LG’s nailed the basics with the LG xBoom Bounce: its battery life is pleasingly long and I’m always a fan of LED lights on speakers. However there’s not much extra if you download LG’s smart-home app (no, there’s no bespoke app), with a few of its potential features squandered.

For example there’s an on-speaker button which should, in theory, be used to quickly open a chosen playlist – however this doesn’t actually work alongside any streaming service, only with native content on your phone or LG’s own ambient songs.

The biggest issue with the Bounce is that its sound quality just doesn’t match rivals on the market. With Sonos and JBL both offering similar-priced alternatives, the bass-heavy but empty-sounding audio of the Bounce doesn’t cut it, no matter how loud it can go to impress fields of guests.

As a mid-range speaker in terms of price, LG’s rugged build quality, battery life and volume here may be enough to win over some users, including those who want a device specifically for outdoor activities and parties (and already own one or more for their home). But if you’re more of a one-and-done kind of speaker buyer, the xBoom Bounce is a lot harder to recommend.

LG xBoom Bounce review: Price and release date

• Released in April 2025
• Officially priced at $179.99 / £139 / AU$249

(Image credit: Future)

The LG xBoom Bounce was released in April 2025 alongside another member of its family: the xBoom Grab.

You can buy the speaker for $169 / £169 (around AU$300, though it’s the only one of its family not to be on sale in Australia at the time of writing).

That cost puts the xBoom Bounce in the shark-infested waters of a highly competitive price range: the Sonos Roam 2 is only a touch pricier, while the JBL Flip 7 is a small amount more affordable, and you don’t have to pay that much more for a close rival in the Tribit Stormbox Blast 2.

These three options are all within the top five in our round-up of the best Bluetooth speakers, so LG is entering a tough crowd. More on these competitors below.

LG xBoom Bounce review: Specs

Weight:

1.32kg

Dimensions:

26.2 x 9.9 x 9.4 cm

Battery life (quoted):

30 hours

Connectivity:

Not specified

Drivers:

2x tweeter, 1x woofer

Aux in:

No

Charger port:

USB-C

Microphone:

Yes

Waterproof rating:

IP67

LG xBoom Bounce review: Features

• Some set-up woes
• 30-hour battery life
• Useful location calibration mode

(Image credit: Future)

The XBoom Bounce can be used alongside the LG ThinQ app. This is an everything-app for all LG products, and it’s quite a lengthy set-up process between creating an account, finding ‘speakers’ on the list and, in my case, repeatedly trying to get it to pair until it finally succeeded. I may have given up several attempts earlier if I wasn’t reviewing the Bounce (and you can use the device just fine without pairing it to the app anyway). Pairing to devices simply for listening was quick and painless, it’s just the app that’s the issue.

The ThinQ app may make sense if you have lots of other LG products (or if this speaker boasted wi-fi streaming support, which to be clear, it does not), but if you don’t it’s a bit of a faff. Honestly, it feels like a bloated set-up process and some of the features just don’t make sense – why am I being asked where the speaker is located when, by definition, it’s a portable one?

Using the app you can change the speaker’s volume, switch the lighting pattern on it, set up the MY button (more on this imminently) and set up a few other features like Auracast for daisy-chaining more speakers for multi-room audio, a turn-off timer and a small playlist of ambient background music called Healing Therapy. There’s also a calibration mode which works out the speaker’s location (after a brief test) and adjusts the sound quality, which is admittedly quite neat – until you move it.

(Image credit: Future)

Once you’ve set up the MY button, pressing it on the speaker auto-plays from a playlist you’ve selected. However you can only use this for audio files on your device, or the Healing Therapy playlist on the app – no Spotify, no Apple Music, no Tidal. In addition, it’s staggeringly hard to browse the Healing Therapy library to find sounds – go to the page in the app and you’ll be shown a single song, with the options to download it, as well as a list of your downloaded songs. The only way I figured out to see all Healing Therapy options is to literally download everything you’re presented with.

There are a few preset Sound Effects you can use to modify your sound: Standard, Bass Boost and Voice Enhance are all pretty obvious and there’s a custom option to bring up a six-band equalizer. The other option is AI Sound which balances audio based on your chosen genre.

I tested the speaker for about 10 hours before going through the set-up process and if I could turn back time, I probably wouldn’t bother with the app. The only thing I ended up needing it for is to turn on Bass Boost mode. I mentioned above that I had trouble connecting to the app; this was never an issue connecting the speaker to my phone via Bluetooth, which was flawless.

