SPECIAL AWARDS ISSUE

50
GIFT
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TOP
SPINNERS
STUNNING
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TESTED

PS
VR
REVIEWED

Just
add a
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& MA

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www.stuff.tv December 2016 4.99

CONS
ON THE
COVER

P84

GADGET
AWARDS
2016
p18

HOT STUFF
10 The Hot Four
O Google Pixel, Pixel XL
OGoogle Daydream View
O GoPro Karma
OB&W P9 Signature
16 Gigapixel Renault Trezor
The Paris Motor Shows sexiest e-car
20 Apps
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
22 Vital stats Panasonic Lumix DMC-G80
Never take a blurry photograph again
24 Icon Roland Aerophone AE-10
A digital instrument for blowhards
28 Choice Android earphones
Apple may hate sockets, but we dont
31 Best of Extravagant estates
Three fastbacks for practical thrills
32 Start menu
Answer the door when youre not in
34 Games
Our Christmas wishlist and new Pok
36 Your month
Long-lost Daleks return to our screens

p47
The pick
of, well,
everything

TESTS
41 First test special PlayStation VR
We get lost in Sonys long-awaited headset
74 First test Panasonic TX-58DX802
A 58in telly that comes with an easel?
79 Group test Turntables
We take five top record players for a spin
84 Tested Dyson Pure Hot + Cool Link
A fan to heat/cool your smart home
85 Tested Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Mark IV better than Mark III shocker!
88 Long-term test Amazon Echo
Living with a new housemate named Alexa
99 Versus Fitness watches
TomTom (watch)faces off with Garmin
110 Tested Games
FIFA 17 vs PES 2017, plus Forza Horizon 3

WIN!
p38

12.16

NEW
P101

TOP
TEN
OF EVERYTHING

P117

FEATURES
47 The Stuff Gadget Awards 2016
The very best tech of 2016, from fancy
phones and desirable drones to cool cams
and a handsome headset
76 Instant upgrades Apple Watch
Tricks and tips for your strappy companion
91 Stuff picks Sub-50 gifts
The best tech-packing Christmas presents
for the fragile of wallet
101 Smart home essentials
Turn your dumb abode into a palace of
guest-impressing automation
106 Beta yourself MacOS Sierra
Get friendly with the new Apple interface
114 Media hoard
Thoughtful sci-fi Arrival , er, arrives plus
alien-themed streaming and lots of music

TOP TENS
117 The Stuff Top Ten of everything
Your essential gadget-buying guide:
Smartphones, tablets, headphones, TVs,
smartwatches, fitness trackers, laptops,
games consoles, hi-fi, cameras, budget buys
119 Playlist Audiobooks
Listen to a comedian digging up his mum
123 Streaming essentials
Top treats on Netflix, Amazon and Now TV
124 Should I upgrade?
An original Apple Watch: stick or twist?
127 The big question
Whats the best password app?
128 Competition Win a PS4 Pro gamers bundle
Console yourself with this prize package
131 How to buy a compact system camera
What to look for in a medium-sized snapper

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Volume 20 issue 12
ISSN: 1364-963
On sale 3 November 2016
Audit Bureau of
Circulations: 62,624
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3()&&HUWLILHG

Welcome
Wanna know how Team Stuff usually picks its annual
awards-winners? We go down the pub and argue about
gadgets for five hours. This nearly always ends in acrimony,
especially when it comes to electing our Gadget of the
Year. Here even the most mild-mannered of my colleagues will
embark on a foul-mouthed tirade about how were not showing
an OLED TV the respect it deserves or something.
This year was different, though. When the time arrived to hoist one
gadget above the rest, up stepped Deputy Editor Tom Wiggins to
argue for the HTC Vive. What followed, to my memory at least, was
a bit like the O Captain! My Captain! bit of Dead Poets Society. Only
everyone was of legal drinking age and three sheets to the wind.
Even in the cold light of the morning after, everyone stood by that
unanimous decision. Why? Simply because HTCs Vive is the most
awe-inspiring bit of tech weve tried for yonks. The rest of the winners,
from p47, arent half bad either.
And, at the risk of tooting our own horn, neither is this months
redesigned Top Tens section. From p117 onwards youll find a raft
of new lists, features and even a competition to win this months
cover star: the PlayStation 4 Pro.
When were not all holed up in a boozer, we do work quite
hard. Honest.
Rob Leedham, Editor / @robleedham

7KLVSURGXFWLV
IURPVXVWDLQDEO\
PDQDJHGIRUHVWVDQG
FRQWUROOHGVRXUFHV
3()&

ZZZSHIFRUJ




 

2016, Haymarket Media Group Ltd.

Printed by William Gibbons, Wolverhampton.
Distributed by Frontline Ltd, Midgate House,
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Stuff, ISSN 1364-963, is published monthly
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7

Making Stuff up
Editor
Rob Leedham
Deputy Editor
Tom Wiggins
Production Editor
Richard Purvis
Consulting Editor
Fraser Macdonald
Reviews Editor
Tom Morgan
Features Editor
Mark Wilson
Deputy
Features Editor
Esat Dedezade
Editor, Stuff.tv
Marc McLaren
Deputy Editor, Stuff.tv
Tom Parsons

I BOUGHT MY
WIFE SOME
MAMMOTH MEAT
After completing her
degree in archaeology
and anthropology, my wife had to accept
that she wasnt going to be a real-life Lara
Croft and would have to get a job (sigh).
But thanks to the Kickstarter-funded
Mini Museum: Second Edition (US$99 /
minimuseum.com), she can still have the
pleasure of owning a collection of Tomb
Raider-worthy rare artefacts, ranging
from 15th-century chainmail to a fragment
of stegosaurus plate.
Will Clarke, Senior Designer

I PRETENDED TO
BE A KID TO GIVE
RAZORS CRAZY
CART A SPIN
Sure, it says ages 8+ on
the box but that technically means 28+
is good too, right? So I squeezed myself
behind the wheel of Razors Crazy Cart Shift
the minute it turned up at the Stuff office.
Its an electric go-kart designed to be driven
in anything but a straight line, so I was able
to live out my Tokyo Drift fantasies without
actually hitting the open road. Now if I go
missing at lunch, its because Im running
sideways laps of the office car park.
Tom Morgan, Reviews Editor

Colouring Stuff in
Brand Art Editor
Chee-Chiu Lee
Deputy Art Editor
Ross Presly
Senior Designer
Will Clarke
Senior Video Editor
Peter Brown
Keeping Stuff in order
Global Editor-In-Chief
Guy Cocker
International Director
Alastair Lewis
Syndication Enquiries
Isla Friend
020 8267 5058
Brand Manager
Claire Griffiths
Brand Executive
Kadie Chanter
Office Manager
Sarah Weetch
Contributors

Andrew Williams, Sam

Kieldsen, Pete Gardner, Craig
Grannell, Andrew Hayward,
Matt Beedle, RGB Digital,
Amy Davies, Chris Kerr,
Jayne Nelson, Martin Boon,
Danny Wadeson, Mitch
Payne, Alex Fanning,
Paul Allen
Cover photography
Matt Beedle

Email us
stuff@haymarket.com
Call us 020 8267 5036
Haymarket
Media Group,
Bridge House,
69 London Road,
Twickenham
TW1 3SP

OUR MONTH
In which some of us were more dignified than others
I CHANGED
TEAMS
After six years of
dominance in the Stuff
lunchtime digi-football
tournament, FIFA has been toppled. No,
its not perfect, but PES 2017s interpretation
of the beautiful game is the closest its
ever come to recapturing its last-gen glory
days (especially if you edit the wonky team
names). Some people still prefer FIFA see
our showdown on p110 but Im running a
league here. Sepp Blatter didnt get where
he is today by worrying about what other
people thought, did he? Ah, hang on
Tom Wiggins, Deputy Editor

I SAW AN
OLD FRIEND
OVERSEAS
Id like to think that being
a Stuff cover star is a big
deal. We are the worlds biggest-selling
gadget mag and all that. Still, I didnt expect
to see last years Star Wars Battlefront
edition staring at me on a trip to Swedish
developers Dice in Stockholm last month.
There was the French incarnation of that
mag, proudly framed next to some other,
less reputable publications. Next time
we take a trip to Sony HQ, Im anticipating
nothing less than the red carpet treatment.
Rob Leedham, Editor

Stuff is a member of the

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Organisation. We abide by the
Editors Code of Practice and are
committed to upholding the highest
standards of journalism. If you think
we havent met those standards and
want to make a complaint, contact
stuff@haymarket.com. For more
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123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk

Haymarket is certified by BSI to environmental

standard ISO14001 and energy management
standard ISO50001.

O
HOT
FOUR
#1

LOOK, YOU CAN

SEE THE PIXELS
GOOGLE PIXEL, PIXEL XL
If youre screaming: Google?! Whats next,
an AltaVista phone? then its 1998 and
this magazine has dropped through a
wormhole. Hello! And guess what: in 2016
Google makes hardware. Up until now, its
Nexus phones were a bit left-field and
affordable. But with Pixel, its trying to
establish itself as a premium mobile maker.
Its competing with Apple, which now
makes phones as well as computers, and
Samsung, a Korean company. Nokias out
of the game, sadly. But Pixels might do well:
super-powerful 5in or 5.5in phones with
ace camera specs and a voice-recognising
Assistant. Yes, AI is sort of happening
in 2016. Hoverboards, not so much.
As hot as OK, Google being
the new Ask Jeeves
599, 719 / stuff.tv/GooglePixel

Dont be blue
In 2016, the US still gets
cool stuff before us. This
Really Blue colour is, for
some reason probably to do
with a future network tie-in,
not available here. We
get Very Silver and
Quite Black.

10

20 PAGES
OF THE BIGGEST
STORIES FROM
PLANET TECH

On the case
We might not be able
to get the blue version on
these islands, but we can
still purty up our Pixels
with customisable
live cases from the
Google Store.

11

H O

HOT
FOUR
#2
WEVE GONE ALL
GOOGLY-EYED
GOOGLE
DAYDREAM VIEW
Googles Daydream View VR headset, with
its wireless controller, could be the future.
It looks comfy, not geeky, and it selfcalibrates slam the phone in the right way
round and itll work. Yes, its 69 price is
overshadowed somewhat by the price of
the Pixel phone it requires. But Daydream
is a platform more compatible phones
and headsets are being made as we write.
Will VR headsets, in five years time, live
behind the TV with the dusty 3D glasses?
Only if the content providers and games
devs dont realise the awesome potential.
As hot as a snuggly face hugger
69 / stuff.tv/GoogleDaydream

Control freak
The pointing, waving,
swinging, drawing
Daydream controller is
your key to interacting with
Googles virtual world. And
when youre not using it,
it slides away into
the headset.

WHAT, MORE GOOGLE STUFF? WELL, THEY ARE KIND OF A BIG DEAL
Google Home
Theres still no UK
release date, but early
reports about the
US version are that
Home is smarter than
Amazons Echo and
slightly cheaper too,
at US$129.

12

Google Wifi
Mesh networks are
hot. Googles new
system has several
affordable-ish
mini-routers around
your home, smartly
assigning bandwidth.
Its US-only for now.

Chromecast Ultra
Heres one that we
do get here in Blighty.
69 gets you the
kind of Chromecast
content-streaming
you (might) know and
(possibly) love but
now in 4K and HDR!

H O

Clouds
on the horizon
Hero5 cams can Wi-Fi
images and videos to the
new GoPro Plus cloud
service but only if youre in
America, and have paid the
$5/month subs. We
await news of a
UK service.

HOT
FOUR
#3
NO LONGER UP IN THE AIR
GOPRO KARMA
We know you knew GoPro was launching
a drone, so were going to flip-reverse the
announcement and go straight to the And
one more thing bit. Which is that the Karma
is useful even when its not flying. How so?
Because with the drone comes the Karma
Grip, a DJI Osmo-style stick to which you
can attach the Karmas stabilising gimbal
and a GoPro camera.
Your very own steady cam for outdoor
larks, nice. Better still, that GoPro camera
is either the new Hero5 Black or the new
14

Hero5 Session, or the old Hero4 Silver or

Black all of which shoot 4K to some frame
rate or other.
Reverse up the announcement a bit further
and you can control the camera separately
while flying, using the GoPro app. Meanwhile,
the touchscreen-equipped Karma Controller
controls the actual flying part. And now were
back to the rucksack Karma Case, in which
surprise! fits GoPros folding Karma drone.
As hot as flying backwards through a keynote
from 719 / stuff.tv/KarmaDrone

H O

HOT
FOUR
#4
CLASSIC CABLE
SHOWCASE
B&W P9 SIGNATURE
Aww, do you remember when phones had
3.5mm headphone sockets? Back in 2016?
B&W does. And in an emotionally raw
homage to that time, its given its new P9
Signature headphones one of those legacy
connectors. Two, in fact: one with a mic/
remote, and a plain one for signal purists.
But if you insist on plugging these lovely
retro cans into something modern like an
iPhone 7, then B&W will be supplying a
Lightning cable early next year. Itll be
worth it any which way, as these P9s are
bigger, both in stature and in engineering,
than either the P5s and P7s, both of which
are already bloomin excellent.
As hot as 2016-era brown leather
699 / stuff.tv/P9Signature

GoPro news!
Item! The Hero5
(349) no longer needs
a waterproof case down
to 10m. Item! The new
Session (249) shoots
4K. Item! Both of them
have voice
control.

DJI Mavic Pro

Whats this coming over the hill, is it a oh,
its another foldable drone. Not just any
other, though, as its from DJI, who are the
big name in drones. Theirs is lighter and
longer-flightier than the Karma but,
with its fixed camera and fully
featured app, perhaps less
friendly for beginners.
999 / dji.com

15

The bigger picture in tech

16

H O

NEWS FEED
HIT THE ELEC-CELERATOR!
This years Paris Motor Show was
a-dazzle with electric cars, three
of them particularly significant.
Volkswagen finally introduced
its emissionless future, the ID;
continuing the acronym game,
Mercedes called its electric
platform EQ, and launched it with
a huge glowing SUV; and Renault
melted designers hearts with the
Formula E-engined autonomous
Trezor (main pic). But better and
sooner than these sci-fi shinies
is the Renault Zoe Q90 above
a new version with fancy LG
batteries. A real-world range of
about 200 miles is Tesla-rivalling
stamina, and itll be here this winter.

ALEXA SINGS
Amazon has launched
its Spotify-rivalling Music
Unlimited service in the
US, with tens of millions
of tracks available. Prime
subscribers pay US$7.99
a month, but if you just use
it through your Echo its
only $3.99. Which is pretty
decent. Fingers crossed for
a swift UK translation.

SUPER STEREO
Impressed with your
three-speaker Sonos
system? Pffffsh! The
UE Boom app has a new
PartyUp feature that lets
you sync more than 50
speakers over Bluetooth.
Quite how to get 50 Boom,
Boom 2 or MegaBoom
speakers into one room
is your own business.

VR IS THE NEW
LASER TAG
Not that it involves lasers;
more that it could be a thing
you and your tribe go and do
at weekends. Imax, Odeon,
Acer and StarBreeze (who
make the StarVR headset)
are teaming up to make a
pod-based VR centre in
Manchester; it should be
open by Christmas.
17

H O

Looks one lifestyle, lives the other

HTC DESIRE 10 LIFESTYLE

This phone flaunts its silky colours and gold
edging like it buys Lambos with a black Amex.
Yet the price tag tells a different tale, one of
acquisitions at TK Maxx before a dash to the
Prancing Bull. The truth is the latter, as revealed
by its humble Snapdragon 400 processor, 720p
5.5in screen and 13MP camera. Well, wed happily
spend the evening juggling gins with a phone
were not scared of spilling in the sawdust.
249 / htc.com

Put them down, Dad

OAKLEY RADAR PACE

Its not impossible that in 2004 you bought a pair
of Oakley Thump hybrid sunglasses/MP3 player.
Its not inconceivable that you looked so kick-ass
in those Thumps that a partner was attracted,
and a hybrid of your own eventually created. It
is, however, unlikely that the now 12-year-old
Thumper wants these new Oakleys, even with
their fitness app, Intel voice tech for real-time
coaching and touch panel. Every 12-year-old
knows that talking to your sunglasses is not cool.
400 / uk.oakley.com

DROP EVERYTHING
AND DOWNLOAD...
Sky VR free / iOS, Android
Are you an Xboxer feeling left out by the arrival of PS VR? Or a PC user
without the spondoolies to get a Vive or Oculus setup? Break out the dusty
cardboard VR viewer you have in a drawer and load up Skys new VRapp.
Its a picky-bits buffet of trailers and promotional experiences rather than
full-length programmes, but some of it is exclusive, VR-specific content
from Skys roster of sports, arts and factual notables. Its free too, which
makes it a 360 bargain compared to Oculus and the like.
18

A P P S
This months mobile must-downloads
1

3 OF
THE BEST
MESSAGES
STICKERS

In iOS 10s
Messages,
Apple ditched
minimalism and
let you cover it in
stickers. Here are
the best ones:

CLASSIC
MAC
free
Apple celebrates
Susan Kares
perfect icon
work for the
original Mac with
old-school art.

ASSEMBLY
7

free
Hate all existing
Messages
stickers? Make
your own with
this digital take
on felt shapes.

CARROT
STICKER
PACK

1 Text-TV

2 Google Trips

3 Tiny Cards

79p / tvOS
Teletext lives! Sort of. And mostly
in Europe, truth be told. But Marcus
Olovssons Text-TV now supports
throwback geek project Teefax,
full of British weirdness, including
Digitisers Mr Biffo and Bamboozle.

free / iOS, Android

In its quest to take over the world,
Google now at least wants to help
you explore it more easily. Theres
armchair tourism for planning a
visit, and day plans for when you
actually arrive somewhere.

free / iOS
If you can never remember which
dinosaur is the one with the long
neck or what country is above
Peru, Tiny Cards (lovingly) beats
your brain into submission with
beautifully illustrated flashcard drills.

4 Bohemian
Rhapsody Experience

5 FaceRig

6 Really Bad Chess

free / iOS, Android

Another app that dares to ask:
what if you were a hamburger?
Yes, its more live CGI, where an
on-screen avatar gurns in response
to your facial tics. And if you were
a hamburger? Terrifying.

free / iOS
Not so much really bad as really
weird chess. This games AI never
gets smarter; it just changes the
pieces as you improve. Think youre
hot with six queens? How about
with none and loads of pawns?

8 60 Seconds!
Atomic Adventure

9 Vulture Island

free / iOS, Android

Think Bohemian Rhapsodys video
is weird? Well, here you fly through
a Freddie Mercury fever dream in VR.
It works with Cardboard, or you could
just wave a tablet in front of you.

7 Maximum Car
free / iOS, Android
From the company that made
a game mostly about punching
bears, a racer about blowing other
cars out of your way with missiles,
while the commentary growls
ridiculous slogans. Beats the M25.
20

2.99 / iOS
A mad dash, grabbing family,
food and supplies, is followed by
bunker-based gloom and inevitable
starvation. And you thought The
Walking Dead was bleak.

3.99 / iOS, Android

Grab some much-loved retro
platformers, put them in a blender
and, well, youd get broken
cartridges. But in a better world,
youd get this old-school adventure
with brain-smashing puzzles.

1.49
Unleash the evil
inner you by
channelling the
human-hating
Carrot AI by
way of snarky
stickers.
More iMessaging
tips: see p133.

V I

T A L S T A T S

FEELING MIDDLEWEIGHTY,
LIKE A G80
Panasonic Lumix
DMC-G80
from 699 / panasonic.com

Whomp! Panasonics
walked right up to the midmass-market and slugged
it in the belly with this
ORocknroll snapper
The G80s more evolution than
revolution, but dont let that sway
you. Oops. Too late. There you go,
all swaying. Well, that makes this
the perfect time to bring up the
5-axis stabilisation system, which
counters the effects of your shaky
hands better than the one on other
Panasonic CSCs.
The new system, dubbed
5-axis Dual IS Mk II, uses a new
gyro-sensor to allow optical and

22

in-body stabilisation to work in

tandem to reduce blur and shake,
whether youre shooting longer
exposures handheld or capturing
video while walking. Panasonic
says it adds the equivalent of
five stops of shutter speed.
OImages are from Venus
Theres also a new Venus image
processing engine, married to a
16MP MOS sensor. This setup
allows you to shoot at up to ISO
25,600 sensitivity as well as record
4K video at 25/30fps. Theres a
lovely 4K photo system, which
means you can extract stills at
8MP from 4K videos, or shoot
8MP still bursts at high speed.

OStamina by me
Theres a tough magnesium front
frame for a splash-proof build,
and images can be framed through
the 3in variable-angle screen of
a 2.36million-dot OLED electronic
viewfinder. Panasonic has also
given a helpful nod to all-day
shooters with the batterylengthening Power Save Mode,
which boosts battery life from
around 320 shots to 800.
OReady to run
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G80
should be in shops by the time
you read this, priced at 699
for body only, or 799 with a
12-60mm zoom lens.

YOU CAN
SHOOT AT UP
TO ISO 25,600
SENSITIVITY

H O

WTF? Wireless, wily-eyed high-end hi-fi

Hungry eyes

AERIX DUET

OR, IF YOU
CAN PLAY THE
LONG GAME

Looked at from the front, the Duet looks a little cross. But its not. Its
giving you a sultry take-me-home look because it knows that the
wireless speaker market is a desperate old scuffle. Even more so at this
high-price extreme. But the Duet has its unique two-cube design
going for it subwoofer in one, electronics in the other, upwards-firing
speakers in both. And, in addition to Bluetooth, CDs and FM radio, the
Aerix uses DTS s Play-Fi module and app to draw in Spotify, Tidal and
Deezer. Just dont talk about how many Naim Qb or Sonos speakers
you can get for 1499, though, or you really will make it angry.
1499 / www.aerix.co

OBRING THE NOISE

Panasonic has also taken the
wraps off a prototype camera,
the Lumix GH5, which will
be the companys next CSC
flagship. Due to arrive in the
first half of 2017, this will be the
first CSC able to shoot 4K video
at 50/60fps (most are limited
to 30fps).
Itll also support 6K Photo,
a higher-resolution version
of the 4K Photo feature on
existing Panasonic cameras.
This will allow you to extract
individual frames from any
4K videos youve shot and
use them as 18MP stills.

Vivofit for (business) life

GARMIN VIVOFIT JR
You bought your four-to-nine-year-old this child-orientated fitness
tracker. You watched as she ran into the garden to measure the activity
score against her movement. Then you set up the corresponding
Vivofit Jr app on both your phones. She negotiated 30 minutes of
computer time in return for the coins earned by brushing her teeth
and walking the dog. You smiled and congratulated yourself on some
new-school parenting. You couldnt have known she was spending that
online time building her billionaire Bitcoin business, nor foreseen her
hostile takeover of your affairs at age 11. Such a sweet, modern child.
80 / garmin.com

23

I C O N
THIS WILL
CHANGE THE
LIVES OF MOS
EISLEY CANTINA
COSPLAYERS
WORLDWIDE

ROLAND AEROPHONE AE-10

725 / roland.co.uk

24

A digital woodwind instrument,

you say?! Cue 10 hours of Epic
Sax Guy!
Yes, this is the new Aerophone
AE-10 from digital instrument
veterans Roland and its going
to change the lives of Mos Eisley
Cantina cosplayers worldwide.

sleek and dotted with confusing

buttons. Yet this is a proper bit of
gear that can emulate all sorts of
real instruments, as well as having
a bunch of non-real synth sounds
on board. And the USB output lets
you hook it up to a PC to mess with
external modules and soft synths.

How so?
Well, breath controllers are nothing
new, but just look at it its like
a big old spaceship, all white and

Which instruments can it do?

Clarinet, flute, oboe, saxophone
and the distinctly non-windy violin,
to name a few. There are 40 built-in

sounds in all. Those buttons,

incidentally, are inspired by a
saxs layout; octave is controlled
by the left-hand set, while notes
are controlled by the right.
And I can take this out to, say,
the park with me?
We dont advise it, unless you
want to get beaten up for mangling
Baker Street in public. But you
could, because theres a built-in
speaker and the option to add

a 7hr rechargeable battery pack.

But we submit that the AE-10
might be at its best in your home
studio, where it can draw power
from the mains and be hooked up
to a more powerful speaker via its
stereo mini-jack.
This is available now?
You can pre-order it at Gear4Music
for 659 (a lot less than Rolands
725 RRP), with deliveries due in
early November.

H O

Full-frame, 4K, fast-focusing fun

SONY ALPHA A99 II

The A99 was a sick bit of kit, but this second version has a
full-frame sensor with a resolution of 42.4MP as opposed
to 24.3MP. It also has in-body 5-axis image stabilisation,
whichll work with any lens. Perhaps the highlight is a new
79-point autofocus system which, with the cameras
un-DSLR-like static mirror, should mean laser-guided
focusing even when shooting 4K video. Speaking of which:
custom video frame rates, from 1fps to 120fps, should get
pseudo-Spielbergs sweating under their red caps.
2999 / sony.co.uk

There are three

music players in
the Uniti range;
this is the littlest
one, the Atom.

