TechRadar Reviews

BOSGAME P4 Ultra: 30-second review

Mini PCs have never been more crowded. Every few months, a new batch of compact desktops arrives from Chinese brands promising big performance in a small chassis, and the Bosgame P4 Ultra is the latest to land on the desk for evaluation. It slots into the brand's Effizen series, which targets productivity and everyday computing rather than serious gaming.

The headline here is the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U. It is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on Zen 3 architecture, clocked up to 4.5GHz, and paired with Radeon Vega 8 integrated graphics. That combination is capable, but it is worth being honest from the start: the 7730U is a Barcelo Refresh part, which means it is architecturally identical to the 5825U from 2021. Bosgame has dressed it in a new product number, but the silicon is not new.

What is new, or at least appealing, is the package. The P4 Ultra ships either with Windows 11 or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS pre-installed, making it one of the more accessible Linux mini PCs on the market. It also brings dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, Wi-Fi 6E, and triple 4K display output, all wrapped in a compact chassis with a VESA mount in the box.

The asking price is around $420 from online retailers, which puts it up against stiff competition from Beelink, GMKtec, and even other BOSGAME models.

This isn’t an expensive mini PC system, but it's also not the cheapest given the modest specifications.

As with most of the hardware this brand makes, the P4 Ultra is a well-executed solution that would work for general office computing, but it lacks the performance required by creatives and developers.

And, due mostly to the age of its platform, this isn’t a system we’ll be including as one of our best mini PC entries.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)BOSGAME P4 Ultra: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $420/£440/€510
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from online retailers

At the time of writing, the P4 Ultra doesn’t appear to be listed on the Bosgame website in the Effizen Series mini PCs collection. Hopefully, this will change.

However, if you search for the “P4 Ultra”, you can find a landing page for a Linux version of this machine with Ubuntu installed on it.

The UK asking price for that machine is £379, which seems most reasonable.

Those wanting Windows 11 preinstalled on the same hardware, as there is only one 16GB/1 TB SKU, need to look for this machine from online retailers.

On Amazon.com, it can be found for $419.98, in the UK it is £439, and across Europe it's €509. Given the spec, that looks like an attractive proposition.

One problem for Bosgame is that for almost exactly the same price, GMKtec is selling the M6 Ultra, and that has a better Ryzen 7640HS processor and 16GB of DDR5 RAM.

And another is the Beelink SER 5 MAX, which, for $458.99, offers the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU, 24GB of DDR5 memory, and a 500GB SSD.

But even Bosgame undercut itself with the P3 Mix, a system they sell for less than $400, that uses the Ryzen 7640HS (up to 5.0 GHz), has 16GB DDR5, and a 512GB PCIe SSD, all in an identical case to the P4 Ultra.

Based on these alternatives, the P4 Ultra should have been closer to $375.

• Value: 3 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)BOSGAME P4 Ultra: Specs

Item

Spec

CPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7730U (8C/16T, up to 4.5GHz)

GPU

AMD Radeon Graphics Vega 8 (8 cores, up to 2000MHz)

NPU

None

RAM

16GB DDR4 3200MHz dual-channel (2x SODIMM slots, up to 64GB)

Storage

1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4

M.2 Expansion

1x additional M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 (up to 8 TB per slot; 16 TB total)

Display Outputs

1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USBC

Front Ports

2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 3.5mm audio, power button

Rear Ports

2x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, 2x 2.5 GbE RJ-45, DC power

Networking

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 2xl 2.5GbE LAN

OS

Windows 11 Pro (pre-installed); Linux supported

Dimensions

107 x 111 x 56 mm

Weight

Approx. 0.65 kg

Included Accessories

30W USB-C PD adaptor, VESA mount bracket, HDMI cable, power brick, manual

BOSGAME P4 Ultra: Design

• Familiar chassis
• Limited port selection
• Complicated internal access

The P4 Ultra follows the now-familiar NUC-inspired layout: a rectangular aluminium-and-plastic chassis small enough to sit beside a monitor, mount behind one via VESA, or tuck out of sight entirely. The case features precision laser-faceted metal vents along the sides and rounded corners, giving it a reasonably contemporary appearance.

The front panel carries the power button, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a USB-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. There are no ports on the sides, on the back, you will find the two 2.5GbE RJ45 ports, a further two USB 2.0 ports, a single HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4, and the DC power input. The layout is logical and functional, though the USB 2.0 ports feel like a cost-cutting measure on an otherwise reasonably specified machine.

That all the better USB ports are on the front is somewhat annoying, and I’ve noticed a few resellers claiming that the USB-C port is USB4, when it isn’t. It is USB 3.2 Gen 2, as are the other USB ports on the front. But it does support video mode, which increases the potential monitor count to three with the HDMI and DP.

Cooling is handled by an active fan system. BOSGAME describes the design as quiet, and at the 15W default TDP, that is credible, though sustained loads will prompt audible fan activity. However, my review machine was delivered in 35W performance mode, which made it slightly noisier. Selection of the Quiet (15W), Balanced (25W) and Performance (35W is via the BIOS. It would be nice if this were changeable in Windows.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

One especially useful feature is that the two M.2 NVMe slots are both 2280-sized, enabling this machine to take the least expensive storage in the most common form factor. By default, one of these slots is already occupied with a 512GB module, and that is connected thermally to the metal case with a silicon thermal pad.

On the rear are four USB-A ports, with three being USB 3.2 Gen 2 and one being USB 2.0.

What I wasn’t keen on was access to the internal memory and storage, which seemed initially easy, and then got progressively more complicated.

Removing the underside is straightforward enough, four screws, and it comes away easily.

However, once inside, there is an additional fan bracket layer, with three screws of two different sizes. The two longer screws aren’t easy to see or access, and they’re even more fun to put back if you don’t have a magnetic screwdriver.

When you do get this layer out, and there is a ribbon cable carrying power to its fan that you need to be careful of, you can then access the memory and storage.

The good news here is that everything is upgradable, and there is a second M.2 2280 slot, and the bad news is that both M.2 slots are only PCIe 3.0. The M.2 slots do at least have a thermal pad to pull heat away from them, although as they’re not PCIe 4.0 spec they are unlikely to overheat.

The chassis in this design is almost identical to that used in a number of other Bosgame products, and it doesn’t stray far from the original NUC concept. I just wish the designers hadn’t put so many hurdles in the way of anyone wanting to add more memory or storage.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• Design: 3.5 / 5

BOSGAME P4 Ultra: Features

• AMD Ryzen 7 7730U
• Vega 8 GPU
• 16 GB DDR4
• Lacks an NPU

The Ryzen 7 7730U is the centrepiece, and it deserves some context. AMD launched it in late 2022 as part of the Barcelo Refresh line-up. Zen 3 is a proven architecture that delivered a genuine generational leap when it debuted in 2020, and it remains a competent foundation for office and productivity work in 2025. But it sits behind Zen 4 (the 7040 series) and the newer Zen 5 parts in both IPC and integrated graphics performance.

That graphics point matters here. The Vega 8 GPU inside the 7730U has 512 shaders running at up to 2000MHz. It is adequate for 4K video playback, light photo editing, and casual games, but it trails the RDNA 3 graphics in Zen 4 mobile processors by a meaningful margin. For comparison, the Ryzen 7 7840HS found in the higher-spec BOSGAME P3 carries RDNA 3 with considerably better graphics performance.