Let’s clear our minds with a really positive feature: the battery life. According to LG this can stretch to 30 hours and in my testing I saw no reason to doubt that figure (as long as you’re playing at 50% volume, which is a reasonable figure indoors). That figure trumps lots of the competition with many rivals hovering between the 10-15 hour mark. Charging is done via the USB-C port on the back and takes three hours.

• Features score: 3.5/5

LG xBoom Bounce review: Design

• IP67 and military-grade protection
• Heavy and long body
• Wobbly legs and elastic strap

(Image credit: Future)

The LG xBoom Bounce is a big and heavy speaker – while all Bluetooth speakers are ostensibly portable, the heft of the Bounce means you probably won’t want to bring this to the park for a picnic or barbeque given that you’ll have to jettison half your food to fit it in your bag. At home I left it on the same shelf for the bulk of my testing, right by a wall outlet, completely offsetting any need for it to be wireless in the first place. The issue is, I don't think the audio is good enough for a dedicated indoor 'main' speaker… but again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

To be precise, the xBoom Bounce is 316.5mm long, 142.5mm tall and 136mm wide, taking a rough oval shape. It weighs 1.32kg which is heavy for a Bluetooth speaker like this – some other party speakers are a whole kilo lighter.

On top of the speaker are its two tweeters as well as buttons: power, volume up, volume down, pay/pause, Bluetooth pairing, multipoint and MY (the latter we’ll describe in the Features section). So far, so standard. The back of the speaker has a USB-C port for charging but no 3.5mm jack, so you can’t plug-and-play with your old iPod here.

(Image credit: Future)

A large feature on the back of the xBoom is the stretchy fabric band you can see in pictures. This has a little ‘pull’ to it so you can get your hand behind it to carry it, but its size and positioning means you can’t really use it to attach the Bounce to anything (not least of all because 1.4kg means this thing is prone to pulling over things you attach it to). The elastic also deformed pretty quickly in my testing, having a noticeable upward arc after just a few days of testing, and so I wasn't keen to rely on it as a way to transport the thing in case it snapped.

The front of the speaker has an LED strip which flickers to music, and you can choose the color or pattern through the app. It’s not a huge feature, but if you like having flashing LEDs to accompany your music, it’s a nice touch.

On the bottom of the xBoom are two circular ‘legs’ that it stands on, elevating the main body a touch off the ground. There’s probably a good reason for them but they resulted in the device wobbling an undue amount when on flat surfaces.

You'll probably realise I have mixed feelings on the xBoom Bounce’s design, but one undeniable boon is its protection. Not only does the Bounce have an IP67 rating against dust ingress and limited immersion in water, but also the military-grade MIL-STD-810H certification. This ensures it can withstand vibrations, impacts, spray from salt water, high temperatures and a few other fairly-specific types of assault. This is perhaps the first truly rugged Bluetooth speaker I’ve ever tested, and I’m always a fan of gadgets that are designed for longevity.

• Design score: 3.5/5

LG xBoom Bounce review: Sound quality

• High max volume
• Low-end focus
• Songs often sound 'empty'

(Image credit: Future)

Let’s unpack what you’re getting with the Bounce: there are two tweeters and a woofer for 2.1 stereo audio.

The LG xBoom Bounce doesn’t lack for power, with a high maximum volume; I generally listened at volume 10 at home but it goes all the way up to 30, so this will be suitable for fairly large gatherings. But what LG offers in volume, it lacks in quality.

The focus of the sound is clearly in the low-end, with songs’ bass lines being the first thing you’ll notice when you put on any track. But then, as is the issue with most ‘bass overload’ cases, it means mid- and high-end instruments sound compressed. Here, these frequencies seem almost squeezed into an oddly dull ooze of ‘noise’, stripping counter harmonies and detail from songs in favor of the ever insatiable god: bass.

Even vocals were often muddied and nonspecific in songs I listened to, and there were times when I simply couldn’t make out the lyrics of lead or backing singers due to how low they were in the box.

(Image credit: Future)

Let’s take a listen: Phosphorescent’s New Birth in New England usually offers a rich mix of rhythmic instruments but listening on the Bounce, all I can hear is the bass, vocal and some assorted ‘soup’ of everything else. The next song on my playlist is Letter to Lady J by Dispatch which starts with acoustic guitar and vocals, but the latter sounds muted and the former quickly loses any form of strumming pattern and timbre. Changing playlists for some variety, Morgan Wallen’s Thought You Should Know was listened to – just the intro, three times, to try to list the instruments we’ve got here. Sadly, I simply couldn’t make them out and throughout the song, Wallen sounds like he’s frantically waving his hand to the mixing desk and pointing upwards to indicate ‘turn me up!’.