Youre already hooked

NAIM UNITI
A couple of years back, Naim dressed its hook with glittery bait
(the affordable, awesome Mu-so wireless speakers) then sat
back and attracted new, mainstream customers. Now its
closing the trap with a new Uniti audio streaming range, styled
with Mu-so accents and rotary volume dials. Why is it a trap?
Because Uniti costs cash that mainstream music-eaters
wouldnt havent dreamt of spending in the past. Yet now, with
their eyes bedazzled by Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify and Google
streaming skills but in a grown-up hi-fi separates format, theyre
opening wide and taking the hook. What a lovely way to go.
from 1600 / naimaudio.com

WTF IS THIM?
Looks unsettingly clinical.
Its for external application only,
we promise. Thim is a fingermounted sleep trainer that
helps to improve your snoozing
by the most obvious method:
it wakes you up just as youre
nodding off.

Nope, its going straight in

the blender.
Wait, come back! The theory is
that it conditions you to the act
of falling asleep, thus making
it easier to nod off in the future.
In training mode Thim will detect
when youve fallen asleep, which
it determines by your lack of
motion, and do a little vibrate
to wake you up. You crook your

finger a little to respond, and the

process starts again. Eventually
youll properly fall asleep, and not
respond, and itll stop vibrating.
A few nights of this practice and
youll start to get better sleeping
rhythms, apparently.

monitor your power nap and

wake you up before you leave
the recommended Stage 1.
Ten minutes, they say, is about
the optimum.

But, assuming this re-training

works, doesnt that make the
gadget a bit redundant after
a few weeks?

On the crowdfund-hopeful line.

Thim isnt coming out until the
middle of 2017, but you can
reserve an early production
model by backing it through
Kickstarter. Assuming the
campaign hits its funding goal
of AU$120,000, a pledge of
$129 (which converts to about
80) will be sufficient to get
you your very own electronic
waker-upper.

Sleep re-training is only half of

the Thims skill set. It has day
skills too. Ever woken up from
an afternoon snooze feeling
groggy and anxious? Thats
because you went too deep,
for too long, and mucked up
your internal clock. Thim can

OK, that sounds more useful.

Where do I sign?

27

C H O I C E

ANDROID EARPHONES
These jack-wired in-ears
are a socket punch
to iPhone 7 users

1 Jays a-Jays Four

Flat ribbon cables, Androidspecific three-button remote

and trs en vogue matt gold
edging give the Jays all the yays.
And the 300 dual-armature
q-Jays are mini marvels if you
have that kind of money.
50 / jaysheadphones.com

2 MEE Audio M6 Pro

We mostly chose these because

their name chimes with our
favourite motorway. But also
because they have a mechanical
slider volume control that will
work with any phone. And, lastly,
because theyre see-through.
45 / meeaudio.com

3 Sennheiser
Momentum 2.0g

Rumour has it that a bunch

of left-wing politicos were
so moved by Sennheisers
headphones that they set up
Momentum. Whatever, we do
know that these look great.
89 / sennheiser.com

4 SoundMagic E50C

The E10C earphones are largely

regarded as the best budget
canal-bargers on the market.
But why not go one better? The
sound should be more refined, but
the fit and finish is classier too.
59 / soundmagic
headphones.com

[ Picture RGB Digital ]

5 Degauss Labs Noir

28

Effortlessly hip, the Noirs come

all the way from Sweden with
dual drivers in each ear and a
Volvo 240GLT Estate*. And what
looks like the candy-iMac-era
Apple font on the packaging.
(*Volvo not included.)
99 / degausslabs.com

H O

DECIPHER
ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN

Smart (looking) watch

FARER AUTOMATIC
Its hard to find the middle ground between acceptability and
individuality. We will offer this advice: when all the media twits
on TV are wearing smartwatches, its time to ditch that look and
get a proper watch. Farer has managed to combine classy British
design with a Swiss movement for its new 875 Automatic. It
comes in a 39.5mm size, to suit every wrist, and three colours,
to suit every palette. Unless youve swung too far towards
individuality youre not going out like that, are you?
875 / farer.com

#16 APPLES
UPGRADE
PROGRAMME
Rob Leedham, Editor
Phone contracts
are expensive and
convoluted, everyone
knows that. But if youre
anything like me, youll
still sign up to a new one every two years.
Because, like a hamster on a wheel, what
choice do we have?
Enter Apples Upgrade Programme,
which launched in the UK alongside the
iPhone 7 and 7 Plus a scheme whereby
you pay monthly for your iPhone and can
upgrade to the latest model every year.
Sounds like a huge improvement on your
usual 40-a-month ritual, right?
Given Apples ability to squeeze every
penny from its users, I was sceptical about
how much of a good deal this would be
then did the maths and screwed my face
up in astonishment. Because, if you dont
have the spare cash swilling about to
afford a new iPhone, Apples Upgrade

PAY MONTHLY FOR YOUR

iPHONE AND YOU CAN
UPGRADE TO THE LATEST
MODEL EVERY YEAR

Coding can be addictive

CUBETTO
This is a game for all the family. Not because Mum and Dad will be
challenged by the basic coding gameplay, but because theyll be
enraptured by the build quality of the wooden instruction board,
the wheeled robot that executes those instructions, and the
cloth bag that holds the instruction tiles. And the instructions!
So nicely designed. The kids are having fun, but Mum and Dad are
paying them no heed, talking about how Kickstarter campaigns
can turn out well and maybe they should revisit their own idea
199 / primotoys.com

Programme really is the next best option.

Compared to a standard contract, it could
save you a little over 100 over two years
when combined with a SIM-free network
contract for calls, texts and data.
So whats the catch? The Upgrade
Programme is best suited to iOS acolytes,
so if youre likely to have your head turned
by something like Samsungs Galaxy S8
then youre unlikely to make a saving. Also,
every time you upgrade to a new iPhone
you sign on with a contract that keeps
you married to Apple for another couple
of years. For anyone firmly on Team
iPhone, though, this is a deal well worth
checking out.

29

B E S T O F

EXTRAVAGANT
ESTATES
Time to ditch that dowdy SUV for a
leaner, meaner fastback. But which?

MORE FRIENDLY

Mercedes-Benz
E-Class All Terrain
Admit it: your SUV wasnt that practical.
Hefting bags into the boot was a bore,
and Timmy needed a ladder to get in the
back. This low-slung Merc is way more
accessible, though it can raise its skirts
by 35mm on demand. And just look at
that interior! (No muddy shoes, please.)
45,000 / mercedes-benz.co.uk

MORE FEISTY

MORE FRUGALLY?

Mini Clubman JCW

Ferrari GTC4Lusso T

Plus your SUV was painfully ponderous.

It was like a wheeled marshmallow, built
to generate ongoing sickbag sales. Not
so this works edition of Minis Clubman
estate. A turbo two-litre petrol engine
makes 228bhp and 258lb ft of torque,
with suspension so sporting well, you
might have to get the kids cushions.
29,345 / mini.co.uk

And hardly economical either, that SUV.

So out goes the unnecessary weight
and noxious dumptruck diesel; in comes
Ferraris frugal new Lusso T. It drops the
full-fat Lussos V12 and four-wheel drive
for rear drive and, um, a 3.8-litre V8. Not
that economical, then, but it does have
four seats and a boot! (And 200mph.)
tba / ferrari.com

31

S T A R T M E N U

ST KIC
AR K
TE R

The latest startups, crowdfunded projects and plain crazy ideas

No need to reinvent the door

DING
Yeah, you could rig up a Heath
Robinson affair where pushing
the doorbell moves a thing that
thwacks a thing that releases the
dog that eats the food that
unweights a thing that unlocks
the door. You could do that, yeah.
Or you could back Ding. Its a
battery-powered doorbell that
wirelessly connects to a portable
speaker (Chime) or to the Ding
app on your phone. You speak
to the person at the door and
establish whether youre in or
not. No cameras, no smart locks,
no dog-thwacking just the
essentials of door management,
so subtly refined that John Lewis
and the Design Council have both
given it a nod of approval.
from 92 / dingproducts.com
BACK IT
STACK IT

32

Book booster

A Psion of the times

Im swinging in the snow

LIFT

OCKEL SIRIUS A

Yeah, you could get the

slipcase and the tote bag
and the expedition rucksack
and the carry-on-approved
wheely suitcase. You could
get those, yeah. Or you could
get this artistically minimalist
MacBook case. Industrial
wizardry makes the back of
your Book rise up on opening,
for ergo-awesomeness.

Yeah, youre geeked right up.

Youve got the 800 phone,
that tablet with the keyboard
case, and your laptop for
proper work. Youre sorted.
Or you could save a bit of
weight: a Windows 10, Intel
Atom, 4GB RAM and 64GB SSD
mini-computer with 6in screen,
USB, DisplayPort and HDMI for
connecting to hotel room TVs.

WOLFFEPACK
SUMMIT

tba / zenlet.co

US$499 / ockelcomputers.com

ST KIC
AR K
TE R

ST KIC
AR K
TE R

I
GONDI
GOE-

ST KIC
AR K
TE R

SACK IT

Handy feet replacement

MOON MO-1

Yeah, bags are a bummer

on a ski lift, so you could load
up your ski jacket with all the
stuff youll need and then have
a fall and feel that screwdriver
skewer your spleen. Or theres
this: the entire bag section
releases on demand so you
can swing it around and attach
it to the front of the straps.

Yeah, standing stock-still at the

front of the stage with all your
FX pedals would be cool. Thatd
look well pro. Until you need to
go and slap the drummer, or
the smoke machine goes mad
and you cant see your feet. Or
theres this: remote switching
for stompboxes and amp
channels, by app or by the
guitar-mounted Aero controller.

from 99 / wolffepack.com

from $69 / aalbergaudio.com

Designed for
listening
The new CM Series loudspeakers are undoubtedly beautiful,
capable of gracing any room with their clean lines and
high-quality finishes. But as with all Bowers & Wilkins
loudspeakers form must follow function, and thanks to our
Decoupled Double Domes and tweeter-on-top technology
you wont believe how beautiful your music can sound.
bowers-wilkins.com

Decoupled Double Dome tweeter

G A M E S

DUE
11 NOV

STUFFS CHRISTMAS WISHLIST

DISHONORED 2

DEAD RISING 4

WATCH DOGS 2

STEEP

TITANFALL 2

PS4, Xbox One, PC

Xbox One, PC

PS4, Xbox One, PC

PS4, Xbox One, PC

PS4, Xbox One, PC

Each sequel becomes

more preposterous:
anti-zombie weapons
now include a firework
gun, a fire-breathing
triceratops head and a
crossbow that fires candy
canes. Well, it is nearly
Christmas. Theres also
a new exo suit that can
be donned to wield heavier
items and pull stuff out of
the ground to hit zombies
with. Obviously.

If youre going to make

a game about hacking,
it makes sense to set
it in San Francisco rather
than Stevenage, and thats
why Watch Dogs 2 takes
place in the tech mecca.
Shady corporations
have hijacked the OS
that connects everything
and you must take it down.
Think Anonymous meets
GTA V with 3D printers,
VR headsets and drones.

Most open-world games

take place in cities full of
cars, people and other
stuff to show off how
alive the environment is.
Steep prefers the isolation
of a mountain, allowing
you to ski, snowboard,
parachute or don a
wingsuit. When you
do meet others you
can choose to race
them or just traverse
the peaks together.

Yes, its no longer an Xbox

exclusive: PS4 owners can
now also jump aboard a
massive mech and stomp
around blowing the crap
out of other robots. Pilots
now have more titans
with deadlier weapons
to choose from, with one
wielding a huge sword,
while another can hover
over its prey raining down
death and destruction
from the air.

With its steampunk

technology and impractical
hats, Dishonoreds Dunwall
was one of the more
memorable game worlds
of recent years. The sequel
moves south to Karnaca,
15 years after the events of
the first game. You play as
either previous hero Corvo
Attano or newcomer Emily
Kaldwin, two assassins
with access to an arsenal
of supernatural abilities
Corvos upgraded to
bodyswapping, with each
new host changing the
story. Changing weather
should also be taken into
account when deciding
how to tackle missions.
A dust storm makes for
convenient cover, after all.

34

H O

FIRST PLAY NEW POK: WORTH A GO?

POKMON SUN & MOON

Nintendo 3DS
If Pokmon GO was a hit
because it took a classic
formula and updated it
with augmented reality
smarts, Pokmon Sun and
Pokmon Moon cannot
claim to be anywhere
near as bold.
Set in the new Alola
region a collection of
five islands populated by
humans, Pokmon and
new Ultra Beasts the
story here is almost
inconsequential. What

works about these games

is their structure.
Pokmon are now
gendered, can be bred,
belong to almost 20 types
and can attain temporary
Mega Evolution status.
Any player will have to
think about the way they
raise their team, fill their
Pokdex and battle to the
status of master. You can
also raise your Pokmon
without having to walk
10,000 steps a day, so
thats a bonus.
At present, the main
changes appear to be
cosmetic, like a Pokdex
that can talk to you and a
Pokmon Snap-style Pok
Finder mode that allows
you to grow your social
following in return for
cute photos of a Pikachu.
That makes Sun and
Moon different enough
for regulars, but plenty
familiar to anyone whos
had their Pok passion
reawakened by GO.

DUE
23 NOV

PLAY IT AGAIN, MAN NEW REMASTERS

THE ELDER SCROLLS 5:

SKYRIM SPECIAL EDITION
PS4, Xbox One, PC
Skyrims five years old now, so those
magnificent vistas that were so breathtaking
in 2011 arent quite so impressive in a world of
4K and HDR gaming. This new version not only
fixes that but also adds all three DLC packages,
so youve got another excuse to head to Tamriel
and not come out again for months.

BATMAN: RETURN TO ARKHAM

PS4, Xbox One
The Dark Knights two Arkham games were
never pigs to look at in the first place, but
theres no doubt Gothams premier nuthouse
does benefit from a bit of extra spit n polish.
All the DLC is included, so while it might not
be worth playing all the way through again,
its a no-brainer if you happened to miss out
the first time around.

CALL OF DUTY:
MODERN WARFARE REMASTERED
PS4, Xbox One, PC
Youll need to shell out for one of the pricey
editions of Infinite Warfare to get your hands
on the spruced-up version of Modern Warfare,
but foxtrot hotel it looks worth the cash. Its had
a complete graphical overhaul, so it looks like
it was made yesterday but more importantly,
its arguably the best CoD game ever made.

INCOMING
DECEMBER
OTHE LAST GUARDIAN
JANUARY
ORESIDENT EVIL 7
OHITMAN: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
FEBRUARY
OFOR HONOR
OSEA OF THIEVES
OSNIPER ELITE 4

35

27th
ROMESH
RANGANATHAN:
IRRATIONAL
BELFAST
WATERFRONT
Irrational would be getting
a flight or a ferry just to
go to a comedy gig, even
if one of the topics is likely
to be iPhone vs Android.
But you can rationalise
it by bolting on that visit
to Belfast youve always
talked about.

O
NEXT
ISSUE
January
Christmas 16:
can you feel
its presents?
On sale
1/12/16

YOUR MONTH

NOV

21st
DOCTOR WHO:
THE POWER OF
THE DALEKS DVD
O
REGENERATE!
This was the
first story with
a Time Lord
regeneration
and the actor
swap that this
conveniently
allowed.

This six-episode story

had its only airing in 1966
before being carelessly
junked by BBC staff in
the 70s. Oops. But now
its back, as a specially
commissioned animation.
The BBC Store will be
showing episodes from
early November, before
releasing this DVD edition.

10 years ago
Nintendo
Wii Sports

THEN

Remember, remember

NOW

Sony
PlayStation
VR
349

4th
9th
1989:
fall of the
Berlin Wall

17th
18th

NOW
CHRISTINE AND
THE QUEENS
MANCHESTER
O2 APOLLO
Your kids will ask: Where
were you when Christine
played her four winter UK
shows? Youll say: I was
at home, listening to
Laurie Anderson. Theyll
look at you, like, What?

36

HELLO, IS THIS
PLANET EARTH?
TIM PEAKE
Watch this:
Deutschland
83
DVD, All 4

Ha! Now the mirrored

veil falls: sciences
golden child has cobbled
together a Christmas
cash-in book of space
photos. Whats that?
Tims donating all his
profits to charity? Blast.

O
OR
Blot out the
Potter with
Metallicas
new smasher:
Hardwired...
to SelfDestruct.

FANTASTIC
BEASTS AND
WHERE TO
FIND THEM
Also known as Fantastic
Franchises and How to
Monetise Them. And yet,
as outwardly we snort,
were quietly tapping the
wands weve Pi-modded
to make repeated preorder ticket requests
for this years JK Rowling
fantasy spectacular.

W I

N
TOTAL
PRIZE
VALUE
1500
(TV not included)

The Jungle Book

available from
25 December

WIN 12 MONTHS OF SKY Q WITH

ULTRA HD PLUS AN LG SOUNDBAR
Some people want the moon on a stick. We cant
help with that the moon is actually a lot further
away than it looks, and anyway were clean out
of sticks but if youre lucky we might be able to
give you the Sky in a box. Sky Q, that is meaning
an unrivalled selection of on-demand television in
blisteringly sharp Ultra HD.
This months competition winner gets a full
year of Sky Q viewing, including the Sky Cinema
package, and the best bits will be in Ultra HD if
youve got a 4K TV. The prize also includes the
Sky Q 2TB box and installation, plus an LG SH6
soundbar worth 399.
The Sky Cinema package brings you over 1000
movies on demand, and a new premiere every day.
This Christmas you can look forward to a host of big
premieres including Disneys The Jungle Book and
Zootropolis, plus Marvels Captain America: Civil
War. You can even watch Moon, but youll have to
provide your own stick. Find out more at sky.com
38

HOW TO ENTER
For your chance to jump the Q, just go to
stuff.tv/win and answer this question:

THE JUNGLE BOOK PREMIERES

THIS CHRISTMAS ON SKY
CINEMA. WHERE IS IT SET?
A In Dundee
HURRY!
COMPETITION
B In the jungle
CLOSES
C In a dystopian future
8
DECEMBER
world policed by sinister
2016
animatronic bears
Terms & conditions 1 Open to UK residents aged 18 or over.
2 Entries close 11.59pm, 8 Dec 2016. 3 Prizes are as stated.
4 Prizes are non-transferable. 5 Only one entry per person.
6 Competition is open to new and existing Sky customers.
For full Haymarket and Sky terms & conditions see stuff.tv/win
Promoter: Haymarket, 69 London Road, Twickenham TW1 3SP

YOU KNOW
YOU CANT
BE TRUSTED.
ONE IN FOUR PEOPLE BREAK THEIR NEW
PHONE WITHIN A MONTH.

IF YOU TRUST ANYONE WITH

YOUR IPHONE 7, TRUST TECH21
TM

TECH21.COM

FIRST TEST SPECIAL PS VR

from 349 / stuff.tv/PlayStationVR

THE
S PAT I A L O N E
This is the virtual reality headset everyones been waiting for.
So can Sony take your PlayStation 4 to another dimension?
his is it. The big one.
The headset thats
finally going to drag
virtual reality into
the mainstream. After all, if the
HTC Vive and Oculus Rift are so
awesome and they are why
dont more people have one?
In a word, cost. The Rift will set
you back 549, and a post-Brexit
Vive is 769. And both will need
a 1000+ PC to run them. Ouch.
This is why VR fans have been
slavering like hungry wolfhounds

[ Words Tom Parsons ]

for the arrival of the PlayStation

VR system. Designed to run on
the standard PS4 already sitting
under 45 million gamers tellies,
its a steal compared to the
Rift or Vive, but a huge step
up from phone-based VR
such as Samsungs Gear or
Google Cardboard.
Sonys got priors when it
comes to launching great games
alongside its new consoles; after
all, that shiny hardware is pretty
pointless without something to

show it off with. PS VR definitely

delivers on that front turn to
p44 for our top picks from the
launch line-up.
So does all that make this
the Goldilocks of virtual reality
headsets? Not quite.
Sonys made no secret of
the fact that PS VRs specs are
lower than those of the more
expensive options, and no ones
going to be fooled into thinking a
PS4 is as powerful as a 1000+
PC. Which means that, even

after going into this review

expecting a somewhat more
low-res experience (and
prepared to forgive Sony for
that given the lower price), its
certainly not all sunshine and
virtual lollipops inside Sonys
VR experience.
PlayStation VR might be
brilliant at times, yes, but it also
seems to have a few teething
problems. And unfortunately,
theyre also ones that cant be
written off quite so easily

41

FIRST TEST SPECIAL PS VR

1 Heads up

2 Box to box

Kept on your head by a sort of

halo that places the weight on
your crown rather than your
brow and nose, this is properly
comfy to wear. Plus, the blue
lights around its goggles and
rear band make the thing look
like a Tron prop and that can
only be a good thing.

Theres a lot involved in getting

your PS VR headset ready. Thats
mostly because you dont plug it
directly into your PS4, but instead
into a Processor Unit that in turn
connects to the main console and
your TV. Though its designed to
fit in with the PS4 family, the Unit
feels light and plasticky.

3 A whole new world

On PS VR Ive piloted tanks in
Battlezone, played my part in
a diamond robbery in VR Worlds
and driven a McLaren P1 in
DriveClub VR. Even though
the hardwares resolution can
be a bit jaggedy, I was stunned
by how smooth and fast these
experiences were.

4 Youre not alone

5 Silver scream

Strapping a screen to your face

isnt very social, so thats why
PS VRs Processor Unit will send
a feed of what youre watching
to your TV. Surrounded by killer
clowns in Until Dawn: Rush of
Blood? Dont worry. All your
mates will be able to see just
why youre wailing like a baby.

PS VR isnt only good for, yknow,

VR. Switch on Cinematic Mode
and you can play any PS4 game
on a screen the size of a house.
The same goes for streaming
Netflix, YouTube and any video
app. Be warned: sinking back into
zombie epic The Last of Us like
this was a bit intense.

Good
Meh
Evil

It
th s h
is er
th e!
ing Ri
up ght
? , no
w
Th
ho
in is
w
st is
ru ov
do
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20 hours with
PlayStation VR

1min
42

5mins 20mins 25mins

30mins

1hr

1.5hrs

4hrs

5hrs

FIRST TEST SPECIAL PS VR

Tech specs
Display 5.7in OLED, 1920x1080 Refresh rate 90-120Hz
Field of view 100 approx Sensors Accelerometer,
gyroscope Connectivity HDMI, USB
Headset dimensions 187x185x277mm (excludes largest
projection), 610g (excludes cable)
Processor Unit dimensions 143x36x143mm (excludes
largest projection), 365g

Unmissable visceral peripherals

So youve got a PS VR and reckon youre all good,
right? Wrong. Youll need these two extras as well

6 Looking shifty

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At times theres some wobble to

the image, which can be jarring,
particularly when playing a
standing game such as Arkham
VR. Weve also found the image
shifting a fraction to the left
or right while playing. Neither
of these issues does much to
help with your immersion.

6hrs

9hrs

10hrs

16hrs

PlayStation Camera

PlayStation Move

If you dont already have

a PS Camera (and who
does?), this ones identical
to the old model in terms
of specs but has a neater
design. Its this bit of tech
that tells your PlayStation
what youre looking at
in the virtual world by
tracking the headsets
blue lights.
Sonys guidelines say
you need to be at least 2ft
from the camera and no
more than 9.6ft away. In
standing games, its easy
to stretch beyond the
cameras vision and find
somethings out of your
reach shattering the
illusion around you.
39 / playstation.com

While you can play plenty

of PS VR titles with your
standard DualShock 4
pad, many games are best
enjoyed with a pair of Move
controllers. In fact, if youre
playing Arkham VR and
London Heist without
them, youre going to feel
like a chump.
As daft as waving two
light-up wands might look,
theyre an infinitely more
tactile way to enjoy PS VR.
From tossing a batarang at
foes to grabbing coloured
blocks in Tumble VR, the
Move controllers do their
best to convince you those
actions are for real.
26 each /
playstation.com

Right now, theres lots of fun to be

had with PS VR, but also a fair few
flaws to be aware of. Aside from the
issues with its camera and motion
controllers, there are too few killer
games for us to wholeheartedly recommend
owning this system. The price may be right,
but the experience isnt quite there yet.
@tomparsons

STUFF SAYS +++,,

Despite Sonys best efforts, the
HTC Vive remains the best VR
experience around

20hrs
43

FIRST TEST SPECIAL PS VR

GAME ON...
A headsets only as good as what you see on it so which of the PlayStation VRs
games offer the most worthwhile experiences in all those extra dimensions?
Batman: Arkham VR
Arkham VR puts you right
into the mask, gloves
and muscularly sculpted
chestpiece of the Caped
Crusader, with a focus on
his detective skills rather
than his fists. As you
attempt to solve the brutal
murder of Nightwing, youll
solve puzzles and uncover
clues using a variety of
gadgets, and meet some
famous supervillains. Its
an amazingly cinematic
experience and while its
short, you will be wowed.
15 / amazon.co.uk

Battlezone
This has seemed ripe for VR
since the original launched in
1980. With an excellent Tron
aesthetic and a smooth, weighty
feel, the arena-like levels provide
ample opportunity to turn
enemy tanks, drones and flying
things into bright explosions.
24 / amazon.co.uk

RIGS: Mechanised
Combat League
RIGS is a first-person, mechbased mixture of death match
and future sport, exclusive to
PS VR. Teams of players are split
before each chooses a mech.
Your task is to score goals by
leaping through a ring.
49 / playstation.com

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood

A spin-off from last years
surprise horror hit for PS4,
on-rails shooter Rush of Blood
combines a thirst for jump
scares with a dilapidated
theme-park setting. The
schlocky result is best enjoyed
with a gaggle of mates.
15 / playstation.com

Keep Talking and

Nobody Explodes
Proving that VR doesnt have
to be a solitary experience, this
finds you staring at a randomly
generated bomb. Meanwhile,
your nearby friends are looking
at a manual and must walk you
through the disarming process.
10 / playstation.com

Job Simulator
The year is 2050 and robots now
do all of the blue-collar work. To
learn what it was like to have a
job, humans enter a simulator and
are given an interactive history
lesson by JobBot. There are four
roles, including office worker and
mechanic, all of them hilarious.
23 / playstation.com

VR Worlds
A collection of mini games
might not sound like the
most compelling purchase
for your new VR headset,
but the experiences
contained in VR Worlds
are so damned awesome
as to demand your time
and money. Even if all you
got was the London Heist
portion, where youre
dropped into the shoes
of a Cockney jewel thief,
it would be hard to resist.
For 24, its well worth
the purchase.
24 / amazon.co.uk

44

Eve: Valkyrie
An action-packed first-person
dogfighting spin-off from the
huge Eve Online MMO, this is
everyones Battlestar Galactica
fantasies made real. Rather than
boring blackness, battles take
place above beautiful planets, or
in the middle of a fleet of ships.
59 / amazon.co.uk

C A P T URE D BY M A R C R UF F INI

Your home,
alive with music

Experience at John Lewis, selected Apple stores and our network of specialist audio retailers.