Memory is 16GB of DDR4 at 3200MHz in a dual-channel configuration, which is the right setup for integrated graphics. Single-channel DDR4 cuts available graphics bandwidth roughly in half, so the dual-channel arrangement here is a sensible default. The SODIMM slots support up to 64GB of memory.

The issue is that many similarly priced systems use DDR5, and its bandwidth boost improves both CPU and GPU performance; in particular, graphics performance is enhanced because the integrated GPU shares the main memory.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Storage is a 1TB M.2 NVMe drive running on a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. This is not Gen 4, and sequential read speeds will be capped accordingly, but for day-to-day computing, it is more than fast enough. A second M.2 2280 slot sits unoccupied, which makes life remarkably simple when you wish to clone the original drive to one with a larger capacity.

Connectivity is a genuine highlight of this design, making it potentially useful as a hardware firewall. Dual 2.5GbE ports open up small office routing, NAS aggregation, and network isolation use cases that single-port machines cannot touch. Wi-Fi 6E covers all three bands, including the congestion-free 6GHz spectrum, and Bluetooth 5.2 handles peripherals cleanly.

How you feel about the hardware in this machine comes down to two aspects. And those are how much you use graphics and what types of processing you intend to do.

The CPU and GPU are both outdated, overtaken by new DDR5 designs that offer more performance and greater power efficiency. There is no dedicated NPU for AI work, so this machine is only suitable for general office tasks and not for software development.

It might have a use as an embedded signage system, but it will need ventilation.

• Features: 4 / 5

BOSGAME P4 Ultra: Performance

Mini PC

Bosgame P4 Ultra

GMKtec NucBox K16

CPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7730U

AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS

Cores/Threads

8C 16T

8C 16T

RAM

16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)

32GB LPDDR5 (2x16GB)

SSD

1TB SSD

1TB TWSC TE3420F1TO NVMe

Graphics

Radeon 680M

Radeon 680M

3DMark

WildLife

4961

10320

FireStrike

2368

4508

TimeSpy

1001

1813

S.Nomad

843

1634

Cine24

Single

86

84

Multi

538

595

Ratio

6.23

7.08

GeekBench 6

Single

1965

1957

Multi

6124

7170

OpenCL

13511

24105

Vulkan

11940

22401

CrystalDisk

Read MB/s

3735

3549

Write MB/s

3285

2649

PCMark 10

Office

6257

6785

WEI

Score

6.7

8.1

Some readers will probably think I’m being unfair for comparing the $420 Bosgame P4 Ultra to the $590 GMKtec K16. Yes, the K16 is $170 more, but then look at what a Zen 3+ processor, DDR5 memory, and the Radeon 680 GPU deliver. Almost across the board, the K16 is twice as fast, for only 40% more money. And, if they had the same amount of memory, the cost difference would be less significant.

There are two takeaways from these benchmark results, the first being that anyone who wants to complete their demanding tasks more quickly should invest in a better mini PC that uses DDR5. The other is that for office work, the P4 Ultra is fine.

My view is that systems like this are always being repurposed, because they’re easy to move and reconfigure. What makes one mini PC better than another can often come down to flexibility. The performance envelope of the K16 is much greater than that of the P4 Ultra, making it inherently more flexible and suitable for a wider range of jobs.

If you are convinced that the system you want will only ever do a job for which it is suited, then buying the P4 Ultra might make sense. But if you think that a year from now you might be forced to buy something better, then perhaps it's worth considering that now.

The Bosgame P4 Ultra isn’t a great performer, but what it achieves might be good enough for some customers.

• Performance: 3 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)BOSGAME P4 Ultra: Final verdict

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The Bosgame P4 Ultra is a competent compact mini PC that does most things adequately and two things rather well. The dual 2.5GbE networking and the option for a ready-to-run Ubuntu installation are genuine differentiators in a market where most machines ship with Windows and a single Gigabit port.

The honest caveat is the processor. The Ryzen 7 7730U is Zen 3 under a new badge. It is not slow, but it is not modern either. Anyone comparing it against Zen 4 machines at a similar price point will find those alternatives offer better integrated graphics and more up-to-date architecture. The PCIe 3.0 SSD is a similar observation: functional, but not state-of-the-art.

At the right price, those trade-offs are acceptable. The P4 Ultra earns its keep as a quiet, power-efficient desktop for document work, browsing, media playback, and lightweight server duties. Push it harder than that, and you will want to consider the Bosgame P3 Mix or one of the Beelink alternatives with a Hawk Point processor.

Should you buy a BOSGAME P4 Ultra?

Value

Premium price for a Zen 3+ platform

3 / 5

Design

Awkward internals and limited USB ports

3.5 / 5

Features

Dual 2.5 GbE, but an old platform rebranded

3.5 / 5

Performance

Outclassed by DDR5 systems

3 / 5

Overall

A limited use mini PC

3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want pre-installed Linux
If you want a capable, compact Linux desktop without building one yourself. The Ubuntu 24.04 LTS pre-installed model means you can be productive within minutes of unboxing. But this hardware will also run Windows 11.

You like upgrades
The second M.2 slot, 2.5-inch bay, and two SODIMM slots give plenty of room to expand. Although this makes for some flexibility, the CPU and memory model aren't cutting-edge.

Don't buy it if...

You need graphics power
This isn't the best integrated graphics available. The Vega 8 GPU in the 7730U is three generations behind RDNA 3, and the performance gap in gaming and GPU compute tasks is real.

You need USB4 or Thunderbolt
Some disappointment will result if you buy this mini PC and need USB4 or Thunderbolt support for high-speed peripherals or an external GPU. These aren't technologies you can add later.

Also Consider

GMKtec NucBox M7 Ultra
Built on the excellent AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U with Zen 3+ architecture and a Radeon 680M GPU, the M7 Ultra Plus offers a more modern platform at a comparable price point. It costs $40 more but gains a more powerful integrated GPU and NPU support.

Check out my GMKtec NucBox M7 Ultra review

Geekom A6
Using the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H platform, the higher specified option costs about $180 more than the P4 Ultra. But for the extra money, you get a Zen 3+ processor, Radeon 680M GPU, 16GB of DDR5 memory, a 512GB SSD and USB 4. The only downside to this design is that the second M.2 slot is only 2242 size.

Check out our Geekom A6 review

For more professional hardware, we've reviewed the best business computers.

Camp Snap CS-Pro: two-minute review

Forget your high-resolution mirrorless camera, your beautiful full-frame sensors — 2026 is the year of the cheap compact camera! Retro-styled, ultra-affordable cameras are back in a big way, following greatly exaggerated rumors of their death at the hands of the smartphone.

The original Camp Snap, released in 2023, was one of the big beneficiaries of this trend. A digital compact costing around $59 / £65, its USP was a feature that it didn't have – a screen. By removing the LCD, the camera evoked the feeling of shooting with an old film disposable — you literally could not see the images you'd taken until you downloaded them onto your computer, just as you couldn't see your images from a disposable until they came back from the development lab.

The Camp Snap CS-Pro, or Camp Snap Pro, is an upgrade of the original, adding a few improvements and gaining a refreshing visual makeover that calls to mind premium compacts like the Fujifilm X100VI. The core concept hasn't changed, though; it's still a screen-free digital compact camera, with a small sensor that's going to produce images that are almost certainly less detailed and high-quality than the ones produced by your phone. But if you're looking for top-notch quality, you are very much missing the point.