The effect of all of this is that music seems a lot less complex and nuanced, and therefore lacking a little bit of the ‘soul’ that comes from the interplay and cohesion of different instruments. It made rock and pop less enjoyable and classical almost impossible to appreciate; I most enjoyed using the speaker when it was for dance-focused tracks with instrumental simplicity. Which, of course, is what certain users will be looking for, so don't let me put you off if that's you.

A focus on the low-end and a high max volume make the LG xBoom Bounce suited as a party speaker, but it’s not for audiophiles, who’ll find a few things missing from their music.

• Sound quality: 3/5

LG xBoom Bounce review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

If you’re simply looking at the xBoom Bounce for a personal loudspeaker for your home, you can find other options at a similar (or cheaper) price that offer better sound quality.

For party speakers, the question is a bit different, as the Bounce matches most of its close rivals in terms of price. However you may be swayed by the various protections on offer, which could ensure that it keeps serving you for a lot longer than one of its alternatives.

In the grand scheme of things, you’re pretty much getting what you pay for though.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Should I buy the LG xBoom Bounce?

(Image credit: Future)LG xBoom Bounce speaker score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

A long battery life and equalizer offset an annoying app experience.

3.5/5

Design

It's not quite 'portable' but it's well-protected.

3.5/5

Sound quality

The high max volume and focus on low-end will please some, but it's not for audiophiles.

3/5

Value

You get what you pay for, and it'll last you longer than some rivals.

3.5/5

Buy it if…

You need field-filling sound
Need a speaker to play to your whole back garden or large living room? Shy of a full-stack party speaker this can be your go-to.

You need something well-protected
The IP67 is a nice touch but the military-grade protection is what I'm talking about here: you won't need to worry about a rain storm hitting your party (or an earthquake, flash flood or drought).

You need something that lasts a little longer
With 30 hours of juice in the tank, the LG xBoom Bounce lasts longer than lots of its competitors before needing to be charged.

Don’t buy it if…

You're an audiophile
I wasn't that impressed with the sound of the Bounce, so if you're hoping to truly appreciate the music you're listening to, this party speaker isn't the way to go.

You need something portable
This isn't the gym, you're not expected to carry heavy weights around with you everywhere you go.

LG xBoom Bounce review: Also consider

LG xBoom Bounce

Tribit Stormbox Blast 2

JBL Flip 7

Weight:

1.32kg

8.7g

560g

Dimensions:

26.2 x 9.9 x 9.4 cm

47.6 x 25.9 x 19.3 cm

7 x 18.3 x 7.2 cm

Battery life (quoted):

30 hours

30 hours

16 hours

Connectivity:

Bluetooth 5.3

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.4

Drivers:

2x tweeter, 1x woofer

1x subwoofer, 2x drivers, 2x tweeters

1x driver, 1x tweeter

Aux-in:

No

Yes

No

Charger port:

USB-C

AC 100-240V

USB-C

Microphone:

Yes

No (mic ports)

No

Waterproof rating:

IP67

IP67

IP68

Tribit Stormbox Blast 2
For a small amount more than the LG, you can get the ultimate party speaker of the Tribit Stormbox Blast 2. This beast has a fantastic output, and even though it's a lot heavier than the LG, has a handle to let you deal with it.
Read our full Tribit Stormbox Blast 2 review

JBL Flip 7
A smaller and cheaper option, the Flip 7 extends JBL's lead as monarchs of the portable party speaker realm. It sounds great, offers a range of features and, like the LG, is well-protected.
Read our full JBL Flip 7 review

How I tested the LG XBoom Bounce

I used the LG xBoom Bounce for two weeks in order to write this review, which is the standard testing period.

I used the Bounce alongside two separate Android smartphones, one a Realme and another a Moto, and did most of the testing split between two different rooms in my house. Most of the playback was music from Spotify and the ThinQ app but I watched a few videos, listened to spoken-word content and played a game with the speaker attached.

I've been writing tech reviews for TechRadar for over six years now, including speakers as well as other LG products.

First tested: June 2025

Read more on how we test at TechRadar.

Honor 400: Two-minute review

In the time that I’ve spent with the Honor 400, part of me is stunned to see just how far the mid-range market has come. Usually, when I test phones at this end of the scale, I anticipate there being one area that significantly holds the phone back from true greatness. This is understandable – there needs to be some reason to upgrade to the best phones like the iPhone 16 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – but on the Honor 400, this caveat never really applied.

For starters, with an affordable price tag of £399.99 in the UK, the Honor 400 already undercuts a ton of mid-range contenders like the Pixel 9a, the Samsung Galaxy A56 and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, which will make it a more tempting buy for those who are tied to a strict budget.