AirPlay is a trademark of Apple Inc.

naimaudio.com

Channelling forty years of audio engineering, we present Mu-so.

A range of compact, yet commanding wireless music systems, that will unleash
you music wherever its stored, in breathtaking quality. Advanced connectivity includes
AirPlay, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, TIDAL, iRadio and multiroom streaming.

2016 GADGET AWARDS

GADGET
AWARDS
2016
We present the pick of this years crop
of smartphones, tablets, apps,
headphones and more
[ Photography Matt Beedle ]

INCLUDING

SMARTPHONE
OF THE YEAR
P48

HOME GADGET
OF THE YEAR
P54

DESIGN OF
THE YEAR
P62

GAME OF
THE YEAR
P64

SYSTEM CAMERA
OF THE YEAR
P68
47

2016 GADGET AWARDS

SMARTPHONE OF THE YEAR

ONEPLUS 3
Over the past ten years or so,
Apple, Samsung and their ilk have
conditioned us to believe that a
high-end smartphone must cost
the same as return flights to Rio.
But OnePlus is more short-haul
than red-eye, and with the
OnePlus 3 it proved it could make
a blower to match the high flyers
for a package-holiday price.
It might not quite match up to
the best when it comes to the

camera, and it lacks a few of the

fancy extras you get by shelling
out for a Galaxy or an iPhone,
but the OnePlus 3 excels in
the areas that matter to most
of us: performance, battery
life and price. That makes it
impossible not to recommend
to, well, pretty much everyone.
Which is exactly why its won
this award.
329 / oneplus.net

SHORTLISTED

48

Apple
iPhone 7 Plus

Samsung
Galaxy S7 Edge

Superb camera
skills and superior
battery life make
this the iPhone
toget if youve
got hands (and
awallet) that are
big enough.

Bigger and bolder

than ever before.
Ifyouve got the
cash to burn, then
this Samsung
effort is a
smartphone
worth flaunting.

LG G5
First of a new kind
of smartphone,
the scale of the
modular G5s
ambition is
breathtaking.
Technology is
meant to inspire
and the G5 does.

Vodafone
Smart Prime 7
Cheap? Yes.
Cheerful?
Undoubtedly. The
Smart Prime 7
struts along with
far greater style
than it should
given its price.

Why I disagree
This is a superb
phone for an
incredible price,
but for me, the
Galaxy S7 Edges
gorgeous design,
superior screen
and camera come
out on top.
Esat Dedezade,
Deputy Features
Editor

2016 GADGET AWARDS

B E FO R E

AFTER

APP OF THE YEAR

PRISMA
Back in July you probably noticed
something happening to the
photos in your Facebook
feed. All your friends
seemed to turn into
A FLAGSHIP
pound-shop Picassos,
PHONE AT
bargain-bin Botticellis
HALF THE PRICE
or money-off Monets.
OF ITS RIVALS,
Every picture had a
surprisingly assured
THE ONEPLUS 3
artistic flourish, and
IS A RARE
until they learned
BARGAIN
how to turn it off a
watermark in the corner
that said Prisma. Busted.
Upload any square photo into

this app and it offers more than

30 filters to turn your pics into
works of art.
Except Prismas cleverer than
that. It deconstructs each shot
and uses artificial intelligence to
put them back together again
in the style of famous artists.
You can tweak the intensity
of the effect afterwards to
prevent Prisma fatigue in your
feed, but there hasnt been
this much technology passing
for talent since the days
of Hipstamatic.
free / iOS, Android

SHORTLISTED

Boomerang

Dark Sky

Part gif, part Vine,

Instagrams
Boomerang app
lets you shoot mini
videos that bounce
back and forth in
aloop, offering a
new perspective on
your dinner snap.

The hyperlocal
weather app brings
its forecasting
genius to Android
but its subscription
payments system
is irritating when
iOS users only
have to pay once.

Cardboard
Camera
Proof you dont
need an unwieldy
camera rig to
shoot in VR,
Googles app lets
you make headsetfriendly photos
using your phone.

Duo
Got an Android
phone, so you cant
FaceTime on iOS?
Googles crossplatform videocaller is sleeker
than Skype and
simpler than
Hangouts.

49

2016 GADGET AWARDS

Why I do agree
Drones normally
mean one thing:
crashes. But the
Phantom 4s
obstacle
avoidance and
tracking tech
mean you can
just get on with
flying the thing.
Fraser Macdonald,
Consulting Editor

THIS DRONE
COMBINES
SUPER-EASY
FLYING WITH
SUPER-TASTY
4K FOOTAGE

HI-FI GADGET OF THE YEAR

NAIM MU-SO QB
Climb inside your handy time
machine, travel backwards
by just a few years and try to
convince a serious audiophile
that a less colourful version
of the blocks Mario bashes his
head on to find extra lives could
replace their hi-fi. Chances
are they would suffocate you
on the spot with their cardigan
and stuff an original pressing
50

of Neil Youngs Harvest in your

mouth just to make sure you
were actually dead.
Naims Mu-so Qb might not
hold such life-giving treasures
inside as Marios favourite
bonce-bonker, but it is a veritable
box full of musical tricks. Using
your phone as a controller, it
will stream from Spotify, Tidal,
internet radio stations or, if

you plug in an Ethernet cable,

sources of hi-res audio. Its not
a loner either. Add other Qbs to
the first and you can daisychain
them together to form a cool
multiroom music system. But,
most importantly, it sounds
totally spectacular, even if all
you choose to play on it is the
Mario theme tune.
595 / naimaudio.com

2016 GADGET AWARDS

AC T I O N C A M O F T H E Y E A R

DJI PHANTOM 4
You used to have to be a qualified
747 pilot to fly a drone without
it looking like someone had put
a dog in charge of the controls,
but DJIs Phantom 4 is so simple
that even a dog could do it. Well,
maybe a highly trained one.
If those paws could operate
a touchscreen, Rover could also
use the Phantoms new objecttracking system, which locks the
camera onto a particularly gnarly
subject and lets you concentrate

on manoeuvring it into place

without having to worry you
might miss the killer shot. Itll
even dodge obstacles that it
detects in its way.
Once youve got the hang
of it, you can turn on sport mode
and the Phantom 4 can now do
nearly 50mph. Chuck in the solid
4K video that it shoots along
the way, and this is a drone for
amateurs and aces alike.
1169 / dji.com

SHORTLISTED

DJI Osmo
The Osmos really
in a category of
its own: a gamechanging camera
for amateur
filmmakers
seeking smooth,
stable footage.

Yuneec
Typhoon H
A fantastic
hexacopter that
nails everything
youd expect from
a camera drone
shame it takes so
long to charge.

LG 360 Cam
Image quality
isntstellar, but
thisis currently
one of the best
and easiest
waysto make
360 and
VR videos.

GoPro
Hero 4 Session
The biggest name
in action cameras
just got smaller.
Itweighs next to
nothing and is
virtually impossible
to destroy.

SHORTLISTED

Philips Fidelio E6

UE Roll 2

Sony PS-HX500

Dali Katch

A wireless speaker
system with 5.1
surround sound,
4K pass-through,
Spotify Connect,
Google Cast and
NFC phone pairing.

The waterproof,
bungee-equipped
speaker now goes
louder and longer.
Its the Bluetooth
speaker your
holiday demands.

The techiest
turntable ever?
Sonys spinner can
be used to rip
hi-res versions of
your records. Read
our review on p81.

A smart Dane that

has Bluetooth
packed in with its
pairs of tweeters
and woofers,
plus support for
Chromecast Audio.

51

2016 GADGET AWARDS

SHORTLISTED

AKG K92
These on-ears
would be hard to
criticise if they cost
twice the price. For
50, theyre one
ofthe biggest
audio bargains
ofthe year.

YOU SHOULD
GET AROUND
17 HOURS OF
BATTERY LIFE
FROM THESE
COMFY CANS

SoundMagic
E10C
Nothing comes
close to matching
SoundMagic for
the price, and
these buds play
nicely with Android
and iPhone alike.

Apple AirPods

HEADPHONES OF THE YEAR

They werent the

first, but Apples
take on truly
wireless in-ears
are on track to take
the cable-cutting
tech into the
mainstream.

BOWERS & WILKINS

P7 WIRELESS
Bowers & Wilkins make fantastic
headphones, and the P7 Wireless
are the cream of the crop. These
over-ear cans look gorgeous
in black leather and polished
aluminium just as youd expect
from B&W. They isolate you from
the outside world with impeccable
sound, and built-in Bluetooth
means you dont have to mess
around with cables or Lightning
52

adaptors, for anyone whos picked

up a jack-less iPhone 7.
Theres enough battery life to
get you through any long-haul
flight, but you can also plug in
and listen to gadgets that dont
have any wireless tech. These are
fantastic all-rounders that really
sound as good as they look, if not
even better.
319 / bowers-wilkins.co.uk

Sony
MDR-1000X
Usurping Bose as
the king of noisecancelling cans is
no mean feat, but
Sony has pulled
itoff with these
wireless wonders.

The first 360 VR

Action Cam in 4K
#explorein360

Visit: www.kodakpixpro.com/Europe

2016 GADGET AWARDS

HOME GADGET OF THE YEAR

SHORTLISTED

AMAZON ECHO
Amazons haunted Pringles tube
might not be able to pour you a
drink, but its the closest weve
come to having a robot butler.
Alexa, turn the heating up, you
can bark, and the AI-powered
voice inhabiting the Echo will talk
to your Nest and whack a couple
of degrees onto the thermostat.
Got Hue bulbs? She can turn those
on and off too. In fact, she can
order takeaways from Just Eat,
update shopping lists, or find out
who West Ham are going to lose
to at the weekend.
Since Amazon opened up the
Echo to developers, its skills have
expanded, although it can still
do the basics like playing Spotify,
setting timers and updating your
calendar. Hey Amazon, heres
an idea: make the next Echo more
mobile by mounting it on a robot
vacuum cleaner.
149 / amazon.co.uk

S H O R T L I ST E D

Dyson 360 Eye

Philips Hue 2

It might not be
perfect but its
camera, those tank
tracks and the
Dyson Link app
mean the 360 Eye
is the best robot
vac you can buy.

Who knew
connecting bulbs
to the internet
could be this much
fun? Philips just
keeps making
its Hue lighting
system better.

Nest 3.0

Netatmo
Welcome

Nests selfteaching brain has

been imitated but,
in our opinion,
never bettered
and version 3.0
put it even further
ahead of the pack.

54

A smart sentry for

your hallway: once
the Welcome has
remembered your
usual suspects itll
recognise their
faces every time.

Fitbit Alta
This good-looking
wristband tracker
gets the basics
right, making it
perfect for casual
gym-goers and
those who need
extra motivation.

Under Armour
Speedform
Gemini 2
Record
Under Armours
smart shoes track
all your workouts
with clever
Bluetooth tech.

Withings
Body Cardio
The smartest
scales you can buy
dont look half bad.
Losing weights
one thing; these
ensure youre set
up to stay healthy.

Wahoo Kickr
Turbo trainers are
great for cycling
through winter, and
the new Kickr is
the very best. Use
it with Zwift for
online multiplayer
cycle training.

2016 GADGET AWARDS

THE GARMINS
HIGH-RES
TOUCHSCREEN
IS DESIGNED FOR
EASY READING
IN SUNLIGHT

Why I disagree
The Vivoactive
HR has packed
in pretty much
every feature
you could want,
except one:
desirability. Call
me shallow, but
Ill be saving for
an Apple Watch 2.
Mark Wilson,
Features Editor

HEALTH & FITNESS GADGET OF THE YEAR

GARMIN VIVOACTIVE HR
Does anyone need a more
comprehensive fitness watch
than the Vivoactive HR? Unless
youre running ultra marathons,
we dont think so. Its got the lot:
heart-rate monitoring, step and
sleep tracking, detailed workout
recordings and an inactivity alarm
to remind you to get up off the
sofa. Sure, its got a bit of an
Asbo-chic vibe, but seeing as

it keeps ticking for a whole week

between charges, it gets a pass in
the style stakes.
It has GPS and an altimeter, and
itll even keep track of skiing and
snowboarding. Oh, and its got
all the smartphone notifications
and alerts you could want. For the
cash, theres not a lot out there
thats this thorough.
189 / garmin.com

55

2016 GADGET AWARDS

WAT C H O F T H E Y E A R

A P P L E W AT C H S E R I E S 2
Lets be honest, Apples first Watch had its
share of detractors. But rather than wafting
away complaints of slow apps and so-so
fitness smarts, techs biggest behemoth
just went back to the drawing board and
made it better. How? By upping its sporty
credentials beyond compare.
Thanks to the addition of waterproofing,
GPS and a much faster S2 chipset, this
all-rounder can see off competition from
Fitbit, Samsung and whoever else comes
for its crown. Ultra marathon runners will
probably prefer top-end Garmin or Polar
watches, but this is a spot-on device for
intermediate sweat-hounds.
And if you just want a nice gadget that
will make you feel less attached to your
smartphone? WatchOS 3s updated
take on flick-of-the-wrist notifications
is just the ticket. Haters be damned. Were
properly excited to see where Apple takes
its Watch next.
from 269 / apple.com

S H O R T L I ST E D

Fitbit Blaze

56

Withings
Activit Pop

Fitbits first crack

at a smartwatch/
exercise tracker
won us over with
accurate heart-rate
tracking, multisport modes and
an easy interface.

A smart, simple
activity tracker
thats waterproof
and lasts for eight
whole months, this
is a winning
wearable.

Mondaine
SBB stop2go

Garmin
Vivomove

Because not all

watches have to
be smart. This
borrows its classy
aesthetic from the
clocks at Swiss
railway stations.

Behind its innocent

face lies fitness
wizardry and a
year of battery life.
Proof you can have
your techy cake
and eat it.

2016 GADGET AWARDS

READERVOTED
Full results at
Stuff.tv

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR

GAME OF THRONES
Lord of the Rings and Harry
Potter may have made fantasy
acceptable to the mainstream,
but it was Game of Thrones
that made it cool. Six plot-dense
seasons have so far charted
the rise and fall of claimants
to the Iron Throne, never tiring
of gleefully flinging your way

scenes packed full of blood, politics,

swords, sex and dragons often
at the same time.
Superb casting helps, not least
Peter Dinklages scheming Tyrion
Lannister. The sets and effects
are also dazzling, major battles
appearing to have been wrenched
wholesale from expensive movies
rather than being episodes of a
mere TV show.
But revelling in the unexpected
is what keeps Game of Thrones
compelling. From a shocking
beheading early on to horrifying,
scandalous betrayals that occur
at regular intervals, its clear all
bets are off. No one is safe: keep
your eyes glued to the screen.

S H O R T L I ST E D

YOU CAN MIX

AND MATCH
FROM A HUGE
RANGE OF
CASES, STRAPS
AND FACES

Stranger Things

Preacher

Daredevil

Mr Robot

Set in 1983 and

channelling
Spielberg, this
creepy series
features kids
searching for a
vanished chum.

The Garth Ennis

comic explodes
onto the screen. Its
mix of gore, glee
and guns enthralls,
despite a sense
of shallowness.

Marvels grittiest
outpost finds the
blind superhero
lawyer continuing
to duff up baddies,
with The Punisher
now in the mix.

Mr Robots world
of dark technology,
hacking and
social disorder
is peppered with
weirdness. Smart
and essential.

57

2016 GADGET AWARDS

TV GADGET OF THE YEAR

SKY Q
If the mission statement for the
Sky Q read: Make the Sonos
of TV, then there should be
a big MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
stamped across it by now. It
might be pricey (when has Sky
ever been cheap?) but the shiny,
swipey interface alone makes
every other telly box out there
look ancient.
The addition of two extra Mini
boxes that use the main 2TB

Silver box as a hub (which can

record four shows at once while
you watch a fifth), plus streaming
to tablets (which can save stuff
offline to watch on the go), means
you barely have to go a moment
without access to the latest
episode of GoT. Throw in Ultra HD
and, if TV is the altar you worship
at, theres no other god.
from 54/month + installation /
sky.com

S H O R T L I ST E D

Amazon
Fire TV 4K
Fast, powerful and
one of the few
ways to get 4K
without spending
afortune.

Xbox One S
The cheapest
4K Blu-ray player
also doubles as
agames console
thatll upscale to
Ultra HD with HDR.

THE SKY Q
2TB BOX WILL
STORE UP TO
350 HOURS OF
TV IN FULL HD
THATLL BE WAY
LESS IN 4K

58

Panasonic
DMP-UB900
4K streaming is
great but you cant
beat Ultra HD off a
disc. This delivers
detail in buckets.

Sky Now TV
You dont have
to shell out on a
subscription for
sport and movies:
the Now TV box is
afine all-rounder.

SHORTLISTED

Samsung
UE55KS7000
1299 is a lot of
money, but its
good value for a
55in 4K telly with
HDR support
especially when it
performs this well.

Philips
65PUS8901
Slapping nine
projectors on the
back of your TV to
extend the edges
of the screen into
a light show takes
some beating.

THE BUILT-IN
SOUNDBAR IS
MUCH PUNCHIER
THAN NORMAL
FLATSCREEN
SPEAKERS

Samsung
UE65KS9000

TV OF THE YEAR

OLED is ace, but

expensive. So this
huge, curved LCD
set from Samsung,
way cheaper
than the LG, is
darned tempting.

LG O L E D 6 5 E 6 V
You could probably buy a decent
second-hand car for the price
of LGs whopping OLED set, but
what the E6V lacks in wheels,
seats and an engine it makes up
for in telly stuff (plus you cant
hang a 2007 Prius on the wall and
watch Mr Robot on it).
This isnt even LGs most
expensive model that honour
goes to the G6 Signature but
that doesnt mean the E6V has
a second-rate spec sheet. Its no

secret that OLED tech gives you

the best 4K picture, but its also
the LGs HDR performance that
makes it a winner, plus its WebOS
interface is better than ever. Feed
the E6V an Ultra HD Blu-ray to
watch and theres even a chance
youll never see the inside of a
cinema again.
It looks the part too: an imposing
slab of thin glass anchored in place
by a thicker soundbar base.
4499 / lg.com

Panasonic
TX-58DX802
This 58in set
delivers awesome
4K images
complete with
HDR, and has a
rather smashing
built-in soundbar.
59

2016 GADGET AWARDS

SHORTLISTED

ST R E A M I N G S E R V I C E O F T H E Y E A R

NETFLIX
Bake Off aside, is there anything
you need a normal TV channel for
any more? Sure, theres the news,
but you get all that online. Sport?
Whos got time to watch a bunch
of millionaires kick a ball around
a field when theres a new series
of Narcos?
If theres a show worth wasting
eye time on, chances are its a
Netflix exclusive, whether its
the supernatural nostalgia of
Stranger Things, the horrifying
whodunnit of Making a Murderer
or the brutal justice of Daredevil.
With its original shows available in

4K and HDR, its even leading the

way when it comes to TV tech
so while Skys Now TV can easily
compete on content, its 720p
streams look positively ancient
in comparison.
from 7.50/month

S H O R T L I ST E D

Amazon
Instant Video
Mr Robot is a
must-see show,
while 4K and HDR
mean Amazon
keeps pace with
Netflix. It just cant
quite compete
on originals.

60

Tidal

Spotify

NowTV

Hi-res audio
andexclusives
from some of the
biggest musical
artists in the world
arent quite enough
to make up for
Tidals lack
ofextras.

Spotify still offers

the best when
itcomes to music
streaming, but
nothing its done
this year has
wowed us in the
way Discover
Weekly did.

Arguably offering
the best range of
movies, TV and
sports of any
subscription
service, it only falls
down when you
look at the
resolution.

Apple MacBook

Dell XPS 13

This refreshed
version of the
12in MacBook is
beautiful and
backs up its looks
with speedy
processors.

This 11in Ultrabook

has enough power,
connectivity and
stamina to be your
favourite new
Windows 10
workhorse.

HP Spectre

Dell
Chromebook 13

The worlds
thinnest laptop
until pipped by
Acers Swift 7
and better than
its namesake
Bondfilm.

Sitting at the
premium end of
the Chromebook
spectrum, this Dell
has a fantastic
1080p display.

2016 GADGET AWARDS

COMPUTER OF THE YEAR

A P P L E i PA D P R O 9. 7 I N
Tablets looked to be heading for
extinction, squeezed out of the
gene pool by powerful phones
and ludicrously thin Ultrabooks.
But after a bit of clever selective
breeding, Apple has made a new
beast thats now king of Stuffs
computing jungle.
The smaller iPad Pro is the best
blend of lie-back consumption
device and serious content creator
that weve used. Its 6mm-thick
frame packs some real power,

THE iPAD PRO

HAS THE POWER
TO EAT UP WORK
TASKS AND A TOP
SCREEN FOR
ENTERTAINMENT

enough to edit three 4K movies

simultaneously or record a Spotify
smash in GarageBand. And the
optional Smart Keyboard (149),
while not quite forgiving enough
for writing your memoirs, is great
for bashing out emails.
Throw in a stunning 264ppi
screen with new True Tone tech
that adjusts white balance to suit
your surroundings, and you have
computings finest all-rounder.
from 549 / apple.com
Why I do agree
Is it a tablet or
a computer?
Both, fool! This
iPad excels at
such computery
things as web
browsing, social
media and TV.
Marc McLaren,
Stuff.tv Editor

61

2016 GADGET AWARDS

ITS AN
ELECTRIC SUV
WITH 4WD AND
ROOM FOR
SEVEN PEOPLE
AND IT DOES
155MPH

DESIGN OF THE YEAR

IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT I-1

There are plenty of Polaroid
cameras still in the world, and
they all owe their continuing
functionality to the Impossible
Project which rescued the
original manufacturing machines
from a crusher, and now markets
new cartridges and refurbished
cameras to enthusiasts.
But this year, Impossible realised
its dream by releasing an entirely
62

new camera. In fact its the first

Polaroid-style instant camera
to be launched in over 20 years,
with a smart matt black finish and
lens-surrounding LED ring flash.
It also features Bluetooth and an
app for remote triggering, manual
settings and extra craziness such
as double exposures.
But the basic instant fun is
there: the click and buzz of the

mechanism followed by the

extruded photo and the waving
it about to make it develop.
The only drawback? As
with Polaroid cameras
of yore, those prints
arent free like
digital images.
229 /
impossibleproject.com

2016 GADGET AWARDS

CAR OF THE YEAR

SHORTLISTED

TESLA MODEL X
Having glanced down at the list of
what you couldve won, it might
come as a surprise that Teslas
Model X has taken the chequered
flag in this category. But think
about it: its got gullwing doors.
It can go up to 289 miles without
needing to be recharged. And in
Ridiculous mode itll do 0-62mph
in 2.9 seconds.
Not bad for something thatll
also own the school run and seat

seven adults Teslas Model X is

a true wolf in sheeps underpants,
and its helping to make electric
cars practical. Sure, that bits
not as exciting as the top speed
or acceleration (or the gullwing
doors), but what use is a V10
when the ice caps have melted
and were 15ft underwater? Not
even Audi makes a convertible
submarine (yet).
from 68,600 / tesla.com

Audi R8 V10 Plus

Not only is this
one of the fastest,
sexiest and bestmade supercars
on the planet; its
also packed with
tech, including the
ace Virtual Cockpit.

Porsche 718
Cayman
A fun and focused
sports car that
delivers thrills by
the bucketload and
has surprisingly
techy infotainment
on board.

Hyundai Ioniq

Jaguar F-Pace

The sleek Ioniq

(which comes in
both all-electric
and hybrid
versions) is more
than just an
excusefor Alanis
Morissette jokes.

A wearable key, a
remote control app
and enough USB
charging points for
all the family
the F-Pace has
the tech tricks to
satisfy any geek.

S H O R T L I ST E D

Leica M-D

Atmo Sfera

Lenovo Yoga Book

This super-manual,
display-less digital
camera is too good
an example of
damn-the-cost
design to ignore
even at over 4k.