The guts of the camera are built around a 1/3.06-inch sensor with 16MP of resolution — double the pixel count of the 8MP original Camp Snap. This sensor is paired with a fixed-focus lens with an equivalent focal length of 22.5mm — nice and wide to fit plenty in the scene — and a fixed aperture of f/2.2. Just as with the original Camp Snap, there's nothing in the way of settings controls; you point, you shoot.

Well, not quite nothing. The CS-Pro adds a dial to its top plate, which provides access to a number of filmic looks. As well as the Standard (STD) look, you also have VTG-1 and VTG-2 ('VTG' meaning 'vintage'), which are stylized color filters that give your image a distinct and decidedly retro-style look. VTG-1 provides an overall warm tone, while VTG-2 pumps up blues and yellows for a hyper-saturated look (think Kodak Ultramax film). Finally, you have the monochrome 'B&W' dial.

(Image credit: Jon Stapley)

So, it's not a reinvention of the Camp Snap wheel. Far from it. Having used the CS-Pro on a few photographic excursions over the past few weeks, I can safely say that if the original Camp Snap wasn't your cup of tea, the CS-Pro won't be either. The resolution upgrade adds a bit of detail and definition, but the small 1/3.06-inch sensor still limits its dynamic range and ability to handle contrasting light situations. It's going to get blown out of the water by even your smartphone, never mind a compact with a proper-sized sensor like the 1-inch chip in the new Panasonic Lumix TZ300 / ZS300.

But again, quality isn't the point. The Camp Snap was a knockabout hit of nostalgic fun for a generation raised on disposable film cameras and cheap digital compacts, and the CS-Pro is all those things too. Once again, the screen-free design serves to create a relaxed shooting experience, and adds a sense of anticipation that recalls the good old days of waiting for your film to come back from the chemist. And if some of your shots turn out to be a bit crap (and they will) — who cares? It's all part of the fun.

I'm glad that Camp Snap didn't let success go to its head and come out with too expensive a camera. By keeping its price to two figures, the CS-Pro sits firmly in the realm of fun, a camera so simple that a child can use it, but with enough retro charm and style to appeal to adults.

(Image credit: Jon Stapley)Camp Snap CS-Pro: price and availability

The CS-Pro is available from Camp Snap's website. Its initial launch price is $99 / £90 (around AU$180), but discounts are frequent — in the UK, at time of writing, it's currently sitting at £68. This is a little more expensive than the original Camp Snap, but not by much – Camp Snap are clearly aware that affordability is a big part of their camera's USP and aren't messing with it. This was the main mistake I felt the firm made with its Super 8-aping CS-8 video camera — at a starting price of $199 / £152, it was just a bit too expensive for a low-quality camera whose main attraction was its novelty factor.

Even with the slight uptick in price, the CS-Pro is one of the most affordable options in the retro-styled digital compact arena. It's cheaper than the more complex and sophisticated RewindPix, which offers a huge range of film-style filters via its app-based digital darkroom.

Camp Snap CS-Pro: design

• Styled after popular premium compacts like the Fujifilm X100
• All-plastic build, lightweight and doesn't feel too robust
• Point-and-shoot operation, with dial for selectable retro filters

As mentioned, the Camp Snap CS-Pro looks at first glance a lot like a premium retro compact in the Fujifilm X100 series, with its black body and silver trim. However, if you were to actually hold both cameras side by side, this illusion would fall apart very quickly. Fujifilm's cameras are gorgeous, all-metal things, their build reflecting their four-figure price tags. The CS-Pro, meanwhile, consists of nothing but plastic and more plastic. It feels cheap, because it is cheap, and doesn't even pull the RewindPix's trick of adding internal metal weights for a bit of extra heft.

Interface-wise, on the top plate you have just the shutter button and the dial with the selectable film filters, the latter of which also functions as the on/off switch. On the rear you have a simple LCD panel that provides a running shot counter — useful if you're a forgetful sort and aren't sure when you last offloaded your pictures.

Beside the screen, you may notice two rows of small holes — amusingly, these are actually for a speaker, which plays recorded stock sounds when the camera is turned off and on and when the shutter is fired. These tinny, generic 'clunks' sound like they were downloaded from a website with a name like 'freemidisoundfx.com', and for all I know they probably were. Unnecessary, but harmless — and you can turn them off.

In the bottom corner is a row of four LEDs which serve as battery indicators — and I must say, I've been shooting with the Camp Snap for weeks without charging it once, and my battery level is still very healthy. Camp Snap rates the battery to 500 shots, and I believe it.

Jon StapleyJon StapleyJon StapleyJon StapleyJon StapleyJon StapleyJon StapleyJon StapleyJon Stapley

In the top-left corner is the optical viewfinder. It's a tiny thing — a far cry from the big, lovely viewfinder on the RewindPix — and the fact that it's both above and to the left of the lens means what you see through it bears only a passing resemblance to what your captured image is going to look like.

On the front, beside the viewfinder, there's a flash. One of the common complaints about the original Camp Snap was the rather weak-beer effort of its piddly LED flash, and the manufacturer has compensated in spades by throwing in a powerful Xenon flash. I'll talk more about this in the next section, but for now it's worth noting that a switch on the front allows you to toggle it between 'Off', 'Auto' and 'Forced'.

Also, surprisingly, the lens on the front has a 37mm filter thread, meaning you can attach protective UV filters, NDs, polarisers or special-effects filters if you have them in the corresponding size. I'm going to be honest — I think the crossover between 'Camp Snap buyers' and 'lens-based filter enjoyers' is vanishingly small, and I find it hard to imagine many people using this feature. But I'm not complaining.

(Image credit: Jon Stapley)

There are lugs for a strap, but no strap is included in the package — no pouch or case either, though Camp Snap did at least find room to pack in a USB-C cable for charging. The port is located on the bottom of the camera, along with a screw thread for mounting on a tripod, and a screwed-on panel that houses the built-in 4GB micro SD card, which you can unscrew to access directly if needed.

Camp Snap CS-Pro: performance

• Images are bright and punchy, but fine detail is lacking, and it can't handle high lighting contrast
• While fixed-focus lens makes operation easy, it can be creatively limiting, and there's no close-up ability
• Xenon flash is ludicrously overpowered — you can thankfully stick with the sensible 'Auto' setting

I'll say it straight out — I find my images from the CS-Pro to be very likeable. Are they high-quality? Absolutely not. They do not stand up to close scrutiny on a pixel level, and I would not make prints from them. But in good light, the CS-Pro produces images with bright, punchy colors — vivid blue skies, pleasant greens, and rich, golden sun.

The wide lens allows you to reliably fit plenty into the frame. Running a few shots helps you get used to finding the sweet spot of distance from your subject — being too close gets you a blurry mess. As a rule, if you're trying to capture an image of a specific object, animal or person, you want at least a meter's distance. Close-ups are a no-no, and you're not going to get creative effects like shallow depth of field.

The extra megapixels on the sensor has definitely improved matters compared to the original Camp Snap, with landscape-style images in particular looking much better thanks to greater detail for delineating distant subjects. However, the small size of the sensor means that dynamic range is still an Achilles' heel. Contrasty light situations are pretty much a no-go – you're all but guaranteed to get blown-out white highlights, or murky impenetrable shadows, or if you're really up against it, both. There's just a physical limit to the kinds of shooting situations the CS-Pro can handle.