Diving into the phone itself, Honor spoils us with a number of features, the highlight being the 6.55-inch AMOLED display, which can reach a peak brightness of 5000 nits. I’ve tested a lot of phones in my time, but Honor just knows how to make a mid-range display that’s instantly eye-catching. It’s colorful, easy to use outdoors, and great for streaming films and TV shows.

The new 200MP main camera captures some great shots, especially when the sun is out, but the setup really comes into its own when paired with the Harcourt-inspired filters in the phone’s portrait mode. If you prefer taking pictures of friends and family rather than what you had for dinner, then you’ll appreciate what’s available here.

This amounts to a solid experience overall, but in some instances, it’s a slight downgrade compared to the phone’s predecessor. For instance, the Honor 200 has a slightly larger 6.7-inch display as well as an additional telephoto lens. The same Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset has been carried over, so you won’t gain much where performance is concerned.

With that in mind, I wouldn’t recommend the Honor 400 to owners of last year’s Honor mid-range. For those with a device that’s been out for four or five years, though, it’s hard to argue with the value proposition Honor has put together.

Honor 400 review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Starts at £399.99 in the UK
• Released in May 2025

Situated as the middle child of the new Honor 400 series, the Honor 400 has a starting price of £399.99 for the 256GB model, but that price leaps up to £449 if you want the larger 512GB storage option.

At the time of writing, only UK pricing and availability have been confirmed, with the phone releasing in May 2025 both as a SIM-free device and from several UK networks.

Even though their naming conventions are easy to understand, the pricing within the Honor 400 range is a little confusing. At present, the Honor 400 Lite costs £249.99, just £150 less than the Honor 400, whereas the Honor 400 Pro asks for an extra £300 with an RRP of £699.99.

I can only hypothesize that the Honor 400’s entry-level price is a strategic move to make it more affordable than some of the established best mid-range phones, which tend to sit around £499.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Honor 400 review: specs

Dimensions:

156.5mm x 74.6mm x 7.3mm

Weight:

184g

Display:

6.55-inch (2736 x 1264) up to 120Hz AMOLED

Chipset:

Snapdragon 7 Gen 3

RAM:

8GB

Storage:

256GB / 512GB

OS:

Android 15

Primary camera:

200MP (f/1.9, 1/1.4'', OIS) sensor

Ultra-wide camera:

12MP (f/2.2, FOV 112°) sensor

Front Camera:

50MP sensor

Battery:

5,330mAh

Charging:

66W wired

Colors:

Midnight Black, Meteor Silver, Desert Gold

Honor 400 review: designImage 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

• Honor is definitely nipping at Apple’s heels
• The design feels more confident than the Honor 200

The overall design of Honor’s mid-range phones has always felt a little off to my eyes. For example, the Honor 90 from a few years back had a wonderful Emerald Green option that made it stand out, but it was hampered by two distinct camera bumps that felt wildly out of place.

Things weren’t much better with last year’s Honor 200, which featured far too much negative space in its camera module, making the design feel like an afterthought compared to the rest of the device. Thankfully, Honor has finally hit a far more premium, if potentially dull, aesthetic.

As mentioned in the Honor 400 Lite review, it isn’t hard to see where Honor is drawing its inspiration from here. The flat edges around the device, alongside the vertically aligned cameras, give off a whiff of the iPhone 16, which is no bad thing when you consider that the Honor 400 is less than half the price of Apple’s £699/$699 handset.

It does feel premium in the hand, and even with a plastic chassis, I think people would be surprised to learn just how cheap the Honor 400 is at the checkout, based solely on its looks.

I do wish, however, that Honor could have kept some of its signature flair where the colors are concerned. The company has instead opted for safe black, silver and gold variations. Thankfully, there is an official IP rating this time around of IP65, so you won’t have to worry about dust particles or jets of water – always helpful over long-term use.

While it certainly won’t wow anyone, I feel that this is the most confident-looking mid-ranger that Honor has ever put out, and I have to admire it for that.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Honor 400 review: display

(Image credit: Future)

• It’s a smaller display at 6.55 inches
• The curves have been swapped out for a flat panel

If there’s one area where this company has easily outpaced the mid-range competition, it’s in the quality of its displays, and the Honor 400 is no exception, although there is one tweak that might put off some folks from upgrading.

Starting with the good, this 6.55-inch AMOLED display is just drop-dead gorgeous to look at. It gets impressively bright at up to 5000 nits, and when using it outdoors against direct sunlight, I haven’t found myself squinting to make out what’s on the screen.