Where do you put

the record? is the
kind of high design
drama that crowdfunding was made
for and this is now
being shipped.

Even if the Yoga

Books haptic
keyboard and real
pen input turn out
to be gimmicks, we
salute it for daring
to be different.

Amazon
Kindle Oasis
Once you feel
theOasiss light
materials and
magnetic battery
case, youll forget
all about reading.

63

2016 GADGET AWARDS

READERVOTED
Full results at
Stuff.tv

Why I do agree
HDR looks great
on my PS4 Slim,
so I cant wait
to try it properly
upscaled to 4K on
the PS4 Pro. The
futures here!
Tom Parsons,
Deputy Editor,
Stuff.tv

GAME OF THE YEAR

UNCHARTED 4: A THIEFS END

A Thiefs End always looked
certain to be spectacular, and
sure enough, its the best game
we played all year and one of
the best weve played any year.
Naughty Dog is a master of
its craft, as The Last of Us also
proved, and Uncharted 4 sees the
studio take the already smashing
series formula and elevate it
for Nathan Drakes supposed
goodbye tour.
Drakes skill set has been
expanded without overburdening
players, the set pieces are even
more jaw-dropping than before,

and the graphics are incredible.

Even the smallest moments the
quiet interactions between Drake
and his wife or brother are the
most natural weve ever seen in
a game. Its a virtuoso creation.
34 / PS4

S H O R T L I ST E D

Overwatch
PS4, PC,
Xbox One
Blizzard, of all
studios, made
an FPS and its
brilliant, with vivid
team action and
adazzlingly
diverse cast.

64

Tom Clancys
The Division
PS4, PC,
Xbox One
A military shooter
set in a postsmallpox New York
City, its engrossing
fun and stunning
with it.

Forza Horizon 3
Xbox One, PC

No Mans Sky
PS4, PC

The best openworld racer shifts

down to Oz for a
romp filled with
events, off-road
antics and
effortless online
match-ups.

It might be this
years most divisive
game, but its filled
with wonders. The
vast universe can
be cold and quiet,
but the exploration
is unparalleled.

READERVOTED
Full results at
Stuff.tv

2016 GADGET AWARDS

GAMES CONSOLE OF THE YEAR

S O N Y P L AY S TAT I O N 4 P R O
The PS4 is already crushing it
this console generation, offering
the best exclusive games,
performance and price out
of the gate. So what did Sony
do? Make the machine a whole
lot better. The PlayStation 4 Pro
doesnt replace the three-yearold core console, which still has
a lot of life left in it, but it does
bring big enhancements for
power players.
Bumping games up into 4K,
both natively and through clever
upscaling, brings out a ton more

THIS IS THE
MOST POWERFUL
GAMES CONSOLE
YET, AND THE
FIRST TO OFFER
4K GAMING

detail and makes showcase

titles look even more spectacular.
And thanks to the added power
of the console, PlayStation VR
experiences will be even smoother
and more immersive, helping
Sonys cheaper headset compete
with the PC powerhouses.
Microsofts Project Scorpio will
probably put up a strong fight
next year, but for now the PS4
Pro is the home console of choice
for cutting-edge gaming at a
reasonable price.
349 / playstation.com

S H O R T L I ST E D

HTC Vive

Nintendo
Classic Mini

For the ultimate

VRexperience
youhave to try
theVive: the
immersive fun is
incredible. Youll
pay plenty for
it, however.

Nintendo has
loaded 30 games
onto a tiny, HDMIequipped box for
a special treat of
take-anywhere
8-bit fun.

Microsoft
Xbox One S

Sony
PlayStation VR

The revised Xbox

One has massive
improvements:
4Kstreaming and
Blu-ray movies,
plus HDR and
4Kupscaling.

Sonys VR strategy
doesnt need a
high-end PC, only
a PS4: this headset
is cheap and has
the most exciting
game selection.

65

FO C A L

L I S T E N

Comfort, freedom and design, all combined in a pair of headphones. Listen is the realisation of mobile
high-end audio. These headphones offer excellent insulation, optimal comfort and beautiful acoustic
performance, for hours of intense music listening. Focal opens up a new world of emotion and feeling.
Experience at your local Focal retailer: www.focal.com

2016 GADGET AWARDS

INDIE GAME OF THE YEAR

INSIDE
The infinite universe of No Mans Sky mightve
grabbed all the headlines, but it turns out the
most affecting gaming experience of the year
took place in just one tiny part of a dark and
dangerous world. Insides side-scrolling story
of a boy desperately evading capture as he
explores a factory populated by brain-dead
flesh vessels will stick with you. Its beautifully
bleak, with puzzles that balance perfectly
on the tipping point between perplexing and
satisfying. Its not a long game (youll finish it
in about four hours) but almost every moment
is memorable. A classic in every respect.
from 14.99 / PS4, Xbox One, PC

S H O R T L I ST E D
Superhot

Firewatch

No Mans Sky

Job Simulator

One of the
slickest shooters
for years. If only
it were available
on PS4 as well
as Xbox One.

Set in the US
wilderness, the
story doesnt
quite match its
visuals but itll hit
you in the feels.

Could it ever
have lived up
tothe hype?
Probably not.
Itstill dropped
jaws, though.

Quirky, funny
and enjoyable:
alighter side to
the launch lineups of this years
VR headsets.

MOBILE GAME OF THE YEAR

POKMON GO
You know somethings up when,
walking the dog on a Sunday in
a usually human-free wilderness,
you find dozens of people. Eyes
glued to their phones, they pause
only to flick the screen before
erupting in a cheer or a groan.
Then someone yelps Theres
READERone over there! and the whole
VOTED
horde scarpers.
Full results at
Such is Pokmon GO. The
Stuff.tv
concepts are all simple: visit
PokStops to grab items, hunt
and grab Pokmon by flicking
Pok Balls at them, and use
your collection to nab Pokmon
Gyms from other players. But
the games simple charms, social
smarts and collector mentality
captivated millions of players.
Whether these will keep them
hunting through a long, cold
winter remains to be seen.
free / iOS, Android

S H O R T L I ST E D
Clash Royale
Real-time strategy in
miniature combined
with freemium done
well. Tough to master.

Power Hover
Hoverboard through
adesolate world,
pursuing the crim who
stole your batteries.

Snakebird
When gravity is added
to classic Snake, the
result is a sadistic,
brilliant puzzler.

Telepaint
Clockwork automaton
paintpots dodder
about in this oddball
puzzle platformer.

67

2016 GADGET AWARDS

SHORTLISTED

Canon
EOS 5D Mark IV
A 30.4MP fullframe sensor and
4K video are the
headlines as the
5D just keeps
getting better.

68

Olympus Pen-F
The new Pen-F
matches stunning
retro looks with a
teeny metal body
that somehow
finds room for an
OLED viewfinder.

Nikon D5

Sony A6300

If low-light
shooting is your
bag, the D5 can
serve up decent
shots at an
incredible
409,600 ISO.

Fastest camera on
Earth? Thats how
Sony bills this, and
were not arguing.
Superb 24MP stills
and 4K video are
added bonuses.

S Y ST E M C A M E R A O F T H E Y E A R

F U J I F I L M X -T 2
Some people say the best camera
is the one you have with you,
but theyre WRONG. Well, unless
youre rocking the Fujifilm X-T2,
in which case you do indeed have
the best camera with you.
We could wax lyrical about its
stylish, weatherproof, all-metal
body, and indeed we shall: its
simply gorgeous. Or we could
get excited about its new 24MP
sensor, which takes pictures
so sharp you could eat your

dinner off them. And then there

are its oh-so-2016 4K video
capabilities, plus an autofocus
so quick and accurate its like the
auto-aim feature in GTA V.
But really, what we love most
about the X-T2 what makes
us want to pick it up and take
pictures with it is all those dials
and knobs you use to operate
it. So much more fun than just
prodding at a screen.
1399 / fujifilm.com

SHORTLISTED

Panasonic Lumix
DMC-TZ100
This crams
a20MP 1in
sensor with 10x
optical zoom plus
4K video into a
body thatll easily
slip inside a jacket.

Canon
Powershot G9 X
This diddy thing
also has a 20MP
1in sensor, in a
body that makes
the Lumix above
look like a brick.
Great pictures too.

AFFORDABLE
AND ULTRAPORTABLE, THE
X70 TAKES
SNAPS WORTHY
OF A DSLR
Sony RX10 III

C O M PAC T C A M E R A O F T H E Y E A R

We proclaimed last
years RX10 II the
best bridge camera
ever, and the RX10
III is even better,
with an extended
25x zoom and
4Kvideo.

FUJIFILM X70
Lionel Messi. Prince. Paul Daniels.
The Carolina Reaper chili pepper.
All punch(ed) well above their tiny
size and to that list we can now
add the Fujifilm X70.
Alright, so its not quite as small
as Paul Daniels, but considering
it packs a DSLR-rivalling APS-C
sensor, the fact that it will fit into
your pocket is impressive. Theres
a fixed 28mm-equivalent lens on
the front, so youll have to zoom
with your feet, but thatll help you

both get some exercise and learn

how to properly compose the
shots youre taking. The LCD
screen flips out and around so
you can get into all sorts of tight
angles; and while theres no
viewfinder, one can be added
into the hot shoe.
The other best thing about
it other than its size and image
quality is the price: thats
impressively small too.
499 / fujifilm.com

Sony RX1R II
Want the best
compact on the
planet? Look no
further than the
RX1R II. Check your
bank balance first:
its three and a half
grand. Cripes!

69

2016 GADGET AWARDS

GADGET OF THE YEAR

HTC VIVE
Greatness rarely comes easily.
You think those Jaffa Cakes the
size of sombreros are easy to
make? Hell no! So while getting
the best out of HTCs Vive might
require a lot of patience, space
and money, its the one gadget
here thats blown away every
person whos tried it. Not even
the Note 7 managed that.
Youve also got to admire the
chutzpah of a mobile phone

READERVOTED

Full results at
Stuff.tv

READERS GADGET
OF THE YEAR

ONEPLUS 3
Having won the Readers Gadget
award for two years running,
OnePlus could have been forgiven
for taking 2016 off and having a
nice rest. And then the OnePlus 3
came along
So good its a bit unfair, this
phone peforms almost as well
as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and
costs roughly half the price.
How do the other brands on
the shortlist compete with that?
Well, according to you lot, they
dont. The OnePlus 3 won this
category by a landslide.
It could be all change next year,
as theres plenty of brilliant new
tech around the corner. Are we
going to bet against the inevitable
OnePlus 4, though? Obviously
not. Thatd be madness.
329 / oneplus.net

SHORTL ISTED

Amazon Echo Amazon

Kindle Oasis Apple iPad Pro
9.7in Apple Watch Series 2
DJI Phantom 4 HTC Vive
LG OLED65E6V Microsoft
Xbox One S Sky Q
70

Why I do agree
Tech is meant
to be inclusive,
and I havent
seen a gadget
excite and unite
Stuff HQ like the
Vive did since we
first got our Wii.
A worthy Gadget
of the Year.
Tom Wiggins,
Deputy Editor

company that wades into the

untested waters of virtual reality
and pretty much nails it first
time. No, the Vives not perfect
(even if it does let you pretend
to be a Jedi), but the motion
controllers and Lighthouse
body trackers serve to make
the VR experience that bit
more real and isnt that what
its all about?
759 / vive.com

2016 GADGET AWARDS

THE VIVE HAS

FINALLY MADE
VIRTUAL REALITY
VIABLE AFTER
DECADES OF
FALSE STARTS

71

TEST APPS

App:roved
FOR
WORDY
WITS

72

FOR
TECHY
TEAMS

FOR
PUZZLY
PUNKS

FOR
KOOKY
KINGS

O Scrivener

ODropbox Paper

O Deus Ex GO

O Reigns

If youre armed with an iPad and

aiming to be the next JK Rowling,
you need Scrivener. The spit of
its desktop cousin, it combines
a capable rich-text editor, a
binder to stash research (PDFs,
images, web links), a corkboard
for arranging your story using
draggable index cards, and lots
of export options. Its surprisingly
capable on iPhone too, and syncs
via Dropbox to the Mac/PC app
so now you can work on your
bestseller or Ferret Uprising
screenplay anywhere.

Designed to allow people to

collaborate on documents and
share ideas, Dropbox Paper feels
like someone mashed iOS Notes
into Google Docs. You get sleek
editing (including tables), images
that auto-arrange, rich content
embeds and, inevitably, emojis.
Notes can also be shared with
colleagues to edit and comment
on (such as: Emojis? Really?).
Given the demise of Dropboxs
email client Mailbox, you might
be reluctant to rely on Paper,
but its too good to ignore.

Before long, every Square Enix

console title will be transformed
into a turn-based mobile puzzler
where you scoot around nodes
avoiding adversaries and making
for an exit. This time its Adam
Jensens turn, cyberpunking
it up against hackable tech,
stompy robots and guards who
unsportingly stab you to death if
you venture too near. Less fresh
than the GO versions of Hitman
or Lara Croft, this nonetheless
does the business with its finely
crafted brain-smashers.

Youve played games before

about ruling a kingdom, but well
bet none borrowed from Tinders
interface. In Reigns, you make
decisions by swiping left or right,
constantly trying to appease
the church, people, army and
treasury. This is easier said than
done. Annoy the people and
they revolt; too many gold coins
means a feast, resulting in death
by gorging. The balancing act is
compelling and theres surprising
depth here, along with a raft of
missions to complete.

Stuff says +++++

14.99 / iOS

Stuff says ++++,

free / Android, iOS

Stuff says ++++,

1.49 / Android O 3.99 / iOS

Stuff says +++++

2.29 / iOS O 2.79 / Android

TEST APPS

Mini meme

OTender
Given that many people love their
stomach more than they love
humans, it was inevitable an app
would combine food and Tinder.
So, in Tender, you swipe through
recipe cards: left to discard, right
to add to your cookbook. The
app is underpinned by a social
network, but mostly its about
swiping and feeling guilty when
ditching healthy dishes.

COOKIN
RECIPE
APPS
Do too many virtual cooks spoil the
broth? No, they just mean youll always
be able to make something tasty
without setting fire to the kitchen

Stuff says +++,,

free / Android, iOS

OKitchen Stories
Coming across like someone
shoved a glossy foodie mag
inside your device, Kitchen
Stories is all gorgeous design
and lush photography. The
recipes are easy to follow, with
huge photos. Video guides help
you nail tricky procedures, and
they blissfully lack an annoying
chef trying to add a soupon of
personality to the mix.
Stuff says +++++
free / Android, iOS

OPaprika

ONapkin Recipes

OEpicurious

OJamie Olivers

If youre the kind of person who

wants to pick and choose from
dozens of online recipe sources,
but your browser bookmarks
are raging out of all control,
get Paprika. You browse sites,
pilfer recipes (which Paprika
intelligently imports), and can
edit the results if some twisted
monster has said to use
vegetable oil instead of butter.

Little more than a tech demo,

Napkin is still worth a download
to glimpse the future of cooking
apps. Each step has a photo but
is also read aloud; you can talk
back, skipping steps and setting
timers without covering your
iPhone in honey. (Yes Chef runs
with the same basic idea and
has 350,000 recipes but with
bare-bones steps.)

It might have an uninspiring

interface and access to fewer
recipes than rivals BigOven and
Yummly, but Epicurious makes
our list because it still has more
dishes than you could ever hope
to eat (35,000) and doesnt
faff about sending you to mobile
websites for directions. And the
search is smart you can filter
by food types and allergies.

Jamies been in the app game

for years. This is a premium take
on his free iOS app, providing
600 drool-extracting recipes
for a fiver. You get loads of
pics, short video tips from
the master, and unintentionally
funny semi-random nuggets of
advice when working your way
through a recipe. Pukka! Salt! Etc.

Stuff says ++++,

3.97 / Android O 3.99 / iOS

Stuff says ++,,,

free / iOS

Stuff says ++++,

free / Android, iOS, Win Phone

Stuff says +++++

4.99 / iOS

Ultimate Recipes

73

F I R S T T E S T PA N A S O N I C T X- 5 8 D X 8 0 2

Easelly impressed?
Look beyond that arty-looking stand and
youll find a 58in Panasonic TV with 4K,
HDR and a punchy built-in soundbar
3
1275 / stuff.tv/58DX802
You know how it is: a 55in TV
wont quite cut it for that going
to the cinema in your own home
experience, but a 65in set is so
big it blocks out the sun and all
your house plants die. Enter
Panasonics new, imaginatively
sized 58in beauty.
Size is not the only reason
itll stand out in your living room,
though because this is one TV
that looks a little different. It sits
proudly on a stand resembling an
artists easel. It looks spectacular,
even if it doesnt bring any obvious
practical benefits: the angled
frame holds the panel tightly
in place, so swinging it playfully
is not an option. Give it a prod
and youll merely end up with
a slightly bent finger.
And its not all about the
screen the integrated soundbar
below it pumps out audio to do
your viewing sessions proud.
Its called, rather grandly, the
12 Train Prismatic Speaker, and
its packing two tweeters, four
mid-range drivers and a healthy
six woofers. Who says skinny
tellies have to sound thin too?

1 Brokeback mounting
The frames colossal size means
youll probably be putting this TV
on the floor. You can wall-mount,
of course, but that would take
away the impact of the stand.
A thin brushed metal bezel frames
the impressively large expanse of
LED-backlit LCD screen.
2 Conan the soundbarbarian
The soundbar plugs into a
dedicated socket in the TV.
Most flatscreen TVs are let
down by feeble sound, but not
this Panasonic. It provides loud,
solid and clear audio that knocks
most rivals efforts into the
proverbial angled headgear.
3 To have and have nit
The 802 sits one level down from
Panasonics 902 flagship, so it
doesnt have the UHD Premium
certification all the hardcore
telly addicts are clamouring for.
That means it cant hit blinding
1000-nit peak brightness but
youre hardly likely to notice.

[ Words Tom Parsons ]

Good
Meh
Evil

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ain
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ed nd
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ua rem
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sa p
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re e is
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hi
sg
oo
d,

25 hours with
the Panasonic
TX-58DX802

2mins
74

15mins 20mins 35mins 50mins

1hr

3hrs

5hrs

6hrs

F I R S T T E S T PA N A S O N I C T X- 5 8 D X 8 0 2

4 The pursuit of appyness

The 802 comes fully kitted out
with apps for Netflix and Amazon
Video. That means you can test
out the best picture your new
toy can provide within minutes
of setting things up. Theres
also a full suite of other TV apps
backing up those heavy hitters.

5 The goblet of Firefox

The operating system is powered
by Firefox. Its simple to find your
way around, the icons are easy
on the eye, and you can customise
it all with a few prods on the
remote. Panasonic is promising
software updates later in the
year to add even more content.

Tech specs
Screen 58in 3840x2160 LCD with HDR
Inputs HDMI 2.0 x4, component, composite,
USB x3, Wi-Fi, Ethernet
Dimensions 137x83x35.6cm, 32.5kg (including stand)

You have been watching

I
lev ve h
el ad
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or o t
re on
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An
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isn d,
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bu no
ti tq
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se p t
. he
re

We like a picture with lovely detail, so here are

some details on the lovely picture

16hrs

17hrs 20hrs

23hrs

Q Bright alright

Q Colour blinding

This Panasonic pumps

out pictures with real
vividness, even if it
doesnt score 1000-nit
peak brightness. Youll be
able to watch at midday,
at the height of summer.
With the curtains open.

Motion is handled very

nicely, and colours are
punchy too. A little too
punchy make sure
you spend a bit of time
tweaking. Out of the box
its a little too showroom
fresh for our liking.

Q Sharp practice

Q Upmarket upscaler

The 4K images from

Amazon Video and Netflix
look stunning, with potent
blacks and whites. You
wont get OLED levels
of differentiation in the
darkest scenes, but its
still impressive.

Drop down to mere HD

with a Blu-ray and it still
puts in a good shift, with
its upscaler doing sterling
work. Standard-def
broadcasts still take an
inevitable hit from the
fuzzy stick, though.

Lets be honest this TV isnt for

everyone. Itll dominate almost any
room you put it in. If youre looking
for a signature piece for your living
room, though, it is one you should
consider. Even if this is not the last word in
4K HDR picture quality, its not far off it, and
the sound it chucks out is a revelation for
a flat-panel TV. @TomParsons

STUFF SAYS ++++,

If youve got room for it, and the
looks grab you, this TV thoroughly
deserves a place in your life

25hrs
75

GE
HA T S
PP TRA
Y. P
..
76

ONE
PUGO TOP APPLE
WATCH BAND

TWO
CASETIFY APPLE
WATCH BAND

THREE
SEVEN SIXTEEN
CLICK ADAPTOR

Apples ocial Milanese

Loop strap is lovely. It also
costs 150. This stainless
steel alternative from Pugo
Top costs a mere 10, has
an 18-month warranty and
looks identical, right down
to the magnetic clasp. Its
available in iPhone-matching
colours for those who like
to accessorise.

Casetify oers plenty of

funky straps, but its custom
strap service is ideal for
making your Apple Watch
feel more personal. The
online strap builder lets
you upload any photo, and
can link directly to Instagram
and Facebook, pulling in your
pictures to customise. Make
sure theyre high-resolution.

If you have a collection of

watch straps you already
adore, these adaptors slot
into your Apple Watchs
band groove and let you use
any one you fancy. Some
Android Wear watches from
LG and Samsung let you do
this, but these wont break
the bank, especially if you
go for aluminium models.

10 / amazon.co.uk

US$52 / casetify.com

from US$21 / svnsxt.com

DO NO
TH W
IS

NE B
W EST
AP
PS

INSTANT UPGRADES

JUST PRESS
RECORD
1 MASTER THE DOCK

2 FIND A FRIENDLY FACE

Apple has killed Glances; now

its all about the App Dock. To
bring some order, go to your
Watch app, tap Dock, then Edit.
Tap + buttons to add favourite
apps to the Dock, and - to
banish rubbish ones, using
drag handles to reorder the
list. Want to re-arrange apps?
Long-press, then drag. If youve
just used an app youd like to
stash, press the Side button
and itll be in the Recent slot.

Apple has added new faces in

watchOS 3, in the Watch app.
Tap the Face Gallery tab to view
the new, featured and themed
collections. Tap one and Add.
Back in the My Watch tab, tap
Edit next to My Faces to sort
added faces. On your Apple
Watch, you can switch between
faces by swiping from the left or
right screen edge. his comes
in handy when you customise
your faces with complications

3 MAKE THINGS
COMPLICATED
A number of watch faces
have slots for complications:
app-related nuggets of info,
or icons to launch an app. All
pre-installed Apple apps have
them, but the best are often
found on third-party apps. To
nd these, tap-hold the watch
face, swipe to the complication
editing screen, tap on a
complication slot, then use
the Digital Crown to pick one.

Prod it to start
recording; the
audio lurks on
your Watch until
it next connects
to your iPhone,
at which point it
transfers. Easy.
2.29

CARROT
WEATHER
Our firm favourite
weather app. The
only downside is
paying 1.49 more
for a complication,
and a further
2.29 if you want
premium features.
2.99 (IAPs)

[ Words Craig Grannell ]

4 GET FITTER QUICKER

Not in the mood to be yelling at
Siri? he Workout app can be
accessed quickly if you set it
as a complication. Pro tip: when
youre working out, swipe from
the left and tap Lock. Now
whatever taps your screen
wont aect it. If you fancy being
more social, visit the Sharing
tab in Activities, inviting people
to share Activity with you. You
can check their progress in the
Apple Watch Activity app.

5 FIRE A DIGITAL
DISTRESS SIGNAL

6 BECOME A
MESSAGING WHIZZ

In the Watch apps My Watch

tab, go to General > Emergency
SOS. Here, you can dene up
to three SOS contacts, and set
whether holding the Side button
automatically calls emergency
services. Now you can hold the
Side button for several seconds
to call for help (your Apple
Watch beeps a countdown),
simultaneously ring text
messages at your pals.

Messages on Apple Watch

are now smarter, thanks to
contextual single-prod replies.
You can also long-press on a
message to send a Tapback
symbol like a thumbs-up. But
the big new thing is Scribble,
which you use to write replies
manually, one letter at a time.
Its surprisingly eective
and works within many apps
beyond Messages.

OVERCAST
Its developer
made an Apple
Watch remote to
control his iPhone
podcast app, then
rethought it from
scratch. The result
is a massive
improvement.
free (IAPs)

77

G R O U P T E S T T U R N TA B L E S

Improve your
plattery life
The vinyl revival is here to stay, and these turntables will
indulge your LP addiction in pitch-perfect fashion

Shady
character
Red, yellow, black,
white, grey or green...
you can denitely make
this one t your room,
whatever its colour
scheme.