However, one thing that can help matters here is the filter dial. Giving your images a retro glow with VTG-1 or VTG-2 can be a handy way to make a blown-out highlight look like an artistic choice, rather than a technological limitation. Indeed, I am generally a fan of the filter dial, even if I do think offering just three options other than the Standard look is rather tight-fisted.

Filter: STDJon StapleyFilter: VTG-1Jon StapleyFilter: VTG-2Jon StapleyFilter: B&WJon Stapley

VTG-1 is lovely and warm — great for sunny evenings. I can see it getting a lot of use in pub gardens and the like. VTG-2 is bright and saturated, giving your images just a bit more zing; like Kodak Ultramax, I'd take it to a day at the beach. And the B&W filter delivers a nice level of tonal contrast for moody monochrome, ideal for days when the weather is overcast and uninspiring. Dull light makes Camp Snap images very dull indeed, and the B&W filter is an excellent way to get around this.

Filter: STDJon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: VTG1Jon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: VTG1Jon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: B&WJon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: VTG1Jon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: VTG1Jon StapleyFilter: VTG2Jon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: STDJon StapleyFilter: VTG2Jon StapleyFilter: STDJon Stapley

As mentioned, a few more filters would have been nice by default — though there is a library of community-made filters to explore, as well as the option to create your own, so that does have the potential to extend the camera's lease on life. Camp Snap also sells its own downloadable add-on packs of filters, which goes some way to explain why there are so few to begin with.

I was excited by the idea of the Xenon flash, but having tested it out, I feel that a hammer is being used to crack a nut here. It is an incredibly powerful unit, much more powerful than the CS-Pro needs, frankly, and every time I have set it to the full-power 'Forced' mode, I have ended up with a blown-out, overexposed mess of an image. Thankfully, the 'Auto' mode does much better, providing balanced exposures that illuminate the subject well.

Flash off.Jon StapleyFlash set to Auto.Jon StapleyFlash set to Forced. You see the issue.Jon StapleyAgain, flash set to Forced. I just wanted a nice picture of my spider-plant, man.Jon Stapley

It also merits mentioning that the shooting experience of the CS-Pro is nice and brisk. One of the common complaints about the original Camp Snap was that it had some truly deleterious shutter lag. This has been corrected for the CS-Pro thanks to an upgraded processor. While there's no burst mode per se, I was able to fire off successive shots at a rate of about 1 per second — the only feature that fell behind, amusingly, was the artificial free-midi-download shutter-release noise. And I can live with that.

Should I buy the Camp Snap CS-Pro?

(Image credit: Jon Stapley)Buy it if...

You want a break from your screens.
Having no LCD for monitoring or playing back your shots keeps you living in the moment — an analog-like experience without the difficulty and expense.

You want an affordable, lightweight compact camera
Incredibly light and commendably cheap, the CS-Pro is a camera you can take everywhere without a worry.

The first Camp Snap was just too low-quality for you.
Operability improvements and a resolution upgrade make this a markedly better shooting experience.

Don't buy it if...

You want creative versatility
You can't change your settings, you can't focus the lens — despite the 'Pro' moniker, this is a point-and-shoot.

You want a tough camera that can handle a knock
It's not weatherproof at all, and I wouldn't rate that all-plastic body to stand up to much punishment.

How I tested the Camp Snap CS-Pro

(Image credit: Jon Stapley)

• I received a loan unit of the Camp Snap CS-Pro for testing
• I have taken it out on a number of photo excursions in London and on a short rural mini-break
• I’ve shot in variable light conditions throughout April and May, with a mixture of bright and overcast weather

So far, I've used the Camp Snap CS-Pro to capture more than 100 images, over a period of several weeks, during which time I took it on several days out in London as well as on a countryside mini-break in Gloucestershire, UK. The weather was quite variable during my time with the camera, though predominantly bright and sunny. I used the CS-Pro indoors and outdoors, and aimed to capture a broad range of subjects and situations.

First reviewed May 2026

It was somewhere between sprinting to capture a flag, evading instructors and shooting moving targets in a Maltese training course during my playthrough of 007 First Light that I realized IO Interactive has managed to make a third person shooter game that truly feels like you’re playing a James Bond in a movie.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5 Pro
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: May 27, 2026, (Nintendo Switch 2 TBC)

The sequence plays out like a classic training montage straight out of a Rocky film, quickly switching you from one exercise to the next. One minute you’re learning hand-to-hand combat mechanics like parrying and throwing your opponent into walls, the next you’re driving around a historical fort looking to set a new record for your fastest lap.

That blockbuster energy runs throughout this reboot, which introduces players to a younger version of the spy before he became 007. Meeting Bond as a fresh-faced, 26-year-old Royal Navy air crewman means there’s no Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan shadow hanging over him, making this an original take that shows him still learning when to follow orders and when to improvise.

The heart of the matter

While it's been done before, this training montage sequence is the most creatively put together I've ever seen. (Image credit: IO Interactive)

After washing up on an Icelandic shore as the lone survivor of a helicopter crash, Bond quickly finds himself on an M16 mission without any security clearance or training.

Relying solely on quick reflexes and some Montenegrin he picked up during past travels, it doesn’t take long before he’s recruited into M16 and thrown into a conspiracy involving rogue agents, buried secrets and, as is now a permanent plot device of various action movies of the 21st century (think Minority Report crossed with Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning), dangerous experimental technology.

Patrick Gibson’s version of Bond is cocky, impulsive and occasionally "a bit of a b***end", as Moneypenny, voiced by Kiera Lester, puts it at one poin. I can't say I don't agree with her, either, after hearing all those repetitive smart ass quips about how enemies take their tea while you lob cups and saucers at them during tense combat sequences — it's more eye-roll inducing than funny.

Often the immaturity works in the game’s favour, though, as this is Bond before the polished charm and cold professionalism fully set in. After all, Bond is more than just a generic run-and-gun action hero — and this is where IO Interactive’s expertise in stealth action games comes in.

Much of the game revolves around learning new ways to stealthily approach situations, from disguising yourself as valet to infiltrate a world chess championship competition to pickpocketing an invitation to get into an exclusive gala in Kensington.

These more open world sections of the game allow for the most experimentation outside of the cutscenes and platforming that features throughout the game, creating an undeniable rhythm.

Missions often begin back at M16 with a briefing from Moneypenny before sending Bond downstairs to the brilliant Q (who’s voiced by Alastair Mackenzie) to field test some new gadgets. From there, you’re deployed into luxury hotels, hostile compounds, crowded marketplaces and snowy mountains, where you almost always manage to devise a cunning escape worthy of an IMAX screen.

A matter of considerable delicacy

Every Bond needs a villain, or two... or three... (Image credit: IO Interactive)

Let’s get one thing out of the way, the stealth sandbox gameplay isn’t quite as open-ended or realistic as IO Interactive's Hitman series. Instead, it’s more of a stripped back version of the studio's gaming DNA.

The core suite of mechanics are here, though, letting you quietly infiltrate guarded areas in several different ways by either bluffing out of conversations or creating distractions to reach your objective unnoticed.