The crisp 2736 x 1264 resolution also makes the phone great for catching up on Netflix or whichever streaming service takes your fancy. Using the Honor 400 at the gym, I was quite immersed in a few episodes of Prime Video's Invincible while on the treadmill, with the phone doing the show’s vivid color palette justice.

If you don’t mind sacrificing a little more battery life, you can toggle Super Dynamic Display alongside Vivid Display, two modes that use AI to analyze what you're watching and respond with improved colors and realism in real time. I can’t say that I saw an immediate difference, but the screen already looked great, so I can’t really complain.

(Image credit: Future)

While the phone’s refresh rate can be set to 120Hz at all times, by default it’s placed in an adaptive mode that allows it to change depending on the task at hand, saving battery life in the process. Even though this has long been a feature among the best Android phones, it blows my mind that it’s now something we get as standard in the mid-range/budget market.

Making a return is all of Honor’s dimming and eye-health features. That sounds impressive on paper, with ‘3840Hz RiskFree Dimming’, but what does it actually mean? In practice, this tech limits the amount of refreshes that take place at a speed imperceptible to the human eye, reducing the risk of eye fatigue over time.

Of course, something like this is difficult to quantify. However, I will say that out of all the phones I’ve used, the Honor 400 is one of the few that doesn’t leave me with noticeable eye-strain if I do a quick bit of scrolling before bed, particularly if the fantastic ‘eBook mode’ is activated.

All of this amounts to a wonderful display, but if you currently own an Honor 90 or an Honor 200, it’s worth bearing in mind that both of those phones have a larger 6.7-inch display, so you are getting a slight downgrade where size is concerned. Personally, I don’t mind, particularly as it makes the Honor 400 easier to use one-handed, but it’s still something to consider.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

Honor 400 review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

• Just like the display, the cameras have also been downgraded/upgraded
• The new 200MP main sensor is the star of the show

There’s a definite pattern of give and take with the Honor 400. I’ve already mentioned the differences in the display tech, and unfortunately, it also extends to the new camera setup.

On paper, you’ve got a 200MP (f/1.9, 1/1.4'', OIS) main sensor, flanked by a 12MP (f/2.2, FOV 112°) ultrawide that also serves as a macro lens. That might sound fairly decent given the £399.99 price tag, but eagle-eyed readers might have already noticed that while the main sensor has had a bump from 50MP to 200MP, the phone is missing the additional 50MP telephoto lens from the Honor 200.

While it’s nice to have a dedicated telephoto lens, having the upgraded megapixel count on the main lens does open up more opportunities for cropping and zooming that don't completely wreck the quality of the photo.

Enjoying the wonderful sights of Surrey’s Box Hill, I was able to snap some fantastic shots that really did the trail justice, helped in large part by the brilliantly sunny weather. When I felt the need to crop in on certain photos for social media after the fact, I didn’t feel hard done by in the final results.

The same can be said for the ultra-wide shots, which, despite that 12MP ceiling, still packed an impressive degree of detail and color. In a pinch, that same ultra-wide lens can be used for macro shots if, like me, you enjoy getting the odd picture of fauna up close (although I can’t imagine using it for much else).

You’ve got 4x digital zoom for picking up subjects in the distance, but for something really far out, you can lean on Honor’s 30x AI Superzoom. Just like it operates on other Honor phones, this feature uses AI to recreate the picture you’ve taken. This means the end result isn’t technically a photo at all, but something AI has constructed from a real photo. As you might imagine, its success rate can be mixed, and there’s a general ‘watercolour’ look that plagues all of these images after the fact.

Speaking of AI, there’s an ‘image to video’ feature that lets you make short AI-driven animations out of shots you’ve taken. I’ll admit, one video it derived from a selfie felt so realistic that I didn’t like the idea of seeing what else it could do. Thankfully, these videos don’t go beyond five seconds, so there isn’t a huge use case for them.

When it comes to more traditional AI features in the phone’s editing suite, like AI cutout or AI outpainting (the latter of which extends the picture with generative AI), it all works rather well.

Last year, Honor made a big splash by partnering with photography studio Harcourt to add more pizazz to the portrait photography of the 200 series; now those signature Harcourt filters are back on the Honor 400, looking better than ever.

If you’re the type of person whose Instagram uploads are filled with model-style shots, you’ll appreciate what’s on offer here. Although there are just three Harcourt filters (Vibrant, Color and Classic), they all look great and pump out truly eye-catching shots.

While the 50MP selfie camera doesn’t utilize Harcourt’s prowess, it still managed to capture self-portraits that I was more than happy to share with the world, which doesn’t often happen. There’s a wonderfully soft bokeh here that pairs well with the camera’s autofocus.