The Vinyl Collection #1

Lenco L-85 Price 119 / stuff.tv/L85

Wed forgive you for being wary
of this turntable. Its pretty cheap,
it comes in some garishly bright
colours, and its made by a brand
you probably havent heard of.
But bear with us this is actually
the denition of a bargain
budget turntable.
Everyone knows the all-in-one
suitcase creations from the likes
of Crosley arent up to scratch,
but that doesnt mean you cant
nd plugnplay convenience at

a knockdown price and still be

getting value for money. he
Lenco L-85 makes that apparent.
Setup? Get it out of the box and
plug it in. No tonearm balancing
or cartridge adjusting required.
To steal a famous tech phrase,
it just works. And it works in
some style.
he Lenco delivers a decent,
nicely balanced sound that does
particularly well when it comes
to giving you clear and insightful

vocals. OK, so it wont wake your

neighbours with bass, and the
very best turntables around
might make it sound just a little
non-committal in comparison,
but for the money its hard to nd
fault with this machine.
Whats more, plug in a USB
stick and you can rip your tunes.
Clever. Oh, and if you didnt know,
Lenco has actually been making
record players for 70 years, so
youre in safe hands.

Abbey Road (1969)

The Beatles
The 2009 remaster is a
must, bringing out the best
of the bands rst album to
be released in stereo.

STUFF SAYS A fine deck with a clever vinyl-ripping system and its cheap ++++,
79

G R O U P T E S T T U R N TA B L E S

Phono or
no phono?
The integrated
phono stage can
be bypassed if youd
rather use a separate
preamp to drive
the AT-LP5.

Proven
performance
The J-shaped tonearm is
a tried and tested design
rst released in the 60s
to provide smooth
tracking for optimum
performance.

Two-speed
clear box
A simple dial, which feels
as good to use as the rest
of the deck does, allows
you to switch between
33 and 45rpm
records.

The Vinyl Collection #2

Audio-Technica AT-LP5 Price 329 / stuff.tv/ATLP5

As with most things in tech (and
indeed life), should you want to
pay top dollar for the very best,
the sky tends to be the limit.
So while you can easily spend
many thousands of pounds
on a turntable, back in the real
world this Audio-Technica is
relatively aordable. And the
good news is that you really
wouldnt know it.
he build, look and feel of the
AT-LP5 could easily pass for

something double the price,

helping to ensure this deck
gets o to a great start. Run
your eyes down the spec list
and youll be equally enthused:
a phono stage is included, a
custom-designed cartridge
comes pre-tted, and theres
a handy USB output for ripping
your vinyl.
But does it sound any good?
Why yes, yes it does. No matter
what your tastes, youll be treated

to impressive amounts of detail

and a wide open soundstage
thats capable of really lling
a room. heres clear treble
and good, solid bass, laying
the foundations for a beautifully
balanced sound.
he LP5s strengths ensure
its a genuine all-rounder and will
sound every bit as impressive
with jazz as with jungle, not to
mention the basics of pop, rock
and Belgian speed-folk.

Kind of Blue (1959)

Miles Davis
One of the most inuential
jazz albums of all time.
Daviss rich improvisational
style glows on vinyl.

STUFF SAYS A fine, musical turntable that sounds great whatever you play +++++
80

G R O U P T E S T T U R N TA B L E S

Softwares
not hard
Sonys handy free
bundled software
makes ripping vinyl
nice and simple
no downloads
required.

Clean
conversion
If you like DSD
and wav les, the
PS-HX500 can
comfortably convert
your vinyl tracks to
modern hi-res.

T
W EST
IN
NE
R

Weight
for it
Make sure you set
the tracking weight
to the recommended
3g to ensure optimum
performance from
this spinner.

The Vinyl Collection #3

Sony PS-HX500 Price 399 / stuff.tv/PSHX500

If youre looking for a company
with serious hi- heritage, you
could do a lot worse than Sony.
So its no wonder the world got
pretty excited when the Japanese
giant announced it was getting
back in the turntable game with
a clever twist.
Not only will this turntable
deliver great sound from your
vinyl; it also allows you to make
hi-res audio copies to play on the
move. Because one thing vinyl

denitely isnt, of course, is

particularly portable.
his is a belt-drive deck, so you
will have to hook the belt up and
balance the tonearm. Detailed
instructions are included, and its
easy to do, but its worth taking
the time to get it right to have
the best possible sound quality
and avoid damaging your vinyl.
Once done, youre left with a slim,
minimal design that will look
smart in any system. A phono

stage is included, so all you need

to do is connect to an amp or
powered speakers.
Sonically the PS-HX500 is
light on its feet, delivering crisp
treble notes and a big, open
sound. It sounds especially
good with acoustic tracks and
delicate vocals, but does well
enough with dance music and
more upbeat numbers when
youre up for some rather less
introverted listening.

Spiderland (1991)
Slint
Vinyls best for dynamics,
right? This is probably the
most dramatically quiet/
loud album ever recorded.

STUFF SAYS High-quality sound and hi-res audio: thats a high five from us +++++
81

G R O U P T E S T T U R N TA B L E S

TOP
OF THE
SHOPS

Q Sister Ray
From 80s hardcore to the
kind of prog you cant enjoy
sober, Londons best record
shop has you covered.

Q Spillers Records
Despite its small size, the
worlds oldest record shop
is brimming with black plastic
treasure. A Cardiff institution.

Q Resident Music
For crate-digging by the
seaside you cant beat
Brightons Resident. Its
7in selection is great.

Q Piccadilly Records
Oh Manchester, so much
to answer for including this
fine indie store, which first
opened in 1978.

Uncoloured
sound
Available in black or white,
the Regas styling keeps
it minimal. As you can see,
it looks great next to
psychedelic pink
wallpaper.

You want
more?
The 85 Performance
Pack add-on gets you
a solid upgrade of the
cartridge, drive belt,
mat and alignment
protractor.

X marks
the spot
Setup is oh so quick,
but dont rush it: use the
handy mark on the
tonearm to set the
tracking weight
correctly.

The Vinyl Collection #4

Rega Planar 1 Price 250 / stuff.tv/Planar1

he original Rega Planar was
released back in 1975 as a
200-turntable limited run.
he company has come a long
way since then, partnering with
Record Store Day to be front and
centre of the vinyl revival, and
oering a number of iterations
of the companys best-loved
turntables. he Planar 1 is the
latest version of its most famous
deck of all and it does the
name proud.

It would take longer to list all the

upgrades applied to this than it
does to get it up and running, such
is the breadth of tweaks Rega has
applied and the simplicity of the
setup process that still remains.
(If you like a challenge, Rega claims
its a 30-second job.) here are
new components designed for
this deck, and also upgrades from
more expensive models, which is
a good sign. A cartridge is supplied,
but youll need a phono stage.

When it comes to sound

quality, theres simply nothing
to complain about considering
the price. Detail? Yes, in spades,
whether revealing emotion in
intimate vocals or delivering every
intonation of that bass wub.
Energy? You betcha. Banging
techno and commanding classical
tracks are relayed with impressive
dynamics and bags of excitement.
For authority, solidity and sheer
musicality its tick, tick and tick.

Untrue (2007)
Burial
Burials second LP is barely
recognisable as dubstep,
with textured, spacious
tunes thatll rattle your teeth.

STUFF SAYS A classic returns in the form of a new turntable thats built to last +++++
82

G R O U P T E S T T U R N TA B L E S

Pound
stretcher
Combine this Pro-Ject
with Ortofons MC Quintet
Black cartridge (649) and
youll pay 1895, a saving
of 249 see
snvinyl.co.uk

Wipe your
feet on the mat
You dont need a slip mat
with this turntable: you
can place your records
straight on the silky
smooth aluminium
platter.

Up to
speed
The RPM 9s belt
drive mechanism
has a speed control
switch for rapid
itting between
45s and 33s.

Pro-Ject RPM 9 Carbon Price 1495 / stuff.tv/rpm9carbon

Oh, so you want to get serious?
Pro-Ject Audio, experts at budget
and high-end turntables alike,
have really gone for it with the
RPM 9 Carbon. It looks stunning.
he carbon-bre-covered
tonearm certainly helps and
it also serves to reduce unwanted
vibrations, as does the aluminium
platter complete with smooth
vinyl top.
As your mates stare agog at
this design marvel, you can reveal

you had a hand in the build, as

there is some work to do involving
screws and tting various parts.
But if vinyl is all about a physical
connection to the music, why
not feel similarly attached to
your turntable?
Once done, youre treated to
sound quality thats worth a little
elbow grease. Youll need to add
an external phono stage, or have
an amp with one built in (as many
do look for the phono input),

but you can then enjoy a solid,

authoritative sound that will
ensure your guests once
theyve nally nished being
enraptured by the design are
soon open-mouthed in awe all
over again.
hat weight and solid build
translate to meaty, expressive
bass lines, even if some similarly
priced rivals might deliver more
powerful dynamics and a slightly
more agile performance.

The Vinyl Collection #5

Back in Black (1980)

AC/DC
You can hear attention to
detail in every track from
the Aussie ri kings. A hard
rock classic from the vaults.

STUFF SAYS A solid, bold sound from what is a smart, stylish, dynamic deck ++++,
83

TEST DYSON PURE HOT + COOL LINK

Breezy lover
An app-connected device for
heating, cooling and purifying
your smart home? This Dyson
is sure to win many fans
499 / stuff.tv/PureHotCool
QWhen is a fan not a fan? Well, the
Dyson Pure Hot + Cool Link doesnt
look like a fan and doesnt work like
your average fan, yet thats what it
is. Oh, and it costs 500 quid. If the
fantastic 360 Eye robot vacuum
was Dysons most eye-catching
stab so far at connecting its
products to your smartphone,
then this is its follow-up.
QUsed as a fan with thermostatic
heat control, its really good. Too hot
to sit on the couch for a three-hour
Netflix binge? Relax a lifestyle
of opulent laziness is within reach.
Noise levels are even low enough to
keep it on while youre watching TV.
QUnlike a classic bladed fan, the
Dyson produces a smooth and
constant airflow you dont get
that feeling of being constantly
buffeted by someone with an
air blaster. Stick it on at maximum
breeziness and youll be tingled
by its charms even at the opposite
side of the room.
QIts also an air purifier, with a filter
to capture particles as small as 0.1
microns with a 99.95% success
rate. Itll sweep up bacteria, mould,
pollen and toxins, and monitors
the environment so it can step up
should you decide to, erm, open
up a can of spores or something.

Q In the air tonight

Theres a remote, but you really
dont need it. Simply open up the
free app (iPhone and Android),
connect the fan to your Wi-Fi
network and give it a ridiculous
name. We went for Fandango.

Q Another day in paradise

With the app you can turn on
the fan, change settings and
schedule times for it to do its
thing, as well as keeping an eye
on the air quality of your home
even when youre not there.

QWe tested the Dyson in a flat

that gets vacuumed once a week,
with a dehumidifier running most
days to avoid damp and mould.
Accordingly, we only ever received
a good air quality rating. The
devices fanning skills are easier
to assess, and we found them to
be superb; the purifying stuff is
maybe more of an added bonus
than a must-have.

STUFF SAYS This smart fan will delight gadget-lovers and hypochondriacs alike ++++,
Against all odds,
we love this
simple, effective,
low-key gadget
Rob Leedham

84

Reviewing this Dyson is a bit of a fan-kless task. Even when you account for
its internet-connected smarts and sophisticated air filtration, its not a complex
product to use. You just turn it on and it works. Bosh! There are enough gadgets
that constantly nag for your attention; this one just makes sure the temperature
in your home is alright and the air youre breathing isnt full of nasty guff.

TEST CANON EOS 5D MARK IV

No rest IV the wicked

Canons EOS 5D evolves again,

adding a host of new features to
what was already a killer DSLR
3629 / stuff.tv/5DMkIV
QPopular with amateurs, pro
photographers and filmmakers
alike, the Canon EOS 5D always
bags you great shots and it gets
better with every iteration. The
Mark IV builds on its heritage with
a 30.4MP sensor (up from 22MP),
a 61-point autofocus system, 4K
video and a touchscreen.
QThe buttons feel intuitive
in the hand, and this is the
best touchscreen weve
seen on a DSLR yet. It soon
becomes second nature to use
the buttons and screen together
for an easy, fluid experience.
QShots have a fantastic level of
detail. Colours are great on the
whole, with nice saturation and
depth, and Canons new metering
sensor does a fine job. And the AF
is notably better than before.
QThe 5D has been the go-to
DSLR for filmmakers since Nicolas
Cage was likeable and making
movies is a big part of the Mark IV.
That means 4K recording at 30fps,
or Full HD video at 60fps. Separate
headphone and mic jacks let you
record audio at the same time.
QOne interesting new feature
is Dual Pixel RAW, which lets you
shift the point of focus after taking
a picture, Lytro style. It might help
you save a shot thats just missed
the mark, but we had limited
success with this tech.

Tech specs
Q Stay where you are

Q Get a grip

Canon knows better than to

mess with a good thing, so the
Mark IV looks a lot like the last
5D right down to the button
layout. Thatll keep anyone
upgrading from a previous
version happy.

There have been a couple of

design tweaks, however: the
grip is a little deeper, and the
pentaprism encasing the optical
viewfinder is a little taller to
make room for the new GPS
and Wi-Fi unit.

Sensor 30.4MP full-frame CMOS

Processor DIGIC 6+ AF points 61
ISO range 100-32,000 (102,400
expanded) Video 4K @ 30fps, 1080p
@ 60fps, 720p slo-mo @ 120fps
Display 3.2in touchscreen, optical
viewfinder Connectivity Wi-Fi, GPS
Dimensions 151x116x76mm, 800g

STUFF SAYS The 5D just keeps getting better a brilliant addition to the range +++++
A step up in
price and
a step up in
amazingness
Amy Davies

For now at least, the 5D Mark IV is more expensive than the Mark III was at launch.
Hopefully the price will drop a little in the coming months; but if you do have the
readies, this is a very nice camera indeed. Its a fantastic all-rounder that should see
you well for a variety of different subjects, producing beautiful, detailed and vibrant
images and the new tweaks have only added to the experience.

85

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THREE WEEKS WITH THE AMAZON ECHO

Dawn of a new hearer

Are you ready to hand over the keys of your digital life to a virtual eavesdropper
called Alexa? Tom Morgan finds out how smart Amazons smart speaker can be
Echo only wakes
up when you say
Alexa. And you
can mute the mics
if you need to.

149 / stuff.tv/AmazonEcho

DAY 01
Why would you want to shout at
a speaker? Its a question half the
Stuff team asked me when I pulled
Amazons Echo out of the box,
and honestly, I wasnt too sure
why I would either. Start firing
questions or tasks at it, though,
and it starts to make sense.
Amazons smart speaker is
hooked into the web, so it can
do a lot more than simply control
your music. Whenever it hears
you ask for Alexa (the 60th
most popular girls name in the
US, dontcha know) an LED ring

And its all so quick no faffing

with a phone just to look up who
won the first Bake Off.
At its most basic, the Echo is
essentially a reboot of the kitchen
radio for the 21st century. Instead
of waiting for news reports to
arrive on the hour, you can get
a quick briefing from the Guardian
or BBC Radio 4 whenever you ask
for it. And the hyperlocal weather
forecasts are great.
Smooth, sleek, and with only
the tiniest of Amazon logos, the
Echos look is as inconspicuous
as a tube of high-tech kitchen roll.
Thats the idea, really it should

Theres a voice training exercise, but

the speech recognition is at least as
good as Apples Siri right out the box
on the top flashes blue and it does
its best to follow your orders. That
could be anything from playing
music from TuneIn, Spotify or
Amazon Music to answering
simple questions, reading out
Wikipedia pages, telling awful Dad
jokes, setting timers or recording
hands-free lists.
Once Ive plugged it in (theres
no battery) and downloaded the
app (Android or iOS), Im up and
running in moments. Theres an
optional voice training exercise
but, to be honest, the speech
recognition is at least as good as
Apples Siri right out of the box.

88

lurk on a table or kitchen counter,

listening to everything anyone
says without becoming the centre
of attention.

DAY 02
I havent got any mates called
Alexa, but if one came to visit
I could tap the mute button on
top this turns the LEDs around
the twisting, volume-controlling
top rim to red, and stops the Echo
interrupting your conversations.
Theres an action button up top
too, in case you want to wake
Alexa without speaking but

Alexa is always
learning and you
can download new
skills, such as how
to order an Uber.

LO N G -T
TERM TEST

01

Donut of Truth

05

04

02
03

01 Responds quickly and

efficiently to commands
02 Huge range of uses, from
music to shopping lists
03 Speaker sound quality
is surprisingly good

04 You cant control whose

voice Alexa will or wont
listen to
05 Yes, it is a bit like HAL in
2001 and we all know how
that turned out

Tech specs
Speakers 64mm
woofer, 50mm
tweeter, 15W
Class D amplifier
Microphones
7 (far-field)
Connectivity
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Dimensions 235x
83x83mm, 1kg

really, why would you do that?

The Echo can hear pretty reliably
up to about ten feet away, so Ive
barely touched it since setting it
up. It can listen over music or talk
radio, so you dont need to yell to
change stations.
Sound quality is very good, and
a big step up from the DAB radio
its replaced on my bedside table.
The separate woofer and tweeter
keep distortion down, and can
cope with pretty high volumes.
Think dinner parties and civilised
music to cook by rather than
earth-shaking bass, but this little
tube still delivers a kick when you
crank it up.

DAY 08
Aside from occasionally being
called upon by my housemates
to impress with her encyclopaedic
knowledge of 90s jungle artists,
Alexa has only had to listen out
for my voice. The Echo responds
to anyone, though which could
make it a bit of nightmare for
anyone with kids.
You wouldnt let a five-year-old
child choose your playlist, and
definitely wouldnt give them your
credit card; but the Echo could
easily let a clever nipper shout
constantly for mindless Sesame
Street songs, interrupt the news
when it gets to the interesting bits,

or add insane quantities of sweets

to your shopping list.
Keeping an Echo in the kitchen
is still a good idea, though. You
can ask Alexa to convert cups
into litres or Celsius into Fahrenheit,
set timers and alarms, and add
items to a shopping list in the
cloud its like having your own
virtual sous-chef.

DAY 15
Ive pretty much forgotten where
my light switches are now. Alexa
can control Philips Hue, LIFX and
Samsung SmartThings bulbs, so
a yell from the cosy confines of
your duvet will shine a light on your
morning routine. Other home tech
such as Nest, Honeywell Evohome
and Hive works too, so you can set
the temperature with your voice.
And then ask Alexa to play Bring
Me Sunshine on Spotify.

DAY 21
You might think the Echo is clever,
or you might think its creepy;
but just as society has had to
adapt to screens and cameras
everywhere, its time to realise
eavesdropping robots are here
to stay. Alexa is so much smarter
than a radio, and so much easier
than a smartphone, that theres
no way Im getting rid of her now.

STUFF SAYS
The AI
revolution
starts here:
Alexa can take
charge of your
whole house

89

STUFF PICKS

Lava BrightSounds 2
RAINING CHAMPION

My wife loves camping. I think its an

exercise in pointless hardship, but she
doesnt care what I think so we do it
anyway. Well, I might as well take the
edge off those cold, scuzzy weekends
by buying her this versatile accessory.
First up its a Bluetooth speaker not
the classiest in sonic terms, but better
than listening to the couple in the next
tent arguing and/or mating. Its also
a dimmable LED lamp, because tents
dont even have light sockets, and
an emergency phone charger.
Hooray for making camping
a little bit less like camping.
39 / amazon.co.uk

The dinky leatherette handle

and IPX4 splashproof rating
make the BrightSounds 2
ideal for listening to Singing in
the Rain while hopping around
in puddles. But please dont.

Dead of Winter:
The Long Night
My wife also loves
board games. I think
theyre an exercise
in pointless frippery,
but she doesnt care
what I think, etc
Anyway, surviving
zombie attacks,
fighting off bandits,
investigating
sinister chemical
experiments
perfect night in.
40 / amazon.co.uk

[ Photography Mitch Payne ]

I ALMOST BOUGHT

Richard Purvis, Production Editor

Sub-50 gifts
Santas had a tough year we select our favourite techy Christmas
presents that wont blow a huge crater in your wallet
91

STUFF PICKS

Philips Power Bank

Mark Wilson, Features Editor
There are some serious bargains in the
power bank world (see Xiaomis 15
marvel on p96), but its not always
about capacity per pound. For me,
this bottle-shaped Philips is the perfect
iPhone companion. I need extra phone
juice during long bike rides when Ive
been running Strava non-stop, so the
curved design of this 3000mAh battery
(enough for one recharge) is a relief
from cramming an awkward rectangle
into my pocket.
39 / argos.co.uk

BOTTLED LIGHTNING
The Lightning connector on top
comes with a handy magnetic
cap, but theres also a USB port
on the bottles underside for
hooking it up to Android
phones and other gadgets.

I ALMOST BOUGHT

Mophie Power Capsule

I havent yet converted to wireless earphones, but if I had Id be happy to see
this battery case nestled in my Christmas stocking. On the underside of
Mophies gymbag-friendly pouch is a 1400mAh battery for boosting your
earphones, fitness tracker or smartwatch.
34 / uk.mophie.com

92

STUFF PICKS

Birdie GoPro Flight System

Tom Wiggins, Deputy Editor

EMERGENCY LANDING

I cant stretch to a drone for my GoProobsessed bro but this is a much cheaper
alternative. Strap in the camera, toss it
in the air and it gives you a gentle aerial
view as the Birdie descends. Theres
trial and error involved as the camera
points straight down, and how far it can
see depends on how high you can throw
it, but the GoPros wide-angle lens
means you dont need to be an Olympic
javelin champion to get decent shots.
34 / mobilefun.co.uk

The Birdies wings are

waterproof and itll float for
easy retrieval, although you
might want to dry it off before
attempting to fly again

I ALMOST BOUGHT

Pikaplant Jar
If plant murder was a crime my careless sister would be on death row by now,
but a Pikaplant Jar should save her from more leaf-shrivelling tragedy. Inside
is a coffea arabica plant, with the hermetically sealed glass biodome recycling
the air and water inside, making it pretty much impossible to kill.
49 / pikaplant.com

93

STUFF PICKS

Alessi Pulcina Espresso

Coffee Maker
Esat Dedezade, Deputy Features Editor
My consumption of hot drinks is slightly
limited by the fact that my internal
thermometer is stuck somewhere
between Mordor and the sun. But I do
love design, shiny objects and innovation,
and this coffee-maker ticks all three
boxes. Its sliced-layered design gives
off funky 8-bit vibes, while its aluminium
construction is a pleasure to hold. Its
insides are also clever the shape of
its internal heater automatically stops
the coffee filtering through at just the
right moment.
from 43 / amara.com

NIPPING THE BUD

Even the spout oozes functional
design. Its V-shape cuts off
drops when pouring, letting
you sip back and relax without
ruining your white Italian
marble countertop.

I ALMOST BOUGHT

LifeStraw Go
Theres no place for fancy espresso makers on a hike. Water is the name of the
survival game, and the LifeStraw Go bottles built-in replaceable filter removes
99.9999% of harmful nasties lurking in lakes, puddles and streams. Well, theres
still that pesky bear stalking you, but at least you wont get a tummy upset.
27 / trekkinn.com

94

STUFF PICKS

This Book Is A Camera

Rob Leedham, Editor
Hands up, I am a terrible photographer.
Stick a Canon in my hands and Ill weep
at the sheer number of dials and knobs
to twiddle in the wrong direction. Thats
why I love this book so much. You just
stick a sheet of photo paper in it, lift
up the shutter and boom! Youre done.
Develop the shot in pitch darkness and
youve got yourself a unique, arty snap
thats completely different to anything
a pro might take. And idiot-proof? As an
expert in the field, Id say so.
25 / shop.lomography.com

LIGHTS OUT
At a minimum of 15 a pop,
pinhole camera film isnt
cheap. So make sure you
develop it in pitch darkness,
otherwise your snaps will
be at risk of overexposure.

I ALMOST BOUGHT

BBC Micro:bit Activity Kit

Want to indoctrinate your kids into tech at the earliest age possible? This BBC
Micro:bit and Activity Kit combo gives any sprog a full set of tools to get familiar
with coding and start building their own apps. All you need to do is sit back, wait
for them to invent the next Tinder and bask in the reflected wealth/glory.
25 / techwillsaveus.com

95

STUFF PICKS

CHEAP TREATS
the mega-bargains we missed
30 OR LESS

Raspberry Pi Zero

Kasa Smart Bulb

Tile Slim

A gift for someone who remembers tower

PCs and Christmas 94: a 6cm computer
capable of running desktop software and
playing 1080p videos. Its best trick is being
a retro gaming machine (Google RetroPie).
27 / thepihut.com

The cost of a Philips Hue addiction can

mount up, so these cheaper (if dumber)
colour-changing bulbs could be a safer bet.
They can be controlled from smartphones
and scheduled to turn on and off.
29.99 / firebox.com

Know someone absent-minded? Help them

keep track of their wallet, keys and other
possessions with this Bluetooth tracker. Itll
show where them where they left an object,
or sound an alarm to reveal where it is.
29.99 / currys.co.uk

SlugHaus Bullet

Uprosa Phone Case

Xiaomi Mi Power Bank

Yes, your phone has a torch, but its only

bright enough to light up the inside of a Coke
can. Put this water-resistant LED light on
your keyring and youll have 15 lumens of
torch-power on tap at all times.
10.99 / thefowndry.com

Who designed these lovely phone cases?