Just don’t expect the same unforgiving realism, where if you look or do something suspicious you’ll immediately trigger the NPCs to be cautious of you, stopping you from progressing and making you restart the level. 007 First Light is much more forgiving — even letting you take down enemies in the same room without others reacting (more on this later).

That’s not say that you don’t have the same varied gameplay, though. The standout mission for me was in Mauritania, where Bond infiltrates a dusty shipping graveyard settlement built around the wreckage of a giant cargo ship in the Sahara Desert. In order to enter a criminal auction, you first need to raise enough money through underground brawls, shooting contests and other side activities scattered around a dense marketplace.

It’s one of the missions where the game fully embraces player freedom, and it feels closest to IO Interactive’s work with Hitman as you don't have to complete every side mission available to progress to the next section, making the level varied enough for multiple playthroughs on different difficulties.

Best bit

My favorite part of 007 First Light was an unassuming moment during an action sequence where I was battling mercenaries while trying to escape a building. After flanking two hostile henchmen, I swiftly shot a red fuel canister clearing the path ahead of me to escape with a confidence that only a truly lethal secret agent could have.

In true Bond fashion, gadgets also play a big role. From hacking electronics to disabling lights with your Omega watch, there's a variety of spy tools that you can access through a gadget wheel reminiscent of Batman: Arkham. These mechanics are crucial to the stealth sections of the game, allowing you to create distractions and progress through locked down buildings.

Punctuating every stealth mission are enormous set pieces very clearly inspired by Naughty Dog's Uncharted series of adventure games that see you evading a sniper's fire while running across rooftops, jumping onto airplanes and car chases that feel ripped straight from a Bond finale. There's even that signature platforming and few puzzles thrown in for good measure.

Against the odds

Please let me drive the Aston Martin Valhalla more next time, IO Interactive. (Image credit: IO Interactive)

At times, though, the game's cinematic action pieces can break that sense of immersion with bugs pre-emptively triggering a cutscene that suddenly repositions Bond to a place he was otherwise nowhere near a moment ago. During one sequence, the game forced Bond onto a mobile staircase because a cutscene had been triggered, despite me being in the middle of a shootout on the other side of the tarmac.

The stealth areas occasionally interrupted the realism, too. For instance, when I was given a 'license to kill', which is the game's shoot-em-up mode, I would abandon stealth entirely to fight my way through, bashing enemies into nearby walls and tables, only for nearby NPCs to seemingly ignore the chaos unfolding in the room they're closely guarding.

While I can fully appreciate the certain restrictions IO Interactive has made to make you play the game in a certain way, I can't help but feel slightly cheated by the driving mechanic. It felt tacked on because of the spy franchise's iconic vehicles and not nearly as dynamic as it could've been — this might very well all be stemming from my frustrations around not being able to drive the Aston Martin Valhalla more than two-feet though, so take it with a pinch of salt as I had been excited to get behind the wheel ever since catching a glimpse of it in M16 headquarters.

Thankfully, these frustrations rarely outweigh the sheer expansiveness of what IO Interactive has created here. 007First Light brings to life what makes Bond so thrilling beyond the explosions, weaving together a multi-layered espionage plot, sophisticated spy toys and stunning locations that you don't want to leave.

While it's stealth gameplay isn't quite as polished as Hitman and its cinematic pacing occasionally cuts through the spell, it's easy to see past. IO Interactive has delivered the most immersive Bond game in years.

Should I play 007 First Light?

I can still hear Sampha's '(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano' since finishing 007 First Light. (Image credit: IO Interactive)Play it if...

You love big campaigns
Expect cinematic action sequences similar to Uncharted threading together a linear narrative that's as multilayered as a Bond movie. View Deal

You want to feel like Bond
Forget drinking martinis, 007 First Light lets you experience nearly every facet of what being Bond entails with a hyper-competence you can dream of. View Deal

You love 007's spycraft
Similar to Batman: Arkham's gadget mechanics, 007 First Light brings to life a variety of classic 007 spy tools from the movies.

Don't play it if...

You're expecting the exact same gameplay as Hitman
IO Interactive has stripped back some of the stealth sandbox mastery from Hitman to create a more streamlined tactical experience.

You can't stand a lot of cutscenes
007 First Light blurs the line of playing a game and watching a movie, with lengthy set pieces that you won't want to skip.

Accessibility

Well, this is a bit different — a baby Bond that doesn't have a signature drink. (Image credit: IO Interactive )

007 First Light has most of the usual controls and accessibility features you'd find on a AAA game, including subtitles, adjustable difficulty settings, which you can change anytime throughout, tutorials, as well as motion and sensitivity controls.

Because the game is so linear, you don't have a map to help guide you through the more sandbox-style levels but that doesn't matter too much as it allows for experimentation to occur.

How I reviewed 007 First Light

Alright then, let's see if there's another way I can raise $100,000. (Image credit: IO Interactive)

I played 007 First Light for just under 20 hours on a PlayStation 5 Pro hooked up to a Sky Glass TV and Sonos sound system made up of two speakers, a soundbar and subwoofer.

I completed the story during that time, and even replayed a couple of sections to test out the variations that could occur depending on the way I played the game. However, I did not unlock everything, so I'm sure there's plenty more worth exploring.

GEEKOM A9 Max 2026: 30-second review

The Geekom A9 Max is one of a growing number of premium AI-enhanced mini PCs, perfectly at home as a powerful office machine for content creation or development, especially for low to mid-level AI applications. Inside is a powerful Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 CPU, and this is coupled with a more standard 890M integrated GPU and NPU to handle all graphics and AI processing.

Removing the small machine from the box, the quality is instantly apparent, with a mainly metal case aside from the black plastic back panel. It’s also good to see a decent amount of venting to keep it cool, even under substantial load.

What I instantly liked about the box was that while it arrives with just 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, it’s perfectly possible to upgrade the machine to 128GB RAM and 8TB storage, and you can even give it a graphics boost by attaching an eGPU. Essentially, this brings the machine close to rivalling many desktops, but at a much smaller size; although the size of the eGPU does have to be taken into account.

The machine also features plenty of connection options, including USB4, for that eGPU or ultra-fast storage, there’s also HDMI 2.1, decent dual 2.5GbE, and Wi-Fi 7. As a photographer and videographer, it's nice to see an SD 4.0 card reader on the side. I'm increasingly using CFexpress Type B and Type A, but since those cards are still quite rare in the mainstream, an SD card reader is still the best option here.

In day-to-day tasks running Windows 11 Pro, this machine is extremely quick, with the full Microsoft Office suite opening and running without issue with the standard configuration. As I moved on, I started using CapCut and installed the Adobe Creative Suite just to see if it could run Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and a few other advanced applications. Again, it handled 4K video edits without issue with footage from the Canon EOS R5C and quickly enhanced a batch of images shot on the Sony A7 IV in Lightroom. This small machine handled the load with ease.

Through the test I was impressed with the potential power and put this to the test with a video edit. That edit for a 4K production grew in length, and while the machine was able to handle the processing, I could hear the machine being pushed to its limits, and an extra 32GB of RAM would have just helped it over the line for video editing. Still, this performance was impressive. While I did start to see a slowdown in the timeline render times, ultimately, for such a small machine and at this price, this performance is impressive.

One of the big features of this machine is the AI potential. Sure enough, Copilot runs exceptionally well, integrated with Microsoft and Adobe applications, but with a machine like this and with that Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 CPU, which offers up to 86 TOPS of AI performance, with an extra 55 TOPS in the NPU, I was really interested to see how well it would run a local LLM.