The dedicated night mode also does a respectable job, so you should be in luck with most low-light situations if you do want to take a quick snap.

• Camera score: 4 / 5

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(Image credit: Future)Honor 400 review: performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Same chipset as last year
• Respectable performance in its price range

The best thing I can say about the Honor 400 from a performance perspective is just how little it’s been on my mind over the course of testing the device. Of course, I’m not saying that it exceeds the best iPhones – far from it – but even though it uses the same Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset as last year, it goes to show how far the mid-range market has come, where you can now expect solid day-to-day performance without breaking the bank.

In the time that I spent with the Honor 400, I didn't have an app fail to load or crash mid-use, and I could jump from one app to another without any significant delay. Even when using the phone as a hotspot to watch a video on my iPad, I could still scroll through Google Chrome on the Honor 400 without any noticeable slowdown.

When it came to games, the phone handled booting up a race in Asphalt Legends Unite and the game’s frenetic energy with ease. Graphics look bold and exciting on the display, and any visual stuttering was very brief and infrequent.

I found the performance within Call of Duty Mobile to be even better, so if you like to get in a few rounds of Nuketown on your lunch break, you won’t have any issues doing so here.

I will say that for both games (and at times when I was really pushing the device), I felt some heat radiating off the Honor 400. It was never enough to make holding the device uncomfortable, but it did give me pause to make sure that I didn’t overstretch the phone’s limitations.

I do, however, want to give a brief nod to the speakers, which performed surprisingly well in testing. I almost always anticipate a mono-speaker system at this end of the market, but there's a stereo set-up on the Honor 400, and it can get impressively loud and immersive when you're diving into a spot of gaming.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Honor 400 review: software

(Image credit: Future)

• Honor has gone all in on AI
• MagicOS is better, but there’s still room for improvement

Just like almost every other company on the block right now, Honor has gone all-in on AI.

As with AI implementation on other devices, I found the overall experience to be a mixed bag. I don’t think the situation is quite as dire as what I’ve come across using Apple Intelligence on my iPhone 16 Plus, but there are definitely areas where Honor has plenty of room for improvement.

On the better side of that equation is Honor’s Magic Portal, which operates similarly to Google’s Circle to Search (which already exists on the Honor 400), only this time requiring that you highlight an object using your knuckle. I found the feature to be incredibly responsive, and once you’ve selected your desired image or piece of text, you can quickly share it to a list of apps that appear on the side, as chosen by AI. It’s genuinely a great example of AI being used intelligently, and I did find myself using it a few times to save text quickly.

Features like AI Subtitles and AI Translate have their moments, but there’s still work to be done. For the former, it can generate speech to text with decent speed and accuracy, but when I tried to get it to make subtitles from a YouTube video, the whole experience fell apart with nonsensical text. AI Translate fares a bit better with a quick response time for translations, but it doesn’t boast quite as many available languages as Live Translate on Galaxy AI-toting Samsung phones, so you’ll find a more robust experience elsewhere.

At the lower end of the scale, AI Suggestions pretty much does what it says on the tin by offering up quick access to apps it thinks you need at certain times of day, but this is a feature Apple’s had for years so I don’t understand why Honor has drawn so much attention to it here as if it’s something brand new. There’s also AI Deepfake Detection, although this only works with video calls and doesn’t let you know if you’re seeing a video or image online that’s fake, which is really where it should be targeted.

Magic Capsule on the Honor 400 Pro, which also features on the 400 (Image credit: Future)

All of this sits on top of MagicOS 9.0, Honor’s Android 15 overlay, which in itself is something of a head-scratcher. I will say that compared to when I last used MagicOS on the Honor 90, the operating system has come quite a long way, and it feels less cumbersome to use than I remember.

It’s not quite as slick as stock Android, which can be found on the best Pixel phones, but it does have a nice aesthetic. And as someone who mostly uses an iPhone, I did appreciate the nods to iOS, including Honor’s take on the Dynamic Island, which shows music playback at the top of the display, as well as the need to swipe down from different sections to access the notification tray or the control center (even if I did find myself in the latter a few times when it wasn’t my intention).

What holds MagicOS back is the unfortunate amount of bloatware that comes preinstalled on the Honor 400. When setting the phone up, I needed to get rid of several apps, including TikTok and Temu, not to mention Honor’s own-brand apps, which include the company’s Google Play Store competitor, the Honor App Market. It’s not a deal-breaker, by any means, but it doesn’t help the phone against fierce competition.