Science, thats who. Uprosas designs are
from microscopes and are available for most
smartphones. This one of crystallised citric
acid is called Citrus Ocean.
19.90 / uprosa.com

We cant quite decide which is the more

astonishing bargain: a full computer kit for
under 30 (see the Raspberry Pi Zero), or
a 10,000mAh power bank for the price of
a pub lunch, giving two full phone recharges.
15.90 / amazon.co.uk

Sugru Rebel Tech Kit

Stranger Things keyring

Robot Gift Wrap

You cant buy many gadgets for under a

tenner, but you can tinker with your existing
ones. This tech-themed pack of Sugrus
versatile gum comes with four sachets of
the stuff and a booklet of modding ideas.
10 / sugru.com

Fans will be in a personal Upside Down this

Christmas, stuck between the excellent
first season of Netflixs 80s nostalgia-fest
and its follow-up next year. Heres a token
gesture you can give them to cope.
7.99 / thefowndry.com

Spend all of your Secret Santa money on

these excellent robot-themed decorations
(including stickers and cut-outs), leaving
just enough spare change to put a bag of
Fangtastics inside.
9.95 / luckies.co.uk

20 OR LESS

10 OR LESS

96

! 
# 
 
 

 



 
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V E R S U S F I T N E S S WAT C H E S

Work out which watch to

wear to watch your workout

ST
TE ER
N
IN
W

TomTom Spark 3 Cardio + Music

VS

This TomTom has a heart-rate sensor, and its got GPS for
phone-free workout mapping, but otherwise its all pretty
simple. Itll track running and cycling, its waterproof to 40m,
and itll monitor the basics: sleep, steps, active minutes.

1. FEATURES

Need to know your lactate threshold? How long your feet are
in contact with the floor while youre running? How long itll
take you to recover after that pre-breakfast triathlon? The
735XT puts the info right on your wrist, no phone required.

You dont get much in the way of extras no smartphone

notifications, no apps, not even a colour screen but that
helps with the battery life. And this is the only dedicated GPS
running watch thatll stream music to Bluetooth headphones.

2. IN USE

This is hardcore tracking, with course uploads, GPS route

recording and custom workouts and the kind of metrics
that will please pro athletes. Its got a great screen, it does
phone notifications, and theres an app store to add features.

This watch wont swamp you with stats. It covers the basics
well, so you can concentrate on beating that PB rather than
constantly checking youre in the right heart-rate zone. It
might well be all the fitness watch you need.

3. RESULTS

Its more pricey than the TomTom, but the 735XT has the
fitness features, detailed measurements and app smarts
to justify it. Theres a little too much here for novices, but it
will sort you out if youve got a serious health habit to feed.

Screen 22x25mm, 144x168 mono LCD

Sensors Heart rate, accelerometer
Sports tracked Running, cycling, swimming,
strength training Connectivity Bluetooth,
GPS, compass Battery life Up to 3 weeks
Dimensions 22x25x11.5mm, 46g

1
2
3

TECH
RATER

O Price 219 / stuff.tv/Spark3

[ Words Tom Morgan ]

Garmin Forerunner 735XT

+++++

Screen 31.1mm, 215x180 LCD Sensors

Heart rate, accelerometer Sports tracked
Running, cycling, swimming, strength training,
cross-country skiing, kayaking Connectivity
Bluetooth, GPS, ANT+ Battery life Up to 11
days Dimensions 45x45x11.7mm, 44g

O Price 359 / stuff.tv/735XT

STUFF SAYS

++++,

The Garmin offers more detail, but the TomTom is simple enough to get anyone moving
99

SMART HOME

ROOMS FOR
IMPROVEMENT
Your kitchens an idiot and the lounge makes Donald Trumps pet pheasant look
like a genius. Heres a collection of tech so clever itll grab Mensas attention...

101

I want a...
ROBOT BUTLER
Who doesnt? Until recently it remained a figment of every sci-fi fans imagination,
a Jetsons fantasy and nothing more. But things are changing. The execution might
not be quite as imagined it doesnt hover or do the washing up but Amazons
ECHO DOT is a willing servant to all of your list-making, light-controlling,
weather-checking needs. Plug it into a speaker (the full-size Echo comes with
its own built in, but costs 100 more) and all of a sudden your hi-fi will become
sentient, playing whatever you ask it to from Spotify or Prime Music.
Its unlikely
you have a hi-fi in
your kitchen, but the
Dot can work in a tag
team with other Echo
devices, answering
from whichever
is closest.

AMAZON ECHO DOT

49 / amazon.co.uk

As long as you
dont whisper, Alexa
can pick you out over
the top of music playing
in the same room thanks
to seven mics and
clever far-field voice
recognition.

Press the
mute button to put
the mics to sleep, and
the lights around the edge
will go red to show Alexa
has stopped listening.
Dont worry, she isnt
offended.

ARE YOU LISTENING?

TALENT SHOW

ON THE HOUSE

To get Alexa (the Echo Dots

cloud-based assistant) to listen
to you theres a button on top
you can press, but why would
you want to when its entirely
voice-activated? Just say Alexa
followed by what you want it to
do and, well, thats it. As well as
playing music she can set timers
for you, crack bad jokes, be your
own personal newsreader and
even play an audiobook youve
bought on Audible.

Amazon has taught Alexa a

load of third-party skills, so she
can order from Just Eat or check
flight prices on Skyscanner, train
times on National Rail (mind the
gap between the timetable and
reality) and football scores from
the Premier League. To install
new skills, just add them via the
free Echo mobile app on your
phone. Theyre all saved in the
cloud, so Alexa will never run
out of brain space.

Both Echo models are also

compatible with a load of smart
home gadgets, the main ones
being Nest, Hive and Hue.
That means you can turn your
lights on and off or adjust the
temperature using nothing
but your voice. Were getting
into proper home automation
territory now. It can even tell
the difference between lights,
so you can specify which lamp
or room you want to adjust.

Now add this...

Dyson 360 Eye 799 / dyson.co.uk

Alexa might be smarter than a 360 Eye but Dysons robo-vac
has one big advantage: it can move, using its all-seeing camera
to seek out dirt and suck it up.

102

Alternatively...

UE Boom 2

129 / ultimateears.com
You can use Siri or Google
Now through this hardy
little speakers microphone,
although unlike the Echo
youll need to press its
Bluetooth button first
to get it to listen. It can
respond to all the usual
commands: Siri, play our
song. No, not that one.

SMART HOME

NETATMO PRESENCE

The Netatmo
Security app (iOS
and Android) lets you
watch live footage, scroll
through recordings
and home in on the
action by pinching
to zoom.

tba / netatmo.com

Theres not
much point in
having a security
camera outside if it cant
withstand the elements,
so this is weatherproof,
plus it works
over Wi-Fi.
If you already
have an outdoor
light fitting at the front
of your house, the
Presence can be installed
as a replacement, with
no extra wiring
required.

I want an...
ALL-SEEING EYE
Rather than filming who gets into your house, why not keep an eye on whos
outside in the hope of stopping them making it in? NETATMOS PRESENCE
looks like a particularly heavy-duty security light, but look below the 12W LED
lamp and theres a 4MP camera capable of shooting Full HD video and detecting
people, cars and animals (handy if theres a lion on the loose from your local zoo).
It can see up to 20m away with a 100 field of vision, so even if your drives on the
long side itll pick up anyone scoping out your gaff and send an instant notification.
TREAD ALERT

CATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS

PET PROJECTS

The Presence app creates

a timeline of events, so you can
scroll through, watching each
video or logging in to check the
live stream if your Spidey sense
starts tingling. You can also set
up specific alert zones, so the
Ocado man walking down the
path wont cause it any alarm,
but someone heading round the
back or snooping around the car
will trigger a notification to be
sent to your phone.

Presence will only pay

attention when something
worth recording happens, so
you wont spend your evenings
deleting hours of footage. Video
clips are stored on a microSD
card but can also be sent to the
cloud, with no subscription fees.
After dark it has an infrared mode
that reduces the range to 15m, or
you can instruct it to shed actual
light on proceedings whenever
it detects movement.

Security is obviously the

Presences number one concern,
but unless your house is stuffed
with priceless artefacts and
theres a stream of men in
striped shirts prowling around,
hopefully itll come in useful for
other things too. You can check
that the kids came home from
school when they said (and
didnt sneak out again), or look
for sightings of next doors
missing cat.

Now add this...

Ring Video Doorbell 159 / ring.com

This detects motion and shows whos at the door on your phone,
so you can tell the postie where to leave your parcel and not to
post that Sorry you were out card without even ringing the bell

Alternatively...

Nest Cam Outdoor

US$199 / nest.com

This version of Nests

security camera records
24/7 and will also send you
an alert when it detects
movement. Open the app
and, if you see someone
snooping, you can use the
cams speaker (and your
politest swearwords) to
request that they jog on.

103

SMART HOME

I want a...
TV IN EVERY ROOM
Easy, right? You just buy a TV for every room. Well, not so fast, Telly Savalas.
What are you planning to watch on those TVs? Terrestrial channels on the built-in
Freeview tuner? Youre happy with Celebrity Dog Karaoke on ITV 15+1, are you?
Thought not. You need to think a bit smarter than that and SKY Q is your
saviour. A Silver box under your main telly works as the hub, feeding up to two
other Mini boxes and two tablets with both a live stream and access to recorded
and downloaded stuff saved on the main boxs roomy 2TB hard drive.

SKY Q
from 54/month + installation / sky.com

4K is free but
only accessible on
the Silver box. Press
red to flood the screen
with extra pixels, or
download from Skys
on-demand
catalogue.

The interface
has had a complete
overhaul. Gone is that
old text-heavy EPG,
replaced by a swish
menu full of big
pictures and video
previews.

The touchy,
swipey remote
makes the old
chunkster you get with
Sky+ look ancient. Its
about half the size, with
a touch-sensitive
circular panel.

WHATS ON THE MENU?

TABLET TELLY

ROUTERMASTER

The Sky Q menu is the same

no matter which box you sit in
front of, so the experience is
practically identical whether
youre in the living room with
the Silver or the bedroom with
the Mini. You can even pause a
recorded show on one box, move
to another and pick up where
you left off. The only thing the
main box gets over the others
is access to Ultra HD, be it live
football or downloaded TV.

Fire up the Sky Q app on

your tablet (its not available
for phones yet) and youll see
a touchscreen version of the
menu you get on a TV. You can
call up the EPG to watch live TV
(it takes a few seconds), access
anything thats stored on the
Silver boxs hard drive, or browse
for stuff to download. Certain
shows can also be stashed
temporarily on the tablet to
watch outside of your own walls.

If youve got Sky broadband,

the Q setup has an extra trick
up its sleeve. It comes with a
special router that turns each
box into a Wi-Fi hotspot, boosting
the signal around your house
to make sure streaming to
a tablet is as smooth as can
be. Because it streams over
the local network rather than
the web (like Sky Go or iPlayer
does), the speed of your internet
connection is irrelevant.

Now add this...

Amazon Fire TV 4K 79 / amazon.co.uk

If you want 4K on every TV, Sky Qs Mini boxes wont do it but
Amazons Fire TV box can. Plus, for under 80 you can almost
afford to buy one for the same as a month of Skys telly package.

104

Alternatively...

Sonos Play:1
169 / sonos.com

Sonos was making

music multiroom long
before those interlopers
at Sky got in on the act.
Start with a Play: 1 and
see how long you can
resist before filling your
whole house to the rafters
with them.

SMART HOME

WITHINGS BODY CARDIO

149 / withings.com

PHILIPS HUE
from 14 / philips.co.uk

At 0.7in thick
the Body Cardio
scales are slimmer
than youd ever want
to be, but theyre not
flimsy. An aluminium
base keeps things
nice and solid.

I want a...
DIGITAL
MOT
You cant replace a qualified doctor with a set of
bathroom scales, but WITHINGS BODY CARDIO
is about as close as its possible to get. Climb aboard
(you cant do that to your GP) and it can work out your
weight, body fat and water percentage, plus your bone
and muscle mass as well, before churning out a graph
to indicate which direction your vital stats are heading
in. Just dont forget to go to the actual doctor every
now and then for a check-up. The Body Cardio can
keep track of eight users, so theres excuse for not
using it for fear of messing up somebody elses data.

I want...
BRIGHT
IDEAS
PHILIPS HUE has come a long way since it first
screwed its colour-changing talents into light fittings
a few years ago. The basics are the same bulbs with
an app that allows you to control them independently
but these days there are different types of lights,
various Hue-compatible lamps, and new skills such
as motion control and voice activation. You can even
program them to play nice with other smart gadgets
around your home, or add motion sensors that behave
differently after bedtime, so it wont dazzle you when
you have to get up to answer a call of nature.

OPEN YOUR HEART

SCALING UP

LIVING COLOUR

OUT AND ABOUT

As well as heart rate the

Body Cardio can also work
out your pulse wave velocity,
a very handy figure that used
to require lab tests. Its a good
indication of how healthy
your ticker and arteries are,
so if your numbers too high
it might be time to go and
see the doc and find out what
you can do to lower it. Putting
down those Quavers might
be a start.

The scales have Wi-Fi and

Bluetooth onboard, feeding
your data back to an account
that you can check via the
Health Mate mobile app (iOS
and Android). It also works
with other fitness apps,
such as MyFitnessPal and
Runkeeper, so you can
import data from all over,
check for changes over time
and get a more accurate idea
of what shape youre in.

Hues most basic skill is

changing colour. You can only
alter the warmth of the white
bulbs, but others can be set
to any colour of the rainbow
using various sliders or the
apps preset concoctions
(Concentrate, Relax etc), or
by picking out a shade from
a photo on your phone. Ooh,
doesnt the lounge look nice
bathed in this comforting
sausage-pink glow?

Hue now works with

Apples HomeKit, so there
are features that used to
require tinkering in IFTTT that
are now baked into the Philips
app. HomeKit can ensure all
the lights are off when youre
not in, and itll turn them on
again when you get back.
That used to require sensors,
but not any longer because
HomeKit knows where your
phone is.

Now add this...

Oral-B Pro 6000 CrossAction

83 / amazon.co.uk
A Bluetoothbrush that tells you if youve
missed a bit or if youre brushing too hard.

Alternatively...

Elgato Eve Energy 45 / amazon.co.uk

Plug an Eve Energy into the wall between
the socket and a lamp and you can control
it via Siri, plus check power consumption.

105

BETA YOURSELF

Upgraded your Mac to the new OS but find that

you cant really tell the difference? Craig Grannell
reveals how to tease out its secret new features
THE BASICS

Q Use picture-in-picture.

Q Share the love. Sierra now

lets you copy and paste text
between your iPhone/iPad
and Mac. Head to settings
for both devices and enable
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Handoff.
You can now copy and paste,
but be quick the clipboard
clears after a few minutes.

Q Lock up your Flash.

Apples clearly had enough
of the security nightmare
that is Flash, so youll now find
that Safari blocks it by default
in Sierra. You can still click to
play specific pieces of Flash
content, though or, if youre
feeling foolhardy, you can turn
the plug-in back on again in
Safaris preferences.

Q Manage your menu bar.

Once, it wasnt possible to
fiddle about with third-party

menu-bar icons in OS X, but

as of now thats changed.
Rejoice wildly as you
command-drag Dropbox
or Moom and place their
icons exactly where you
want them even on either
side of the Spotlight icon,
you utter anarchist.

Q Give a thumbs up. If

youre too lazy to type out
actual words in Messages,
youll be pleased to hear
that Tapbacks can now be
used inside the app. Also,
Messages now embeds rich
previews for content such as
videos, and will happily render
special effects and stickers
from iOS10.

If youve got work to do but

must watch that hilarious
online video of a toddler falling
over, macOS enables your
procrastination through
Safaris picture-in-picture
mode. Look for the PiP button
on standard video embeds
and Vimeo; YouTube requires
two right-clicks on a video and
a menu option to be selected.

Q Go maximum Apple.
Your other Apple devices
can now makes themselves
useful when youre tapping
away on your Mac. In Safari,
you can use Apple Pay on
supported websites and use
your Apple Watch or iPhone
to confirm the payment. And
if your Mac supports it, the
Security & Privacy pane in
System Preferences houses
an option to allow your Apple
Watch to unlock your Mac
when its close by.

PIC AND CHOOSE

Q Find yourself. Type
something into the search
field tree, say and Photos
will have a go at finding photos
with trees. You can use Siri too,
with a phrase like Show me
photos from the last week.

Q Unearth memories. Click

the Memories tab in Photos
for a group of snaps Apple
reckons are important to you.

Q Close to the edit. You can

now edit Live Photos (though
changes take a while to render).
And if you enjoy scrawling over
pics added to Mail using the
Markup feature, thats now
integrated into Photos.

106

LEVEL
UP WITH...

MOOM
The new macOS still
doesnt offer the kind
of window management
youll find in Windows.
Moom ably manages
this with mouse drags,
shortcuts or clicking a
windows zoom button
and then drawing on a
grid the portion of the
screen youd like it to fill.
US$10 /
manytricks.com/moom

SUPERDUPER!
We feel a bit funny
whenever Apple not
exactly renowned for
the reliability of its online
offerings suggests
housing all your stuff in
the cloud. Wed suggest
buying a massive
external hard drive
and using SuperDuper!
to clone your Mac.
24 /
shirt-pocket.com

BUT
SIRI-OUSLY
QVirtual assistant. Siri on
Mac can do a bunch of things.
What things? Ask: What can
you do? and shell give a list.

QStick a pin in it. Dont

keep repeating the same Siri
searches pin regular ones
to Notification Centre.

QBe a dictator. You cant

bellow Hey, Siri! at your Mac
and have it respond, but there
is a (complicated) workaround.
In System Preferences, open
Siri and set the keyboard
shortcut to Alt+Space. Open
the Accessibility pane, select
Dictation, click Enable, and set
the keyword phrase to Hey.
In Dictation Commands, click
Enable advanced commands,
then click +, and type Siri
in When I say. Set While
using to Any application,
and under Perform, select
Press keyboard shortcut
and press Alt+Space. Done!

SORT YOURSELF OUT

START THE TWEAK

Q Get in sync. Sync your

folders to iCloud and youll
now have access to them on
Sierra-running Macs, on older
Macs running OS X, on iOS
and on the iCloud.com site.

Q Keep your lunch down.

Q Throw out the junk. Open

About this Mac > Storage >
Manage. In Recommendations,
turn on options for clearing
rubbish and reducing clutter.

Apple went animation-mad in

iOS and OS X; Sierra now has a
Reduce Motion feature. Go to
System Preferences > Display.

Q Keep your Launch down.

DROPBOX

Launchpad still slides between

pages, though. Stop it with
Terminal, using the command
defaults write com.apple.dock
springboard-page-duration
-float 0 and then killall Dock.

Apples not caught up

with Dropbox when it
comes to sharing. Any
item can be shared, but
that just welds it to an
email or iMessage. So
its worth keeping hold
of your Dropbox account
to share large files you
might be able to get away
with the freebie version.
from free / dropbox.com

Q Keeping tabs. In theory,

all Mac apps have tabs now.
They dont really (eg TextEdit),
but you can force new docs
to open in tabs using the
Dock section of System
Preferences (Prefer tabs).

Q Open any app. Apple has

locked down the apps itll let
you open. For any others that
you know are safe, override
macOSs Gatekeeper in Finder:
right-click and select Open.

107

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VERSUS GAMES

FIFA v PES: its

all to play for
One of the fiercest match-ups in football has recently become something
of a one-sided affair but can Konamis plucky underdog nick it this time?
PS4, Xbox One, PC /
stuff.tv/FIFA17

PS4, Xbox One, PC /

stuff.tv/PES

FIFA 17
EAs footie sim has been clear at
the top for years now, but times
are changing and the FIFA team
might just be feeling the heat.

Keeping it real
Theres one simple reason why
FIFA is the clear winner in the
realism category: licences. Both
games look beautiful, but FIFA
is the only one thats allowed to
use the names of all the real clubs.
There isnt a fake strip or laughably
bad name in sight, and EA Sports
has managed to chuck in the
likenesses of all 20 current
Premier League managers
(though well be surprised if
that line-up is 80% accurate
by Christmas, let alone the end
of the season). EAs offering
also packs in more teams,
more leagues, more stadia,
and better commentary.

Playing the game

This season FIFA is all about pace,
power and picturesque goals. The
interplay between the improbably
speedy wingers and their targets

in the box is magnificent to behold,

but it also highlights the hit taken
by the games under-utilised
midfielders. Theyre clumsy, and
will give the ball away through
wayward passing far too often.
Defensively things look solid, but
an over-emphasis on shielding
the ball makes tackling opponents
a chore. Maybe its a good thing
they give it away so often

A marathon, not a sprint

FIFAs Career Mode is much
improved, and has more depth
than last years by-the-books
affair. Managers are asked to get
more involved, and have to juggle
increasingly demanding board
expectations with the financial
realities of building a title-winning
team or simply staving off
relegation. A slightly tweaked
Ultimate Team also makes
its return, and will be the main
attraction for many FIFA veterans.
But the biggest addition by far
is The Journey a new story
mode thats slightly clichd but
cinematic and captivating.

STUFF SAYS ++++,

FIFA holds onto the title, but not all of
its tweaks are for the better
110

VS

PES 2017

This is going to be our year, say

hopeful fans around the globe at
the start of every season. So is it
finally going to be Pro Evos year?

Keeping it real
Theres no denying the new PES
looks the part, with its Fox Engine
serving up high-fidelity visuals
that ripple with atmospheric
dynamism. The grounds, kits
and players look more authentic
than ever but, of course, Man
Blue and Man Red are anything
but authentic. PES does have the
Champions League and Europa
League licences to compensate
for missing out on the Prem again,
but when Konami isnt even
free to fill out those competitions
with the right squads, it almost
becomes a bad joke.

Playing the game

The new PES is slower and more
purposeful than before. Passing
feels more measured and
precise, and the games stars
feel uncannily lifelike thanks to
Konamis Player ID and Real Touch

systems. That, combined with

much-improved goalkeepers and
defenders, means its harder to
score goals so this years edition
is more about the build-up than
the end product. Thats no bad
thing, but if the revamped
gameplay is an acquired taste,
PES 2017s sloppy mechanics
are a veritable elbow in the face.
Player switching, pass assist
systems and shooting sensitivity
are all over the place.

A marathon, not a sprint

Youre getting plenty of fitba for
your buck here. Master League
is still wonderfully addictive, and
outshines FIFAs Career Mode in
terms of narrative presentation
and manager customisation
though the UI is still the stuff of
nightmares. MyClub is also back,
offering a compelling alternative
to Ultimate Team. Still, a lack of
depth (because of those licensing
issues) means Konami still has
a lot of ground to make up before
it can call itself a contender for
serious campaign fans.

STUFF SAYS +++,,

A solid entry in the series, but it scores
a few too many own-goals

[ Words Chris Kerr ]

VERSUS GAMES

111

TEST GAMES

Xbox One, PC / stuff.tv/Horizon3

Forza Horizon 3
A third Horizon spin-off is here to secure Forzas place at the head of the
racing game pack hop in for an immense, exhilarating romp across Australia
ince making the leap to
Xbox One, Forzas openworld Horizon titles have
left the more serious Motorsport
originals spluttering in their dust.
What started as a mere spin-off
delivered open-road thrills across
the Franco-Italian countryside with
2014s brilliant Horizon 2 and now
were off to Oz for more.
Theres a wealth of terrain to
cover, and a vast number of events
and challenges to keep you cruising.
No longer just a speed demon
taking part in a racing/music
festival, youre now running the
show, driving to amass fans for
the fest. When you have enough
fans tallied you simply choose
the next destination, or press
a button to upgrade a location
and unlock more events. Oh, and
youll occasionally try to outrun
a speeding cargo train, or take on
a Jeep thats being towed through
the jungle by a helicopter. You cant
run over kangaroos, though. Which
is probably for the best.
Horizon 3s play area is double
the size of the last one and theres
quite a bit of mixed terrain, so make

sure youve got the right car for

each job. There are loads of them:
some 350 in total, ranging from
zany supercars to old-school rally
rides. Your garage might house
everything from a 1965 Alfa
Romeo GTA Stradale to a Tesla
Model S P90D.
Youve got loads of chances
to drive it all too: wild bucket-list
events, PR stunts, speed-trap
challenges, barn finds (with classic
cars to rescue), illicit street races
and more. You can custom-tweak
any championship and share it with
friends or the wider community,
and naturally theres also Xbox Live
play. Its the most online-friendly
Forza to date.
In looks, Horizon 3 is even better
than the last entry, delivering
dazzling effects across the land.
This is the first game to offer HDR
support on the Xbox One S in
fact, its the first game to offer HDR
anywhere, and it looks incredible.
HDR essentially adds far greater
contrast when youre in a race
that moves from night to sunrise,
you sure will be impressed by it.
Andrew Hayward

HDR brings an
increase in
perceived detail
everything
looks crisper
than before.

Shifting the
action to
Australia has
brought a new
focus on offroad racing.

STUFF SAYS A stunning open-world racer that delivers mile after mile of fun +++++
112

BRINGING LIFE
TO SOUND
qacoustics.co.uk/m3

Introducing The New M3 Soundbar.

Simplicity redefined, where beautifully engineered sound meets beautiful design.
M3 is an elegant, compact soundbar, designed to bring life to your living room without the clutter of a full
Hi-Fi system. Thanks to its built-in subwoofer, Intelligent Pre-Amplifier (IPA) and Bluetooth aptX
wireless capability, the M3 will fill your home with superbly detailed and dynamic audio reproduction.
Bringing Life To Sound.