Considering the size and the position, I was able to install Qwen 7B, which seemed to run relatively well, I did consider 14B but hit some issues on getting that running. You can tell that Qwen is running on a local machine, and with 32GB of RAM and that limited power from the GPU, there is a slight slowdown.

But it's still impressive, with the chatbot features working well and enabling you to integrate relatively basic tasks, although, at present, that limitation is more down to my knowledge of programming with a local LLM rather than probable potential of what's available here.

I couldn't help feeling that a little more RAM and possibly connecting to an eGPU would have just sped things up a bit, but having this run completely offline does start to show the potential.

Finishing off the test, I wanted just to see how well it would run some of the larger games, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Hogwarts Legacy, and in both cases, the Radeon 890M GPU proved why it's such a popular choice, offering smooth gameplay at HD resolution with mid effects and graphics quality. Again, with the potential to connect an eGPU and boost the RAM, if you do want to use this as a gaming machine, the potential is absolutely here.

While powerful mini PCs have been around for a while, the GEEKOM A9 Max 2026 Edition really shows just how far they've come. This machine really does rival a desktop, and whilst it does get warm under load, it manages to see it through without any notable thermal throttling.

If you are editing video or using any other application or process that really puts a load on the CPU and GPU, those fans are going to kick in. If you like a quiet working environment, this might not be the machine for you.

However, there's no doubting its power and potential, and with a little bit more RAM and connected to an eGPU, this small machine is definitely able to rival many machines far larger, although with those additions, the price is pretty much on a par, and the benefit all comes down to the space you save from the small-form-factor machine. With that in mind, it's likely to feature in our guide to the best mini PCs.

GEEKOM A9 Max 2026: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? £1599 / $1799
• When is it out? Now
• Where can you get it? Directly from GEEKOM

The Geekom A9 Max 2026 Edition is widely available, with the base HX370 configuration starting at $1399 from Geekom's US site and £1299 from Geekom UK.

The mini PC is also available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

TechRadar Pro readers can save an extra 8% via Geekom or Amazon when using the code TRA9MAX26.

Note: In the US, to get the discount on the HX470 model, use code TRA9AMZUS.

• Value: 4/5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)GEEKOM A9 Max 2026: Specs

CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470
Graphics: AMD Radeon 890M
RAM: 32GB DDR5, expandable up to 128GB.
Storage: 2TB SSD; supports 1 × M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 NVMe and 1 × M.2 2230 PCIe 4.0 NVMe, up to 8TB total.
Front Ports: Power button, 3.5mm headset jack, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, including one always-on port.
Rear Ports: DC input, 2 × HDMI 2.1, 2 × USB4 Type-C, 2 × 2.5GbE RJ45, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, USB 2.0 Type-A, Kensington lock.
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, dual 2.5GbE LAN.
Audio: HDA codec, 3.5mm front headset jack.
Camera: None.
Size: 135 × 132 × 46.9mm.
OS Installed: Windows 11 Pro

GEEKOM A9 Max 2026: Design

The Geekom A9 Max 2026 Edition is right at the top of the mini PC market, with a premium build and price tag to match. The top and sides are made with a full reinforced metal chassis, which has been made to stand up to 200kg of pressure, essentially meaning that in the studio or office, it will just look like a premium PC, but if, for some reason, you use it in the field, it should be robust enough to withstand a good knock or two.

When it comes to size it measures 135 × 132 × 46.9mm. While the build is premium and the machine is on the larger side of the mini PC form factor, it still features the usual VESA mount options at the back, making it easy to mount behind your monitor.

Around the body of the machine there’s a good amount of ports and with the premium focus, high-speed networking is a priority, featuring dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth version 5.4.

Alongside all the usual ports, which I come to in a minute, there are two additional slots. The first is an SD card reader, which will appeal to many creators but is increasingly appealing to office workers who also need to shoot video and take images in their day-to-day tasks. There's also a Kensington lock slot if you do need to make sure the mini PC is secure.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

When it comes to port layout, there's a good number of ports, though it is a bit of a shame there's no USB-C on the front. Instead, you have three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A that is marked as always on. There's also a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and the power button. Switching round the back, you've obviously got the DC power in.

This is an 18V standard plug and HDMI 2.1, a USB Type-C that supports DP Alt Mode and PD-in, which is handy if you're using this out in the field. Then there are 2 × 2.5 GbE RJ45 LAN ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, a USB 2.0 Type-A port, a USB Type-C DP Alt Mode port, and another HDMI 2.1 port, so a really good selection of ports. It's great to see you've got two USB4 ports at the back, enabling both ultra-fast storage and an eGPU if you need to boost graphics performance.

With those two HDMI and two USB4 ports, if you do want to run a 4x4K display setup or a single 8K monitor, this is perfectly possible with that port selection.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)GEEKOM A9 Max 2026: Features

Inside are the mechanics of the machine, with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470, 12 cores, 24 threads, up to 5.2GHz boost, and up to 86 TOPS overall AI performance at the heart, along with an integrated Radeon 890M GPU with 16 graphics cores and RDNA 3.5 architecture, and an NPU. This is supported by 32GB DDR5 RAM, upgradable to 128GB, and 8TB NVMe SSD modules.

Like most mini PCs, it comes pre-installed with Windows 11 Pro. When the machine arrives, all you need to do is run the final installation steps to register accounts and customise a few settings to your needs.

A first look at the specifications shows is a quite meagre allocation of RAM and storage: just 32GB of DDR5 RAM and 2TB of M.2 NVMe SSD storage, both of which can be upgraded, but in a machine of this price I would have hoped for a little more.

The RAM, can be upgraded to 128GB with two 64GB modules, providing dual-channel memory and making it ideal for AI models and other applications that require ample RAM. Then, for storage, you have one M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 ×4 NVMe SSD slot and an additional M.2 2230 PCIe 4.0 NVMe, each supporting up to 4TB, so you can boost the internal capacity to a relatively decent 8TB.

It is worth noting that while this machine comes pre-loaded with Windows 11 Pro, you can install Linux or another operating system of your choice; it is perfectly compatible. If you just want to run it as an AI box on Windows 11 Pro, it makes a perfect platform for development.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

• Features: 4.5 / 5 (Will change once features are available)

GEEKOM A9 Max 2026: Performance

When it comes to day-to-day use, I really felt this machine is at the top of the premium mini PC market, and being powered by the Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 ensures that, when running Windows 11 Pro, everything runs well.

As I started out with Microsoft Office, firstly to write this review but also for a few other tasks, both in Excel and PowerPoint, the machine ran beautifully, smoothly switching between apps as I needed, and handling images with ease with no slowdown or issue. Essentially, this machine is more than powerful enough for any office application and for some pretty heavy-duty lifting in each of the individual apps, which, to be honest, these days is expected.

Whilst checking through the benchmark test results, I was a little bit surprised to see that it only scored a Windows Experience score of 8.1, but what was more reflective was the PCMark score of 8090, showing that, for day-to-day tasks, this machine is absolutely ideally suited.

As I started increasing the pressure on the system, I switched to Lightroom Classic and CapCut, both relatively lightweight applications. Starting with Lightroom Classic and creating a large catalogue containing over 800 images shot on the Sony A7 IV, both JPEG and raw, the machine had absolutely no issue handling the task, and whilst the internal hard drive is only 2TB, the CrystalDiskMark read and write scores of 6190MB per second for read and 5524MB per second for write were more than adequate to quickly render thumbnails and enable speedy adjustments.