On a better note, the Honor 400 now comes with a promised six years of updates, providing official support until at least 2031. Compared to the paltry support that Honor provided for previous devices, this is a huge shift that makes the Honor 400 a better option as a phone to last you well into the future.

• Software score: 3 / 5

Honor 400 review: battery life

• Slightly larger 5,300mAh cell
• Easily gets you through a full day of use comfortably

Despite its smaller stature, the Honor 400 features a slightly increased battery capacity compared to the Honor 200, jumping from 5,200mAh to 5,300mAh. Honor hasn't been too specific where longevity is concerned, other than claiming an “all-day battery life” for the phone, which, thankfully, is an assessment that’s more on the conservative side.

I put the Honor 400 through a heavy day of use, starting at 8:30am, getting just over four hours of screen time, including 40 minutes of Instagram and 25 minutes of Prime Video, alongside 33 minutes of Spotify in the background and 1 hour and 39 minutes of using the phone as a hotspot for my iPad. With all that in mind, the phone still had 30% left in the tank by 10:30pm, 14 hours later.

For my money, that’s more than enough to alleviate any major battery anxiety. You also toggle one of two power-saving modes, which halt a lot of background processing to extend the longevity as much as possible. On most days, however, I didn’t need to charge the Honor 400 until about halfway through the following day.

When you do need to top up, you won’t have to wait long as the Honor 400 boasts 66W fast charging, although there isn’t a compatible fast charger included in the box. When charging at a slightly slower 60W rate on an adapter I had to hand, it took about 30 minutes to get from 20% to 69%, and a total of 54 minutes to get back to a full tank.

Unfortunately, there’s no wireless charging available, which does feel like a sticking point when that feature is creeping into the mid-range conversation.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Honor 400?Honor 400 score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design

It might not turn heads with its colorways but the Honor 400 has a confident look.

4 / 5

Display

The display is the true highlight here, just not for owners of last year’s phone.

4.5 / 5

Performance

Great everyday performance that’s difficult to fault.

4 / 5

Camera

The absent telephoto is missed, but everything else is solid.

4 / 5

Battery

More than enough to get you through an intensive day of use.

4 / 5

Software

MagicOS still has some way to go, as does Honor’s AI suite.

3 / 5

Value

Great cameras, a gorgeous display and tons of storage make this a winner.

5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a vibrant display
The Honor 400’s bright and colorful 6.55-inch AMOLED display has been the highlight of my time using the phone. It’s set a very high bar indeed.

You want more storage for less
The ability to get 256GB as standard (or 512GB for just an extra £50) makes the Honor 400 a bargain for those who store tons of files locally.

You want a great phone for portrait photography
Honor’s 200MP main camera takes some great shots, but it’s the Harcourt-infused filters that make it a winner for those who love to indulge in portrait photography.

Don't buy it if...

You have last year’s Honor 200
With the Honor 400 carrying the same chipset, a smaller screen and one less camera, it isn’t exactly a must-buy for last year’s adopters.

You want the best Android experience
Honor’s MagicOS still has a way to go before it can compete with slicker operating system overlays found on Samsung and OnePlus phones.

You value wireless charging
Even though you get fast wired charging here, the lack of wireless charging is noticeable given that it’s slowly becoming a feature at this end of the market.

Honor 400 review: also consider

If you're not completely sold on the Honor 400's set of features, then these alternatives might be a better fit.

Google Pixel 9a
Even though it costs a little more, Google’s latest mid-ranger offers up a far better software experience that’s as close to iOS as you’ll find among the Android crowd.

Read our full Google Pixel 9a review

Samsung Galaxy A56
For a more premium-feeling build, not to mention a much longer lifespan of software and security updates, the Galaxy A56 is arguably a better buy for those who don’t want to upgrade again for quite a while.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy A56 review

How I tested the Honor 400

• Tested over a single week
• Used as the reviewer's main handset
• Battery tested against intensive and typical days of use

For the purposes of this review, I used the Honor 400 as my main handset for a total of seven days as it carried my SIM card. Due to this being a pre-release model, certain features like Google Wallet wouldn't work with the device, so I relied on a paired TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro smartwatch for payments.

While the phone does feature 66W fast charging, I used a 65W adapter during the charging test, which automatically downgrades to 60W in the process. The phone I used prior to the Honor 400 was the iPhone 16 Plus, which served as a mental reference over the testing period.

First reviewed: May 2025

Whether it’s a shopping list, a work activity, school schedules, or other crucial information, we frequently need to be reminded about things. Reminder apps make this simple for everyone.

Apple, the company behind the iPhone, iPad, and Mac PC lineups, offers an intuitive reminder app for device owners. You can use this app for free instead of paying for an alternative.