Built-In
Subwoofer

aptX
Bluetooth

Search Q Acoustics M3

Ultra Wide
Sound Dispersion

MoviEQ
Enhanced Listening

#hearingisbelieving

REVIEWS

Media hoard
This month the planet is
under attack from aliens,
ghosts, evil plant spores
and indie-pop riffsters

WATCH

Arrival_cinema
ne morning, 12 almondshaped, skyscraper-sized
spaceships come to Earth
and hover silently 20 feet above
the ground at different points
across the globe. Every 18 hours
a door opens up in one of them
and a team of scientists, led by
lonely linguistics professor Louise
Banks (the excellent-as-always
Amy Adams), venture inside for a
chat. Where did they come from?
And more importantly, what do
they want?
With its black, granite-like
walls, the crews first journey
up into the ships interior feels
almost like an upside-down
excavation. The fact that
it generates its own gravity,
allowing for some Inception-esque
changes in perspective, is not

114

the only similarity Arrival shares

with Christopher Nolans films.
The ins and outs of cracking
the visitors code are glossed over,
but then two hours of someone
sitting in front of a computer
studying symbols would hardly
make for compelling viewing. In
fact, its the relationships between
the humans that perhaps most
shape how the story unfolds.
This makes Arrival a layered,
almost circular sci-fi film, which
expertly weaves its heavy
themes into the narrative from
beginning to end. The only point
it forces home is as the credits roll,
when it makes sure you appreciate
how clever the title is.
Tom Wiggins

Marvels mutants face off

against Apocalypse, the
latest Big Bad trying to
well, the clues in the title.
Destruction, special FX
and superpowers are
plentiful, as are in-jokes
and cameos to please
comic geeks, but casual
fans will need Quicksilverlike reactions to keep up
with the breakneck pace.
Tom Morgan

Given the talent involved,

this reboot isnt quite the
laugh-riot wed hoped
for. That said, Melissa
McCarthy, Leslie Jones
and a relentlessly offkilter Kate McKinnon are
still chucklesome. The
best moments come
when theyre bringing
new ideas, instead of
retreading the franchises
former glories.
Rob Leedham

STUFF SAYS ++++,

STUFF SAYS +++,,

STUFF SAYS +++,,

X-Men:
Apocalypse

Ghostbusters
_Blu-ray, DVD

_Blu-ray, DVD, VOD

WANT
MORE LIKE
THIS?

REVIEWS

STREAM

Attack the Block_Amazon Prime

Aliens descend on Earth
with bad intentions. Aliens
land in a South London
housing estate. Aliens
find out that South London
housing estates hold their
own dangers
By refusing to cast
judgement either good
or bad on the actions of
its teenage protagonists,
Attack the Block leaves
you free to make up your
own mind, although youll
probably be too engrossed
to bother. Directed by Joe

Cornish (of Adam & Joe

fame), this is scary, funny
and very cool. It also
features the debut of
some fella called John
Boyega, who went on to
be in some other sci-fi
film, we forget which

LISTEN

So Long Forever_Palace
With the Maccabees
now an ex-band, theres
a gaping hole in the market
for mournful indie bangers
thatll make millennials
come up on a happy in a
field next summer and
Palace might just be the
ones to fill it.
The London four-piece
have made a debut album
thats all chiming guitars,
soaring vocals and the kind
of melodies that youll find
hidden inside your head
when you least expect it.

So Long Forever lacks the

edge that often made the
Maccabees so exciting, and
a couple of tracks sound
like theyd be a little too
comfortable soundtracking
a sad bit in an episode of
Hollyoaks, but if Palace can
find a sound thats truly
their own and mine their
influences for all the best
bits they have a sparkly
future ahead of them.
Tom Wiggins
STUFF SAYS ++++,

Q The Man Who Fell to Earth_Amazon

ALIENS
MUSIC
ON
MOVIES
EARTH

In this piece of classic 1976 weirdness, David Bowie proves

what we all suspected of someone so outrageously
talented: he was an alien all along.

Q Invasion of the Body Snatchers_Netflix

Youll never look at a plant in the same way again after
watching this classic, paranoia-spawning late-70s horror
starring Donald Sutherland.

Q Predator_Netflix
Arnie chews on a big cigar, fires his gun, kills lots of stuff
and then makes some corny wisecracks. So what else
were you expecting?

Babes Never
Die_Honeyblood

Primitives
_Bayonne

After kicking up a sublime

fuss on their debut album,
Glasgows Honeyblood are
back again and remain as
bittersweet as ever. Think
Bikini Kill meet The White
Stripes and youve got
a strong idea of how
compelling this duos
brand of garage rock is.
Ready For the Magic is
a particularly thrilling rush
of fizzing guitar scuzz.
Rob Leedham

When is a DJ not a DJ?

When he combines his
electronic compositions
with live singing and
drumming, la definitelynot-a-DJ Bayonne (real
name Roger Sellers). The
album misses out on some
of his live energy, but
the twinkly digital noises
and Phil Collins-inspired
analogue drumming make
for a rather lovely listen.
Tom Parsons

STUFF SAYS ++++,

STUFF SAYS ++++,

115

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instagram.com/stuffmag

TOP
TEN

This gadget has

leapt straight
outta testing
and into our
rankings.

NEW

OF EVERYTHING
Time changes
everything,
including Stuf
Top Ten placings.

HOT
BUY
BARGAIN
BUY
UPDATE
Searing with
techy genius,
a product thats
set our hearts
aame.

A solid gold
bargain.
Worth owning,
regardless of
cashow.

Smartphones
Playlist: Audiobooks
Tablets
& headphones
TVs
New to streaming
Should I upgrade:
Apple Watch
Smartwatches
& fitness trackers

118
119
120
122
123
124
125

Laptops
The big question:
Which password app?
Consoles
& Win a PS4
Hi-fi
Cameras
How to buy a CSC
Budget buys
5-minute hacks

126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133

HOW
TO USE
THEM

TOP TENS SMARTPHONES

118

HOT
BUY

OnePlus 3
Once again, OnePlus has swanned in with
a 300-ish phone that offers a true alternative
to some costing more like 600. The tech is
as aggressively packed in as ever, but this is
also the best-looking, most expensive-feeling
OnePlus phone to date. If an extra 300
is nothing to you, there are slightly better
screens and cameras available. But last time
we checked, most of our readers like a good
deal. This is an unbeatable one.

TIPS &
TRICKS
Above the OnePlus
3s volume button is
an alert slider. Flick
it up to escape from
work messages.

Stuff says +++++

A big, brilliant bargain of a phone thats
going for half the price of its rivals

Try out the gesture

controls by drawing
an O on its turnedoff screen to fire up
the camera app.

O NOW ADD THIS Rosewood case

The OnePlus 3 may be perfect
for skinflints, but keep your frugal
sensibilities to yourself with this
luxe-looking wood and Kevlar case.
20 / oneplus.net

Turn on the cameras

manual shooting
mode to tinker with
ISO, shutter speed
and white balance.

4
5
6
7

Samsung Galaxy S7

Apple iPhone 7 Plus

569 / samsung.com

from 719 / apple.com

The Galaxy S7 looks a lot like

the old S6 but has been improved
all round, not least with an excellent
camera. The Edge edition offers
enhanced battery life, but pound
for pound this model is actually
the better buy. It sets a high bar
for Samsungs competitors.

The new 7 and 7 Plus look almost

identical to last years models,
except for the glossy jet black
option and Lightning headphone
output. But theyre waterproof,
processing power and battery life
have been improved, and the Plus
gets a tasty dual-lens camera.

Stuff says +++++

An imperious update of our
favouritephone from 2015

Stuff says +++++

The best iPhone camera, screen and
battery: theres no better iOS choice

BARGAIN
BUY

BARGAIN
BUY

10

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

+++++ 639 / samsung.com
Basically the same phone as the standard S7, but
with a nifty curved screen and superior battery life.

HTC 10
+++++ from 509 / htc.com
This handset barely puts a foot wrong and has the
battery life to survive the most impromptu pub trips.

Apple iPhone 7
+++++ from 599 / apple.com
Forget the headphone furore; the iPhone 7 is a slick
update packed with worthwhile new features.

LG G5
+++++ 429 / lg.com
The first smartphone to do modular design in a big
way the scale of the G5s ambition is breathtaking.

Lenovo Moto G4
+++++ from 159 / motorola.co.uk
Showing every other big phone maker what can be
done for less than 200. The No1 budget phone.

Vodafone Smart Prime 7

+++++ 80 / vodafone.co.uk
On specs alone, the Smart Prime 7 easily holds
its own against rivals that cost twice the price.

Apple iPhone SE
+++++ from 359 / apple.com
The cheapest iPhone packs all the power of the
iPhone 6s into the 4in shell of the iPhone 5s.

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW PHONES, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SMARTPHONES

O Prices quoted are for handset only unless otherwise stated

329 / oneplus.net

119

PLAYLIST
FIVE GREAT
AUDIOBOOKS

A Boy Made
of Blocks
Keith Stuart
A young dad realises
that Minecraft is
helping his autistic
son, Sam, face the
real world. At almost
12 hours this is a
lengthy audiobook,
but its nicely read,
touching, insightful
and funny.
19 / audible.co.uk

PLAYLIST TOP TENS

Love reading, but also love

staring blankly out of train
windows? Here are some fine
books you can read without
using your eyeballs

Revenger
Alastair Reynolds

Infomocracy
Malka Older

That this is the sci-

specialists rst
young adult book
is apparent from
the youthful female
protaganist narrating
and the Treasure
Island-ish adventure
that unfolds and
his imagination is at
maximum output.
19 / audible.co.uk

A political thriller
thats just the ticket
for US election year.
This is an audiobook
youre going to have
concentrate on,
but its worth it:
a post-cyberpunk
House of Cards
crammed full of
surprises and ideas.
15 / iTunes

Digging Up
Mother
Doug Stanhope
Outspoken US comic
Stanhopes memoir
about his mum is a
scream. Its a shame,
then, that he hands
large chunks over
to his podcast pal
Chad Shank. Nothing
personal, Shankers,
but we paid for Doug.
20 / audible.co.uk

The Dark Forest

Cixin Liu
You dont have to
have read the rst
book in Lius hard
sci- trilogy to enjoy
this follow-up. What
would humanity do
if it knew of an alien
invasion set to arrive
centuries in the
future? An intimately
personal thriller.
15 / iTunes

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With HPX high-impact
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S are trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

www.pelimobileprotection.com

TOP TENS TABLETS, HEADPHONES

120

HOT
BUY

HOT
BUY

Apple iPad Pro 9.7

SoundMagic E10C

The iPad Pro 9.7 takes everything we loved about Apples

original 12.9in Pro tablet, makes it a lot more portable, and
then even adds in a few cool extras of its own. The True Tone
display, for example which changes intensity and colour
balance automatically based on ambient conditions is an
absolute marvel, while the 12MP shooter is frankly overkill
for those brave enough to use it out and about. Its expensive,
yes, but quality comes at a price.

With the SoundMagic E10Cs you get fantastic sound for

the money, a quality cable and plenty of ear tips and unlike
the E10Ss, you dont need to tell these buds whether youre
plugging into an (old) iPhone or an Android phone. In truth,
theres still nothing out there that can topple SoundMagic as
the king of cheap headphones, but the E10Cs prove that it is
still possible to improve on something good without hammering
up the price at the same time.

Stuff says +++++

Incredible power, superb features and flawless
design: the iPad Pro 9.7 is pure tablet perfection

Stuff says +++++

A phenomenally good pair of headphones for the price,
plus the remote now works with every phone

from 549 / apple.com

2
HOT
BUY

4
5

Apple iPad Mini 4

from 379 / apple.com
Just the right size for a great portable
entertainment hub, while subtle display
tweaks do great justice to games and
graphic novels alike. Plus it will easily last
three days on a charge.
Stuff says +++++
The best small tablet you can buy right now

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0

from 269 / samsung.com
A top 8in Android tablet that packs loads of
fab features into a small, lightweight design.
Its ace for reading magazines, playing games
and watching films, while still being easy to
hold in one hand.
Stuff says +++++
Small but mighty, this is a seriously good tab

Google Pixel C
+++++ from 399 / store.google.com
Turns out the future of laptops looks a lot
like Googles Android hybrid tablet.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7

+++++289 / samsung.com
With a brilliant screen and serious stamina,
this is our favourite full-size Android tablet.

39 / soundmagicheadphones.com

BARGAIN
BUY

4
HOT
BUY

AKG K451
44 / uk.akg.com
These on-ears offer agile and punchy sound
in a stylish foldable design. Add standard and
three-button control cables for maximising
compatibility, and theres no excuse for not
getting brilliant sound from your phone.
Stuff says +++++
Fantastic sound for minimal cash

AKG Y50BT
129 / uk.akg.com
Proof that good wireless sound doesnt have
to cost the Earth, these serve up truckloads
of detail, with a full charge promising 20
hours and with none of the hiss or popping
thats often a glitch of Bluetooth headphones.
Stuff says +++++
Just the ticket for your iPhone 7

Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless

+++++229 / bowers-wilkins.co.uk
The brands first foray into wireless brings
luxury for your ears inside and out.

Bose QuietComfort 35
+++++289 / bose.co.uk
These wireless QCs are high on clarity and
spaciousness: perfect for a long-haul journey.

FOR THE FULL TOP TENS AND REVIEWS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/TABLETS & STUFF.TV/TOP-10/HEADPHONES

INTRODUCING

NADs New
Classic
$PSOLHUV
NEW
5 YEAR
WARRANTY

BLUETOOTH
OUTPUT

C 368 & C 388

requires optional MDC module

C 368 799

C 338 599

C 388 1499

This advanced amplier includes many cutting-edge technological

breakthroughs developed by NAD over decades of creating affordable
ultra-high performance audio components.

The C 338 includes Wi-Fi and Network Streaming

and supports both Google Cast and Spotify
Connect. It also provides access to internet radio
stations and can serve as an UPnP Client for
network streaming from a local NAS library.

Every detail of the powerful C388 has been

carefully planned and perfectly executed to wring
out every last drop of performance. Featuring
NADs exclusive modular design, adding the
optional BluOS Module provides access to your
local area network via Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet
connection and adds Hi-Res Audio streaming.

FUTURE-PROOF MODULAR DESIGN.

This NAD exclusive feature allows you to customise your C 368 amplier
with additional capabilities and features, now or in the future. The two
available MDC slots can accommodate a variety of upgrade modules
including 4K video capable HDMI switching, additional Digital Inputs,
additional Analogue and Phono Inputs, and one of the most advanced
Hi-Res Audio multi-room wireless systems available, the BluOS music
management system developed by Bluesound. BluOS connects to your
network and is controlled via smartphone, tablet or desktop to manage
your music collection and connect to a growing list of high-quality
streaming music services.

You can connect instantly to the C 338 with

Bluetooth allowing you to stream music wirelessly
from any Bluetooth-enabled device. The high
performance aptX codec is fully supported for true
CD-quality sound.

HiFi for a wireless generation

NEW

5 YEAR
WARRANTY

PULSE SOUNDBAR 999

NEW

The PULSE SOUNDBAR is the worlds rst Hi-Res Audio soundbar, supporting audio resolutions
of 24 bits and up to 192kHz sampling rate. Furthermore, it supports Mater Quality Authenticated
(MQA) high-resolution audio streams, another rst in the soundbar category. But it is not just the
ability to handle hi-res audio streams that make the PULSE SOUNDBAR so unique, it is how it
brings music and movies to life with its natural and dynamic sound quality.

P7 WIRELESS
319
Wireless headphones with
Bluetooth apX.

Panasonic

NEW

DMP-UB700 4K UHD BLU-RAY 399

NEW

Ultra HD Blu-ray brings the magic of cinema into the home with Panasonics world-class technologies,
delivering images as dramatic as the director intended. Take your seats and prepare to be amazed.

P3 SERIES 2
119
Lightweight, foldable on-ear
headphones.

SOME BRANDS/PRODUCTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE AT ALL STORES. SPECIAL OFFERS ARE NOT IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANY OTHER OFFER (NICWAOO).

click & collect available

ADVERT VALID UNTIL 16/11/2016. E&OE

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TOP TENS TVs

TIPS &
TRICKS

122

Torn between MOTD

and Mr Robot? LGs
WebOS 3.0 lets
you split your screen
across two channels.

Want to watch
Netflix in 4K? Youll
need toopt for
its 8.99/month
Ultra HD package.

HOT
BUY

LG OLED55C6V
2229 / lg.com

A truly stunning television. LGs OLED panel

can go blacker than most TVs and will dazzle
your senses with its brightness; it offers sharply
etched detail, excellent viewing angles and solid
HD upscaling. It also boasts support for both
HDR standards HDR10 and Dolby Vision so
youll be able to watch compatible content from
Amazon, Netflix and UHD Blu-rays regardless
of which format wins out in the future. If youve
got the money, this is the 4K TV to own.

Stuff says +++++

Packed full of tech, with jaw-dropping
performance to send you into TV reverie
O NOW ADD THIS Microsoft Xbox One S
A fine games console and a 4K Blu-ray
player all in one. Grab yourself a copy
of Forza Horizon 3 and youll see how
much difference HDR makes to gaming.
from 249 / xbox.com

NEW

HOT
BUY

4
5
6
NEW

7
Samsung UE55KS7000

Sony 55XD9305

1299 / samsung.com

1599 / sony.co.uk

This set sprinkles extra stardust

on top of its 4K and HDR brilliance
in the form of Quantum Dot tech,
which claims to offer over a billion
colours. The result? An impressively
refined performance, and most of
the benefits of a top-of-the-range
TV at a fraction of the price.

This Sony ticks every box for a

thoroughly modern TV. You get
the full 4K and HDR package in a
set thats large but not ridiculous
for the average living room. Indeed,
for a 55in TV, its as svelte as we
can imagine. It looks great and
performs, if anything, even better.

Stuff says +++++

A real winner, and significantly
cheaper than some of its rivals

Stuff says +++++

A whole lot of superbly performing
4K HDR TV for your money

8
NEW

BARGAIN
BUY

10

LG OLED65E6V
+++++ 4499 / lg.com
A regal TV that excels across the board. There
are few better you can buy at any price.

Samsung UE55KS9000
+++++ 1699 / samsung.com
Stunning performance for the money,
proving theres plenty of life in LCD yet.

LG OLED65G6V
+++++ 5999 / lg.com
A superb specimen of technology and design,
with one of the best pictures weve ever seen.

Panasonic TX-58DX802
++++, 1289 / panasonic.com
One of most stylish tellies weve seen in ages,
with a great 4K HDR picture and punchy sound.

Panasonic TX-65DX750B
++++,1699 / panasonic.com
This 65in Panasonic is tempting, but falls slightly
short on brightness and colour bit depth.

Hisense 55K321
+++,,599 / hisense.co.uk
Even if its Full HD picture quality leaves a little
to be desired, this Hisense is still a bargain.

Philips 65PUS8901
+++,,3999 / philips.co.uk (Harrods exclusive)
Expensive 4K TV with an AmbiLux twist: nine
projectors extend the screen onto the wall.

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW TELEVISIONS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/TVs

123

YOUR
STREAMING
ESSENTIALS
NETFLIX

NEW TO STREAMING TOP TENS

Dont settle for yet another

episode of The Big Bang
Theory these are the TV
shows, movies and events
you really need to watch

AMAZON
VIDEO

NOW TV

Boyhood

The Grand Tour

Westworld

Richard Linklaters coming-of-age

classic didnt get nominated for six
Academy Awards for nothing. If youve
not yet seen the story of Mason
Evans Jr, then prepare to have your
cockles warmed to their very core.

From the people who brought you

Top Gear comes a show thats a whole
lot like Top Gear, only not on the BBC.
If you like cars and the sight of grown
men acting like total buoons, then
this is for you.

Having brought you such classics as

The Wire and Game of Thrones, HBO
has turned its talents to the realm of
sci- with Westworld. Based on the
1973 movie and exec-produced by
JJ Abrams, its a critical smash.

Designated Survivor

Live Die Repeat:

Edge of Tomorrow

Manchester United vs Arsenal

Imagine Jack Bauer as the President

of the United States. If thats not
enough to sell you on Designated
Survivor, then we honestly dont
know what else to say. Jack Bauer!
POTUS! Come on.

Tom Cruise has been responsible

for a lot of dross recently but this
action-packed time-travel romp
is a blast and Emily Blunt is the
worlds most indomitable badass.

Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho

arent bezzie mates at the best of
times, but with the Special One having
taken half of last season o, theyre
overdue another dust-up. This
lunchtime kick-o is on 19 November.

A Hard Days Night

Parks and Recreation

Cool Runnings

The Beatles lmography is almost as

hit-and-miss as Paul McCartneys
solo career. That said, their rst ever
movie is a solid gold gem that blends
the hysteria of Beatlemania with their
most jubilant pop album.

The best sitcom since the turn of the

millennium, and we dont make that
claim lightly. A truly laugh-a-minute
show thats stued full of comedic
talent, from Amy Poehler to Chris
Pratt and Aziz Ansari.

One day, Cool Runnings may be

discovered by future generations as
a light-hearted polemic on the woes of
global warming. For now, its a comedy
about the Jamaican bobsleigh teams
travails at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

SAVE UP TO 53% BY SUBSCRIBING AND GET STUFF DELIVERED FOR FREE: THEMAGAZINESHOP.COM/STUFF

TOP TENS SHOULD I UPGRADE?

124

Picked up cheap

AMAZON ECHO DOT

Guy Cocker

Dots
matrix

Global Editor-In-Chief
Fancy an Amazon Echo but dont have
a spare 150 swilling around in your back
pocket? Me too. So I got myself the Echo
Dot instead. It costs a third of the price of
a standard Echo and has exactly the same
AI smarts. Ordering a Just Eat takeaway
hands-free, Ive never felt more slovenly.

The smaller Echo

doesnt really do
hi-fi, but it does
summon Alexa.

Should I upgrade?

APPLE WATCH SERIES 2

Rob Leedham
Editor

Everywhere
you are
Read it, like it, share it

Pity the plight of the early

adopters forever destined
to shovel their precious payday funds
towards the latest tech trend, all for the
privilege of claiming firsties and then
feeling a bit empty afterwards.
As these dilemmas go, the Apple Watch
edition is a classic. The best smartwatch
of 2015 is now a bit rubbish compared
to its refreshed Series 2 cousin. Superior
to the vast majority of Android Wear
alternatives, but still youre going to
want the new one, arent you?
Time to buy
There are basically three reasons to get the
latest Watch: GPS, waterproofing and its
S2 chip. These combine to give you a faster,
longer-lasting wearable thats much better
suited to sporty types.
So if youre the kind of person who
cools down from their Wednesday night
five-a-side football match with a beer
and burger in hand, then stick with your
original Watch for another year. Apples
brilliant watchOS 3 means your wearable
is a significantly improved beast anyway,
and youll also save yourself about 400
to spend on another new gadget fad.
In fact, that PlayStation VR looks pretty
tasty, doesnt it?

DO IT!

GPS

Swimfriendly

HOLD
OFF!

The new
watchOS
is free
The new
models are
pricey

PLUG YOURSELF INTO STUFFS SOCIAL NETWORK AT FACEBOOK.COM/JOINSTUFF & TWITTER.COM/STUFFTV

125

SMARTWATCHES, FITNESS TRACKERS TOP TENS

HOT
BUY

HOT
BUY

Apple Watch Series 2

Garmin Vivoactive HR

Last years Apple Watch was already the best smartwatch

to date; now its found its focus. The Series 2 devices come
with an array of upgrades more power, a brighter screen
along with a greater emphasis on fitness functions without
a phone in tow. Both GPS and waterproofing make this a far
more compelling gadget for exercise obsessives. No alternative
is as fast or as well made, or has the same quality and quantity
of bespoke apps.

Garmin has a frankly bewildering array of fitness trackers and

outdoorsy GPS watches, but the Vivoactive HR is the one you
really want. Its packed to the gills with long-lasting, easy-to-use
and rewarding fitness cleverness. That means it contains the
daily step and sleep tracking that you can get in other bands
costing under a ton, but also the optical heart-rate monitor,
touchscreen display and smartphone notifications that youd
normally pay more for.

Stuff says +++++

Apples small tweaks and renewed sports focus add up
to make the Series 2 a watershed wearable

Stuff says +++++

Not super-stylish, perhaps, but crammed with sensors,
sports and stamina: a fab all-round fitness tracker

from 369 / apple.com

2
HOT
BUY

4
5

Pebble Time Steel

189 / pebble.com
Its very similar to the Pebble Time, but
the extra Gorilla Glass 3 on the front makes
the Steel a bit less damage-prone; and the
bonus battery life means itll last for a solid
week of proper use.
Stuff says ++++,
The Time Steel is the best Pebble you can buy

Fitbit Blaze
159 / fitbit.com
Almost as much a fitness tracker as it is
a smartwatch, the Blaze delivers accurate
heart-rate tracking, multi-sport modes
and a lovely interface even if its design
wont appeal to everyone.
Stuff says ++++,
The Blaze is built to be an ace workout buddy

Garmin Vivomove
++++,139 / garmin.com
Free up a space on your wrist this is
everything you need from a fitness watch.

Samsung Gear S2
+++,,199 / samsung.com
The rotating bezel is a genius bit of design.
Needs more apps, though.