Later on, through the test, as I was transferring video files from the Canon EOS R5C, that speed of transfer was really apparent, although that 2TB internal SSD was a bit of an issue, so I installed another 1TB drive just to boost that internal storage for the video editing test.

Aside from the internal SSD being exceptionally quick, what was noticeable was just how fast applications loaded; both Photoshop and Premiere Pro were relatively quick, taking under 10 seconds from double-clicking the application icon to being ready to start work. Likewise, when importing files into Premiere Pro, the media thumbnails rendered nicely and quickly as the timeline progressed or was scrubbed through.

For the most part, the video editing was handled well, and in Premiere Pro, I was able to cut several hours of footage into a five-minute video. However, since the total video file size exceeded 2TB of internal storage, I attached an external SSD via the USB4 port to handle the additional capacity. Here, the USB4 speed was absolutely spot-on for video production, enabling me to work with files on external drives as if they were on the fast internal drive.

During editing, it was apparent there's only 32GB of RAM in the system, and I would definitely think of upgrading to at least 64GB, if not the full 128GB, if I were going to use this for video editing. However, for images processed in Photoshop and Lightroom, that 32GB is actually perfectly adequate, and I'd only really upgrade to 64GB just to give myself a little extra headroom.

If you're just using Lightroom Classic and CapCut, for instance, then that 32GB and 2TB SSD will more than likely suffice. If you're pushing things a little further and using something like a Sony A7 or another high-end mirrorless camera, I’d definitely look at either an external storage solution or upgrading the internal capacity and RAM. However, it's reassuring to know that the CPU and GPU can handle most people's creative needs.

But what's good to know is that because it has USB4, if you do need to push the graphics potential further and you're working on longer productions, say over 15 minutes, then you can attach an external eGPU through that USB4 port, which will give you far more potential.

One of the key features here is the built-in NPU and AI potential of the Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 CPU, which is supported by the lesser 890M GPU. In both Photoshop and Premiere Pro, utilising the AI features such as timeline expands and generative fill, and utilising local resources rather than cloud, the machine was actually able to cope with that AI processing exceptionally well, taking a few seconds to expand timelines and about 10 seconds to generatively fill when cropped on a rotation.

Of course, a popular choice for the built-in AI hardware is so that you can run a local LLM. If you're just looking to start experimentation with localised models such as Qwen 2.5 7B, which I found was a good fit for this 32GB version, then this is a great place to start. You can essentially set up your own localised chatbot that doesn't need to rely on a cloud connection to work, but more interestingly, you can start to use it to develop your own AI applications.

At a base level, you can get the LLM to help you create a website, write code for you, and I was interested to see if it could create a static HTML site. It could be updated by connecting to GitHub and Cloud Pages. What's interesting here is that there was some tweaking, even though I hadn't fully automated the process. The LLM, which was running locally, was able to use a local web server to develop and run the application, and as I worked on the project, I realised it was more my own personal knowledge of the system rather than the abilities of the machine that was the limitation of what I was developing.

However, the upshot is that the AI potential runs locally; it takes a bit of fiddling to set up, as ever. Once running, it gives you a real good insight into this machine’s potential. Once again, as with creative applications, I would definitely upgrade the RAM to handle that AI process and probably attach a GPU just to give it a boost. At present, whilst that 890M GPU is a good standard, it is starting to look a little dated, given the full potential of how we're using our machines.

Checking out the scores in 3DMark and Geekbench, it was interesting to see the GPU score in Geekbench. The GPU came out at 34,145, not a bad result for an integrated GPU and more than enough for playing many games at HD resolution.

Sure enough, when loading Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, I was able to enjoy some pretty smooth gameplay. In some of the games I played, both Indiana Jones and Cyberpunk 2077, the official GPU specifications are actually higher than what is on offer here. However, the gameplay is still exceptionally well handled thanks to that CPU's power.

Benchmark results

CrystalDiskMark Read: 6190.03
CrystalDiskMark Write: 5524.9
Geekbench CPU Multi: 12069
Geekbench CPU Single: 2922
Geekbench GPU: 34145
PCMark Overall: 8090
Cinebench CPU Multi: 4668
Cinebench CPU Single: 495
Fire Strike Overall: 5141
Fire Strike Graphics: 5544
Fire Strike Physics: 30903
Fire Strike Combined: 1839
Time Spy Overall: 2424
Time Spy Graphics: 2149
Time Spy CPU: 8906
Wild Life Overall: 12516
Steel Nomad Overall: 2165
Windows Experience Overall: 8.1

Getting back to work, this time loading DaVinci Resolve to do some colour grading, it was interesting to see how well the machine handled quite intensive grading on video footage before exporting. You can once again see a bit of lag due to the 32GB of RAM, but ultimately, it's impressive for a machine of this size, and if a GPU were connected, this would definitely rival far larger workstation PCs.

Again, when running Blender, I had to create some 3D models for an upcoming 3D print to test the machine. It was more than capable of handling quite sophisticated modelling requirements, and I was impressed with just how easy it was to work within the application compared with what I'm used to on my MacBook Pro M1 Max, which has for years been my chosen option for utilising Blender. Again, there's no doubt that a bit of an eGPU boost would have been appreciated, but this machine is more than useful right out of the box.

At the end of the test, it's obvious why this is a premium mini PC and not just because of the cost. The design is exceptionally well thought out, simple and functional, rather than going for some sleek, stylish design. What impressed me was that, even under load, when the fans kick in, the noise stays at a reasonable level and the machine stays cool. There's no thermal throttling, or at least no notable thermal throttling through the test, especially when using the video editors, which is usually where you can start to see a real slowdown in the timeline as it builds in length.

Whilst I'm relatively new to using these small machines for LLM models, I am slowly getting to grips with running similar systems on network-attached storage. It's great to see the speed boost I'm getting from these mini PCs. At present, the processing speed of that LLM model is far faster on this A9 Max 2026 Edition than I've seen on most other options.

So, overall, from productivity to creativity to running your own localised LLM, at present, the Geekom A9 Max seems like an exceptionally good option.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)GEEKOM A9 Max 2026: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

By the end of this test, there's no doubt that the price reflects the specifications and performance of this mini PC, and it's a great choice if you're a heavy-process Windows user and you just want a small box that sits on your desk behind your monitor rather than a full-blown desktop workstation.

It’s worth pointing out that if you want to see this machine's full potential, connect it to an eGPU, boost the RAM and internal storage, but still, the 32GB, 2TB version that I'm looking at in this review is exceptionally powerful and, for creative use, was able to plough through video editing and image enhancement without issue.

What impressed me most was the localised potential of AI. Being able to download and install a local language model and use it both for chat and for a few more advanced creative options was good to see, as it showed just how well these local language models work and how stable they can be in your own offline environment.

Running a local LLM isn't quite as straightforward as most of the applications, and the download and install process does take a little bit of working out, especially when you want to start connecting it to external resources. But this machine and its processing speed do make that a little easier, and the potential, if you are looking for a local AI development machine, is exceptionally good.