I tested the Apple Reminders app to help you decide if it’s the right companion to avoid forgetting crucial information. Read on to learn its core features, pros & cons, and how it fares against competitors.

Apple Reminders: Plans and pricing

The Reminders app is free for Apple device owners, which is a main benefit. You don’t have to pay extra to use it on your iPhone or iPad; it’s pre-installed, and you can use it immediately.

Compare this to paying $5 to $15 monthly for reminder apps. Apple Reminders saves you considerable money if you’re looking for a simple to-do list system.

Apple Reminders: Features

Apple Reminders is a versatile tool you can access from a web browser or mobile app. I enjoyed its simple flow and intuitiveness during my test. Creating a reminder is as simple as clicking the “+” button. Then, you can fill in the details of the reminder and choose the specific date and time.

Every reminder you create is added to a reminder list, enabling you to organize them into different categories. For instance, you can have separate reminder lists for work and personal activities.

Seamless syncing is a major benefit of using Apple Reminders. With your iCloud enabled, any reminder you create can automatically sync across all your devices. For example, you can create a reminder on your desktop and receive the alarm on your smartphone. This flexibility enables your reminders to follow you wherever you go, whether at home with your smartphone or at work with your PC.

(Image credit: Apple)

You can easily delete or change the details of a previously created reminder. For example, you can change the date and time of your reminder or change the title altogether. Any change immediately syncs across all your iCloud-connected devices, so you shouldn’t worry about that.

A creative feature I like is the ability to set reminders for specific locations. For example, you can choose to be notified about something when you arrive at a particular location, such as a meeting reminder when you arrive at your workplace. Note that this feature requires location services to be enabled on your iPhone or iPad.

Another innovative feature is the ability to share your reminder lists with others. You can share reminder lists with other iCloud users, such as colleagues at your office or family members. Every user can create a new reminder or modify existing ones. Everyone will receive notifications about any updates to the reminder list. This feature fosters personal and work-related collaboration and keeps everyone on the same page.

(Image credit: Apple)

We’re talking about an Apple product, so Siri integration is expected. You can set reminders by giving voice commands to Siri, e.g., “Hey Siri, remind me about [task] at [time] on [date].” Siri will immediately confirm your reminder, and you can view it in the Reminders app. This feature differentiates Apple Reminders from many competitors.

Apple Reminders also differentiates itself by enabling users to create ‘smart’ lists. You can receive suggestions when creating reminders, often based on previous reminders you’ve created. For instance, if you’ve previously created reminders for “weekly office stand-ups,” you’ll receive similar suggestions when adding new reminders.

You can filter your reminders by tags, time, date, location, and other factors. Reminders can be recurring, e.g., monthly at a specific date and time. Apple Reminders lets you effectively create to-do lists and keep track of crucial tasks.

Apple Reminders: Interface and in-use

Apple Reminders’ seamless interface stood out during my test. It’s one of the best-designed to-do list apps I’ve tested, and I don’t say that lightly. It has the typical modern, responsive interface you’ll find on Apple apps.

All elements are arranged neatly on one page. You can quickly add a reminder by clicking on the “+ New Reminder” button and filling in the details, including the title, notes, date, time, location, priority, and list under which you want the reminder to fall.

(Image credit: Apple)

Likewise, you can easily add and differentiate a new list from other lists using a unique color. Then, you can share the list with other iCloud users by sending an invitation to their email addresses.

Apple Reminders is accessible from a web browser or mobile app. Both platforms have similar interfaces; the web interface is exactly like the mobile interface transposed onto a web browser. Thanks to the intuitive interface, I experienced no issues navigating Apple Reminders. An average user can easily understand it at first glance.

Apple Reminders: Customer Support

Apple provides detailed user guides about its Reminders app. You can also ask questions on the thriving Apple Community Support forum and get answers from other users or Apple staff. I didn’t experience issues in this criterion.

Apple Reminders: The Competition

I’d like to highlight Google Tasks as the main competitor. It’s a free to-do app with similar features to Apple Reminders and a user-friendly interface.

Although I preferred Apple Reminders’ seamless interface and collaborative features, Google Tasks offers an advantage. It’s compatible with iOS and Android, unlike Apple Reminders, which is compatible only with iOS. Hence, if you use an Android smartphone, Google Tasks is the preferred option.

Apple Reminders: Final Verdict

Apple Reminders is a simple, intuitive to-do list app I highly recommend. It lets you keep track of essential activities and plan your schedules effectively. The main drawback is the lack of an Android app, but it fulfills its purpose well.

We've compiled a list of the best todo list apps.