189 / garmin.com

BARGAIN
BUY

Fitbit Flex
59 / fitbit.com
Fitbits cheapest wrist strap packs a lot
of tech into a comfy rubberised band. The
only real complaint we have is that Android
support is so far patchy, but its a cracking
iPhone companion.
Stuff says +++++
A fun way to squeeze more exercise into your life

Apple Watch Series 2

from 369 / apple.com
More than a smartwatch now, Apples
addition of GPS and waterproofing to
the new Watch means its well worth
considering as a fitness tracker. Plus
you get plenty of stats to pore over.
Stuff says ++++,
This will motivate you to get more active

Moov Now
++++,59 / moov.cc
Not just a tracker but a trainer, offering
guided workouts with voice coaching.

Misfit Shine
++++,59 / misfit.com
The Shine is a 59 tracker that feels anything
but cheap. Its app isnt great, however.

FOR THE FULL REVIEWS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SMARTWATCHES & STUFF.TV/TOP-10/FITNESS-TRACKERS

TOP TENS LAPTOPS

126
HOT
BUY

TIPS &
TRICKS

Siri on MacOS Sierra

allows you to search
for photos on the web
and your laptop, then
drag them into apps.

Save on space by
getting your Mac to
optimise its storage.
This will reduce the
clutter from big files.

Apple MacBook Pro

from 999 / apple.com

Apple didnt change too many parts of the

MacBook Pro for its 2015 update, but given
how good the Pro already was, thats enough
to keep it right at the top of our honours
list. Theres a new trackpad and the latest
generation of Intel CPUs, which deliver better
stamina as well as lots more power. If you need
speedy processing as well as long battery life
and portability, this is one of the best laptops
money can buy.

Stuff says +++++

Performance and trackpad are top of its
class, though its due an upgrade now
O NOW ADD THIS Western Digital
My Passport Wireless Pro
This 3TB wireless hard drive
is easy to set up and packed
with features.
199 / store.wdc.com

HOT
BUY

Asus ZenBook UX305

+++++ from 599 / asus.com
This is a better portable job than the MacBook
Air, with a fetching design and premium display.

Apple MacBook
+++++ from 1049 / apple.com
Aside from an extra hours battery life, the 2016
MacBook isnt that different to the previous one.

6
7
Dell XPS 13

Dell Chromebook 13

from 949 / dell.co.uk

from 514 / dell.co.uk

The original XPS 13 was already

a great lightweight laptop, but
now Dell has given it a Windows
10 refresh. If the last one was
the thinking persons Ultrabook,
this is that and a whole lot more.
With improved battery life and
performance, its hard to beat.

This Dell brings quality

construction together with
horsepower that outclasses
almost every other Chromebook
on the market. The price is roughly
double that of similar devices, but
the Dell 13 offers a true laptop
experience for the extra cash.

Stuff says +++++

An excellent Windows 10 Ultrabook,
small in size and great in stature

Stuff says +++++

Not the flashiest laptop, but the
top-notch screen is a stunner

BARGAIN
BUY

9
NEW

10

HP Spectre 13
++++, from 1149 / hp.com
Until recently the worlds thinnest laptop but
this machine still has serious power to spare.

Asus X555LA
++++,from 329 / asus.com
This bargain crams in a Core i5 processor, 8GB
of RAM and a responsive trackpad. Impressive.

Apple MacBook Air 13in

++++,from 849 / apple.com
If a portable road warrior is what youre after,
this slinky MacBook remains a great choice.

Microsoft Surface Book

++++,from 1169 / microsoftstore.com
Shorn of its initial bugs, the Surface Book is
a lustrous Windows hybrid with luxe appeal.

Acer Chromebook R 11
++++,229 / acer.com
This Chrome-tab hybrid is tiny enough
to carry everywhere, and super-flexible.

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW LAPTOPS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/LAPTOPS

127

THE BIG QUESTION TOP TENS

THE BIG WHATS THE BEST

QUESTION PASSWORD APP?
THE
BASICS

BEST
MULTITASKER

LASTPASS
from free (US$12/yr for Premium)
lastpass.com
During its eight-year existence
(an eternity in internet time),
LastPass has picked up the best
all-round set of password skills
weve seen, along with a very
glossy interface. Setup is more
of a trudge than a stroll in the
park you have to type in your
existing logins manually but
it has a great password generator
that comes up with virtually
unbreakable codes.
Once youve added all your
details, you can check out your
chops in Security Challenge. It
rates your password quality, spits
out a percentage score and even
ranks you among the hundreds
of thousands of LastPass users.
If you manage to squeeze into the

top 1000, your security must be

much, much better than ours.
LastPass will auto-login to
websites and works on your
laptop as well as your phone,
though you need Premium access
for more than one device. Still, at
less than a quid a month, its great
value and that makes this our
go-to password bouncer.

SPECIAL SKILL
EMERGENCY ACCESS
LastPass lets you add a friend or
relative to your account so they
can get access to your logins in
an emergency. But your other
half doesnt get to sneak around:
you can set a delay during which
you can block access requests.

FOR
TECHNOPHOBES

DASHLANE

SPECIAL SKILL
DASHLANE BROWSER
Dashlane comes with its own
browser for Android devices.
Plug in your basic personal
data and itll use it to fill in forms.
Chrome already does a decent
job of this, but Dashlane is more
powerful and works on phones.

Why use
apassword
manager?
A password
manager app
lets you use
serious, hardcore
passwords,
remembering
them all so you
dont need to.
These apps are
password butlers,
stashing all
your sensitive
logins behind
a single, solid
wall of security.

from free ($39/yr for Premium)

dashlane.com
If LastPass is the trusty veteran
of the password world, Dashlane
is the youthful charmer. Its
the friendliest one weve used,
helpfully snagging all of the
passwords from your browser
when you log in, which saves a lot
of eort. Dashlane also suggests
sites you might want to add, so
youre not left racking your brain
for logins youve left out.
You can request passwords with
actual words, so they dont look like
the cat walked over your keyboard.
And if you have a phone with a
ngerprint scanner, you can use
that instead of a master password.

KEEPER

THE
FAMILY
FRIEND

from free (20/yr for Premium)

keepersecurity.com
Keeper might look like it belongs
in a bad hacker movie, but
its minimalist interface is
super-customisable. Its keen
on sharing: you can make a shared
folder from the apps top layer,
which is perfect for household
Wi-Fi passwords. Theres also a
family plan (44/yr), which gives
ve people personal vaults for
their most un-losable les.

How do
theywork?
You unlock the app
with a single login,
and thats the only
password you ever
need to remember.
Some apps let
you copy-paste
passwords; others
plug into apps to do
the login bits. The
less interaction you
have with these
passwords, the
crazier they can
be: how about 25
characters with
squiggly symbols?

Which
platforms
dothey work on?
Most will work on
your phone, tablet
and laptop. The
one sticky point
is Windows 10
for phones and
tablets: LastPass
and Keeper work,
Dashlane is just
catching up. Also,
bear in mind youll
need to sign up for
the paid versions
of the apps to use
between devices.

SAVE UP TO 53% BY SUBSCRIBING AND GET STUFF DELIVERED FOR FREE: THEMAGAZINESHOP.COM/STUFF

TOP TENS CONSOLES

128

HOT
BUY

WIN!

A PS4 PRO
GAMERS BUNDLE

Xbox One S
from 249 / xbox.com

The Xbox One S dumps all the stuff that didnt make sense about
Microsofts third proper games console Kinect, the 400+
asking price, that fugly power brick and the result is that it
looks and feels like an even more enticing machine than the PS4.
And when compared to the upcoming PS4 Pro, you cant help
but notice that it also has a 4K Blu-ray player while Sonys new
machine doesnt. Which means that if youre the proud owner
of a fancy Ultra HD TV, this is now the console to get.

Stuff says +++++

The best games console you buy right now, thanks to its
4K smarts, not to mention exclusives like Gears of War 4

PlayStation 4 Slim
249 / playstation.com
This is the old PS4 squeezed into a 20%
smaller package, and it still delivers an
awesome console gaming experience.
But if you see a 4K TV in your future, youre
better off saving for the PS4 Pro.
Stuff says +++++
Better than the old PS4 in almost every way
HOT
BUY

HTC Vive
769 / vive.com
HTC Vive is our VR headset of choice
because of one key feature: frickin laser
beams. This allows you to roam free instead
of being confined to a chair. Its a completely
new way to experience games.
Stuff says ++++,
An immersive, transformative VR experience

Oculus Rift
++++,549 / oculus.com
The Rift lacks its own motion controllers,
which takes away from your immersion.

Nintendo Wii U
++++,239 / nintendo.co.uk
While it hasnt had the impact of the original
Wii, dont underestimate the Us fun factor.

FOR MORE: STUFF.TV/TOP-10/GAMES-MACHINES

HURRY!

COMPETITION
CLOSES
8 DECEMBER
2016

If youve seen this months

cover, youll know were
smitten with Sonys 4K games
console. Thanks to the fine
folks at TP-Link, provider of
reliable networking solutions,
weve got one to give away
as part of an ultimate gaming
bundle worth 640. So just
answer the following question
to win a PS4 Pro, a TP-Link
Archer C3150 gaming router
and a TP-Link Powerline home
wi-fi kit. And then never leave
your living room again.

HOW TO ENTER
For your chance to go pro,
just go to stuff.tv/win
and answer this question:

WHICH OF THESE
GAMES IS EXCLUSIVE
TO PLAYSTATION 4?
A Uncharted 4
B Gears of War 4
C Super Mario 64

The prize for this competiton is a PlayStation4 Pro, RRP 349,

a TP-Link AV 1200 Gigabit Passthrough Powerline AC Wi-Fi Kit
(TL-WPA8630P KIT), RRP 124.99, plus a TP-Link AC3150
Wireless Mu-Mimo Gigabit Router Archer C3150, RRP 166.99.
For full terms & conditions see stuff.tv/win

129

TIPS &
TRICKS

Head into the Sonos

apps settings menu
and you can set an
alarm using your
favourite music.

Dont mind a few

bugs? Get Sonos
updates early by
signing up to its beta
testing programme.

HI-FI

HOT
BUY

Sonos multiroom
system
from 169 / sonos.com
If you want to pretend your favourite band are
playing in your living room, theres no better
option than a Sonos wireless speaker. They
look great, work with your smartphone and,
most importantly, boom out your tunes with
dazzling finesse from the compact Play:1
(169) to the flagship Play:5 (429), a speaker
redesigned from the ground up last year.

Stuff says +++++

Infinite music in every room without the
need for custom installers? Sign us up!
O NOW ADD THIS Spotify Premium
Sick of playing your iTunes library
on repeat? Sign up to Spotify for
more new music than you could
ever possibly listen to.
9.99/month / spotify.com

4
HOT
BUY

Naim Mu-so Qb
+++++ 595 / naimaudio.com
Complements its big brothers more refined
character with a confident presentation.

Google Chromecast Audio

+++++ 30 / google.com/chromecast
Stream Spotify to your old hi-fi with this smart
and highly affordable dongle.

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Wireless

+++++ 499 / bowers-wilkins.co.uk
This is the ultimate wireless speaker for the
streaming-savvy audiophile.

7
Naim Mu-so

KEF Muo

895 / naimaudio.com

299 / uk.kef.com

How much for a wireless speaker?!

Well, yes, but what a wireless
speaker it is. Naim has ploughed
all of its high-end hi-fi experience
into delivering a beautifully made,
great-sounding device with
AirPlay, Spotify Connect and
aptX Bluetooth all on board.

The KEF Muo sounds as good as

it looks, which is very nice indeed.
It may be the size of a beer can
but it creates a room-filling sound,
brilliantly balanced and packed
with vim and vigour. The Muo has
the audio solidity of the B&W T7,
but with even greater detail.

Stuff says +++++

A wireless speaker that can make
a valid claim to be genuine hi-fi

Stuff says +++++

Portable Bluetooth at its best,
with premium sound and design

8
9

Bowers & Wilkins T7

+++++ 299 / bowers-wilkins.co.uk
There are a million portable Bluetooth speakers
in the world, but few better than the B&W T7.

Monitor Audio Airstream S200

+++++ 169 / monitoraudio.co.uk
It may look like a floppy skyscraper, but this
takes up little space and makes lovely noise.

Cambridge Audio Go
+++++ 99 / cambridgeaudio.com
It sounds awesome, its really well built and
its battery lasts a massive 18 hours.

Bluesound multiroom system

+++++ from 299 / bluesound.com
A Sonos-style multiroom system but with
better-than-CD-quality hi-res audio.

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW HI-FI, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/HI-FI-STREAMING

TOP TENS DSLRs, COMPACT CAMERAS

130

HOT
BUY

HOT
BUY

Fujifilm X-T2

Sony DSC-RX100 IV

The X-T2 is an excellent lesson in how to upgrade an already

great gadget. The X-T1 was itself a brilliant camera, so Fuji
gave it superb video and autofocus skills to go with the
already top weatherproof build. Sure, its pricey, but its also
worth every penny. What youre getting here is a camera
that approaches high-end DSLRs for speed and rivals
pretty much any camera for image quality, so its a truly
superb all-rounder.

Yes, admittedly its rather expensive for a compact, but then

the high frame rate, fast burst mode and 4K video recording
arent to be sniffed at. You probably wont be using them every
day, but theyre great options to have at your fingertips. The
RX100 IV is also a premium point-and-shoot that offers all the
flexibility and all-round performance you could ever need. If its
a compact camera youre after, and your budgets big enough,
then this is the one to go for.

Stuff says +++++

A dream of a camera that barely strays from perfection
from start to finish and has brilliant 4K video skills

Stuff says +++++

A pocket rocket compact with almost no compromises:
the perfect companion for your system camera

1399 / fujifilm.eu

BARGAIN
BUY

Sony A7R II
2999 / sony.co.uk
The A7R II combines impeccable build
quality with a class-leading full-frame
sensor, 5-axis image stabilisation, a huge
ISO range, super-fast autofocus, an excellent
viewfinder and 4K video recording.
Stuff says +++++
The finest camera Sony has ever made

Canon EOS 80D

999 / canon.co.uk
Even a child would get great results with the
80D its the photographic equivalent of
playing FIFA 17 as Barcelona, on full auto
mode, against Burnley. This takes the hard
work out of getting fantastic photos.
Stuff says +++++
If you want simplicity, you wont get much better

Fujifilm X-T10
+++++449 / fujifilm.eu
The X-T10 beats most other choices at
any price. It also handles beautifully.

Canon EOS 5DS

+++++2799 / canon.co.uk
A fantastic piece of kit that any pixel-peeping
SLR fan will get heaps of enjoyment out of.

829 / sony.co.uk

4
NEW

Panasonic Lumix LX100

499 / panasonic.com
This is one of the most capable premium
compacts on the market. It can capture
4K footage, but its superb stills and HD
video performance are what make the
Panasonic stand out.
Stuff says +++++
A star performer when it comes to the basics

Sony RX10 III

+++++1549 / sony.co.uk
One of the best all-rounders weve ever
seen, capable of handling everything you
could ask of it with aplomb. If youre looking
for a high-performance camera without the
hassle of interchangeable lenses, this is it.
Stuff says +++++
The best bridge camera you can get

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

+++++589 / panasonic.com
Incredibly versatile a fixed-lens camera
capable of shooting fantastic stills and video.

Fujifilm X70
+++++499 / fujifilm.eu
A very nice little camera with a big sensor
delivering excellent image quality.

FOR FULL REVIEWS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SYSTEM-CAMERAS & STUFF.TV/TOP-10/COMPACT-CAMERAS

131

HOW TO BUY
A COMPACT
SYSTEM CAMERA

HOW TO BUY TOP TENS

What is a compact system

camera anyway? What are all
those F thingies? And which
CSC will shoot the best video?
Allow Stuff to explain all
ISO
A high ISO
means the sensor
accepts more light at
short shutter speeds.
Good for low-light
shooting.

JARGON
BUSTER

Focal
length
Refers to the
eld-of-view of
alens. The lower
the number, the
wider it is.

Aperture/
F-number
The hole light goes
through. Larger
diameter = lower
F-number.

THE BASICS
1

Sensor
adventure

All thats meant by

compact system
camera (or CSC)
is a camera with
interchangeable
lenses but no
DSLR-style mirror.
Sensor size is
important. Large
sensors, like the Sony
A7 series full-frame
Exmors, are able to
suck in more light,
which means at the
same shutter speeds
theyll outperform
their rivals when it
comes to shooting
in low light.
O Get this: Sony A7R II
3239 / sony.co.uk

NOW
ADD
THESE

NEXT-LEVEL SNAPS
2 Lens friends

Thanks to
adaptors, its possible
to t almost any lens
to almost any CSC
but if you want
proper metering,
autofocus and
aperture control,
you need lenses
made specically
for your camera.
A Panasonic or
Olympus CSC might
be the best choice:
all of Panasonics
rst-party lenses
work on Olympus
cameras and
vice versa.
O Get this: Olympus
OM-D E-M5 Mark II
749 / olympus.co.uk

3 Whats
yoursize?

4 What kind
ofphotos?

With no mirror and

no pentaprism, CSCs
are a lot smaller than
their DSLR brethren.
But many models are
still a bit bulky thanks
to their viewnder
and grip bulges.
Thankfully, theres
the bulge-free
Sony A6300 or
the Panasonic GX80.
Look out for small
lenses too, like the
tiny pancake primes
made by Panasonic,
Olympus, Sony
and Fujilm.
O Get this:
Sony A6300
1069 / sony.co.uk

Street snapping? You

want a fast-focusing
model such as the
Olympus OM-D
E-M5 Mk II. Detailed
landscapes? Try a
high-megapixel Sony
A7R II. Night-time?
A full-frame with high
potential ISO and
5-axis stabilisation,
like the Sony A7S II.

FLASH

TRIPOD

A battery-powered flash
gun can transform your
shoot. Not only can it
light large areas; it can
also be angled, softened
or even fired off-camera.

The humble tripod is

a must for any serious
shooter. This Manfrotto
Pixi Evo (44, manfrotto.
co.uk) will pack neatly
down into a backpack.

5 4K or
1080p?
If youre fussy about
footage, consider
one of the growing
handful of CSCs that
can create pristine 4K
videos. Panasonics
upcoming Lumix GH5
(arriving early 2017)
will even record
10-bit 4:2:2 4K
at 60fps thats
almost pro level.

SAVE UP TO 53% BY SUBSCRIBING AND GET STUFF DELIVERED FOR FREE: THEMAGAZINESHOP.COM/STUFF

TOP TENS BUDGET BUYS

132

HOT
BUY

Raspberry Pi 3

29 / raspberrypi.org

You dont have to be big on coding to enjoy

the Raspberry Pi. With some basic tweaking,
you can turn this 29 tiny-puter into a
very respectable desktop PC, retro gaming
machine or media centre and thats just
the start. The Pi 3 is also the perfect update
to its predecessor: you get loads more power
(about the same as a mid-range smartphone),
integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and it still costs
less than a PS4 game.

TIPS &
TRICKS
Plonk that Pi camera
you bought on a
birdfeeder and youll
be able edit your
own Springwatch.

Stuff says +++++

Opens up a world of tech possibilities for
what is a positively diddy asking price

The free, open-source

Kodi will turn a Pi into
amedia centre for
watching your locally
stored films and telly.

O NOW ADD THIS

Raspberry Pi Camera Module V2
Not every Pi 3 project has to be a
homage to your childhood console.
This adds smartphone photo-pizazz.
18 / raspberrypi.org

Planning on turning
your Pi into a SNES
emulator? Legally,
you must own the
games to play them.

4
5
HOT
BUY

6
7

Google Chromecast Audio

Moov Now

30 / google.com/chromecast

59 / moov.cc

This disc doesnt just transform

the streaming capabilities of your
speakers its lossless hi-res
audio option can also boost their
sound quality. This is an infinitely
superior alternative to streaming
via Bluetooth, with less battery
drain and no interruption from calls.

You know youre onto a winner

when your fitness gadget isnt
just a tracker but a personal trainer.
The Moov is a honeycomb-covered
workout guide with voice coaching
and rep-counting. And yes, it
still tracks your daily steps and
auto-detects your sleep.

Stuff says +++++

If youve not got a Sonos setup,
thisll do roughly the same job

Stuff says +++++

The best budget tracker gives
most Fitbits a run for their money

8
9
10

Vodafone Smart Prime 7

+++++ 75 / vodafone.co.uk
On specs alone, the Smart Prime 7 beats
phones that are twice the price.

SoundMagic E10C
+++++ 39 /soundmagicheadphones.com
SoundMagic is royalty when it comes to budget
buds. For under 40, these are stupendous.

Amazon Fire TV 4K
+++++ 79 / amazon.co.uk
If youve bought a 4K TV, fill it with lovely content
from Amazons Ultra HD media streamer.

Philips Hue Starter Kit

+++++ 59 / meethue.com
Start your smart home with two bulbs and a
bridge before turning it into a palace with more.

Amazon Kindle
+++++ 56 / amazon.co.uk
Top of our holiday packing list, the basic Kindle
is thinner and lighter than its predecessor.

Samsung Gear VR
++++,80 / samsung.com
Perfect if youre looking to play Hitman GO
in VR, or enjoy Netflix or live sport in 360.

Xiaomi Yeelight
++++,49 / xiaomi-mi.com
If you like being woken up gently, get this
smart Bluetooth bedside lamp.

FOR FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THESE GADGETS, AND TO EXPLORE MORE TOP TEN LISTS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10

133

5-MINUTE HACKS TOP TENS

IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF

SUPERCHARGE
YOUR iMESSAGES
You can bolt all sorts of
tools, games and stickers
onto your messages in iOS
10. Here are our favourite
ways to spice up Apples
WhatsApp rival
OGrammar Snob. If youre
on Team Lynne Truss and
cant stand friends who
havent fathomed the
dierence between your
and youre, take youre
revenge sorry, your
revenge using the
Grammar Snob sticker
set (US$0.79), which lets
you correct messages in
patronising red ink.

OiTranslate. This app

replaces your keyboard
in Messages. Flags denote
which languages the app
will translate between;
you simply tap out words
and let iTranslate perform
its magic.
OOpenTable. This adds
focus to message threads
that are attempting to
settle on a place to eat.
Pick a location, select
some restaurants (along
with a time, date and
how many will be going),
and then vote directly
in Messages.

ULTIMATE GADGET
GIFT GUIDE

SUPERPHONES
SUPERTEST

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PRO REVIEW

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TEXT A
POSTCARD
Tourist postcards are
cheesy and impersonal.
Digital photos arent as
special as physical post.
Solution: turn your snaps
into real postcards with
thishandy service...
1 Choose your snap.
Flick through your
phones bulging camera
roll and settle on your
best holiday snap. Text
this photo to the number
on the postacard.io
homepage.
2 Write your message.
When you get the
prompt, type in the
message you want
to appear plastered
on the back of the card.

3 Go postal. Now ll in
the address (Postacard
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Full details on p86.

FIND MORE HANDY 5-MINUTE HACKS AT STUFF.TV

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Highly Classified

To advertise call Jessica Sarfas 0208 267 5521

www.myshreddies.com

01509 610610

NEXT BIG THING?

Cash
converter
The Scrip is a 3D device
that helps you think about
what youre spending
because you can actually
feel your hard-earned
dosh leaving your
fingertips.

h look, its a pretty engraved

gold thing. Neat?
Super-neat, actually. At first, second,
or even third glance, its not entirely
clear what the Scrip thats what its called is.
Actually, youre probably never going to guess
what it does, but theres one thing we do agree
on: it looks very fancy. Like a gold, engraved
biscuit, though dont dunk it in your tea.

Its not a biscuit. Thanks, that narrows it down.

Well, its not a giraffe either, so thats two things
you can cross off your list. But thats enough

teasing well tell you what it is. Are you ready?

Sure? Okay. Scrip is a copper gadget that
lets you make digital wireless payments and
transfer money to other Scrip users. Designed
to be loaded up with cash at ATMs, it shows
you your funds decreasing in real time as
you use it buying artisan honey, mahogany
coat-hangers and all those other things
you so depend on. The really fun part,
though, is the fact that the hundreds
of tiny squares etched into its surface
are actually buttons, which can pop out
to display what youre spending.

Umm, what?
Youre buying something for 20. You whip out
Scrip, and after some digital chat between it and
the till, the squares pop up to reveal the number
20. You flick your thumb across it. Boom! Youve
paid. This is designed to make you more aware
of what youre spending, in an age where you
can depart with large sums of cash at the mere
tap of a card. Yes, its less convenient than that
tap, but if itll stop us spending unholy amounts
of money on picknmix, thats a blessing. Sadly
its just a design concept for now, so our wallets
will have to suffer a while longer.

DONT MISS THE NEXT ISSUE! ON SALE 1 DEC

[ Words Andrew Hayward ]

Physil Digital Moy

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US

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www.avon-tyres.co.uk

NOISE REDUCING RIBS

HD SILICA TREAD

MICRO 3D SIPES
RIM PROTECTOR

ZV

A GRADE WET GRIP

IG

ZV7 is a high performance summer tyre with

A grade wet grip for drivers who want the

PE

best combination of performance and safety.

FO

Incorporating a range of new and advanced

technologies Avon ZV7 is a lighter, quieter tyre,

available in a range of fitments from 15 to 18

rim diameters with V, W and Y speed ratings.

For further information on the Avon Tyres range,

TY

visit www.avon-tyres.co.uk