Of course, the reason you go for a mini PC over a full desktop is that it saves a lot of space and is often a lot cheaper. However, here, whilst the size of the mini PC is compact, once you connect an eGPU and external SSD, and upgrade the RAM and internal storage, the pricing really does sit directly alongside a standard workstation, so it's really only if you are strapped for space that you probably want to go for the fully specced-out option.

But then it’s ultra-portable, so if you're working in the field for video or image production and you need a really powerful machine to take with you, not just a laptop, then this is a superb solution, and plenty of connectivity options on both the front and back make it extremely flexible. I do wish, however, that it had at least one USB-C port on the front, not just tucked away at the back.

The network connection was also pretty good at 2.5 GbE, and with your options, it's easy to connect directly to a NAS box as well as the network, which gives you plenty of user options.

If you're looking for workstation performance in a compact box, then the GEEKOM A9 Max 2026 Edition is a superb option. It's small, fast and has loads of potential, not just for Windows productivity but also for creative and local LLM use.

Whilst there's no doubting the performance of this machine, the price does make me think you are paying a premium for its small size, and for most people who have enough space for a workstation, that's probably going to be a cheaper option. However, if you're strapped for space in your office or workshop, or you need a machine that's fully portable and extremely powerful, then this is a great solution.

If you really want to push this model to the max, max out the capacity and RAM, and attach a decent eGPU, there's no doubt the GEEKOM A9 Max 2026 Edition will match most mid-level workstations without issue.

Should I buy the GEEKOM A9 Max 2026?

Value

Premium build with a good selection of ports, but it is exceptionally expensive for a mini PC

4/5

Design

I love the understated design. It fits easily on your desktop, and with the VESA mount, can be discreetly positioned

4.5/5

Features

A huge range of features for a mini PC and, best of all, plenty of upgrade potential 

4.5/5

Performance

Incredibly fast and perfect for most user workloads, especially if you're looking for AI development or creative use

4.5/5

Overall

Powerful mini PC that rivals the performance of many workstations, but does come with a price premium

4.5/5

Buy it if...

Need compact power

If you need the power of a workstation in a compact, potentially portable form, this is an ideal option.

Use many displays

If you need a mini PC connected to multiple displays, the dual HDMI and USB4 ports let you connect up to 4 4K displays directly from the back of this small machine.

Don't buy it if...

Need a gaming GPU

While you can play games at those lower resolutions and enjoy perfectly smooth performance, if you want the full immersive gaming experience, you'll also need to consider an eGPU, as the Radeon 890M is good but does have its limits.

Only browse casually

For many users, the power and speed of this machine will probably be overkill, and whilst it is nice to know that you've got all that power in the background, there are plenty of cheaper options out there.

For more productivity machines, we've tested the best business computers.

MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24: One-minute review

Exactly two years ago, MSI rolled out its debut 4K OLED gaming monitor. Now here we are with the new MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24, one of the first gaming monitors to get Samsung's newly upgraded 4K QD-OLED panel tech.

Superficially, of course, this 32-inch 4K gaming monitor is a dead ringer for its direct predecessors from MSI, most obviously the MSI MPG 321URX. It sports exactly the same chassis design, for instance, and a mostly similar feature set. But that new QD-OLED panel makes this a rather different proposition.

The resolution and refresh rate actually remain the same. So, that's 3,840 by 2,160 pixels and 240Hz maximum refresh, the latter being plenty for a 4K display. You're not going to be able to drive it beyond that speed in most games. The response times are carried over, too, which is just fine given we're talking about a lightning-quick rating of 0.03ms.

So, what exactly is different? The first hint that you've got Samsung's latest five-layer Tandem QD-OLED tech is in the full-screen brightness rating. That's up from 250 nits for previous 32-inch 4K QD-OLEDs to 300 nits. And while the peak HDR brightness remains pegged at 1,000 nits, the VESA DisplayHDR certification has been bumped up from True Black 400 to True Black 500, indicating more HDR punch.

All of that is enabled by a new third-gen emissive OLED material which Samsung also says is twice as durable as before. That's important because it means this new QD-OLED should be even more resistant to burn-in, a potential if unlikely problem that's also covered by the three-year warranty.

(Image credit: Future)

Another feature of the new panel is a revised surface material that reduces the purple tint in bright ambient light that all QD-OLEDs have thus far exhibited. MSI calls it Dark Armor Film and while it doesn't entirely eradicate the issue, black levels and perceived contrast are definitely improved.

However, there is one new-gen QD-OLED feature missing from this revised 32-inch 4K panel. The true RGB-stripe subpixel structure, as seen in another MSI monitor we reviewed recently, the MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36, isn't included here. On paper, RGB-stripe is desirable for precision rendering, especially fonts. In practice, this 32-inch 4K monitor has sufficient pixel density to make that a pretty moot point. It's very crisp and precise.

Whatever, the overall result of the upgrades is, if anything, more impressive than the incremental spec improvements imply. This is a gorgeous, vibrant monitor. Importantly, it's much richer and subjectively punchier than similar monitors based on LG's competing WOLED panel tech.

Full-screen SDR brightness is likewise now strong enough for almost all realistic use cases. But the real showbiz stuff is HDR gaming. The combination of 4K pixel density with the speed, contrast, lighting precision and outright pop of Samsung's latest QD-OLED tech, all heightened by the glossy screen coating, is downright fabulous.

Long story short, this new 4K QD-OLED panel really is approaching something akin to the perfect 2D display technology. There are still a few detail weaknesses. But overall, this 4K MSI beauty absolutely wallops any similar LCD display. It's not even close.

MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24: Price & availability

• How much does it cost? $1,099 / £999 / AU$1,799
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

At $1,099, the new MSI MPG 322UR X24 is a touch more expensive than MSI's first 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor at launch two years ago. But you do get a much improved panel.

It's also a fair bit cheaper than the likes of the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM Gen3, which uses exactly the same Samsung-sourced new-gen QD-OLED panel, but goes for about $1,299.

Of course, this is still a pretty expensive display. That's the reality with OLED technology right now. You have to pay a hefty premium versus LCD-based monitors of the same size and resolution. However, it's worth noting that there's a good chance that MSI will launch a slightly de-featured but cheaper-still variant of this monitor in the near future.

• Value: 3 / 5

MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24: SpecsMSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24 Specifications

Screen size

32-inch

Resolution

3840 x 2160

Panel technology

Samsung QD-OLED

Refresh rate

240Hz

Response time

0.03ms

HDR

DisplayHDR 500 True Black

Brightness

300 nits full screen, 1,000 nits peak HDR

Connectivity

HDMI 2.1 x2, DisplayPort 2.1a, USB-C with 98W PD, 2x USB-A hub

MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24: Design

• Familiar looks
• Good connectivity
• Reassuring warranty cover

In terms of styling, little has changed with the new MSI MPG 322UR X24. It looks just like the MSI MPG 321URX did back at launch two years ago.

It's not the most striking monitor design. But it's pretty well built and slick enough thanks to slim bezels and a low-key, all-black design ethic. You also get a good range of adjustment, including tilt, height, swivel, rotate and pivot, albeit the latter doesn't go all the way round into portrait mode.

As for connectivity, that includes a pair of HDMI 2.1 sockets, DisplayPort 2.1, a USB-C interface with 98 watts of power delivery and a two-port USB-A hub. The USB-C connectivity means you can share this monitor between, say, a gaming desktop and a work laptop with particular ease and minimal cable clutter.

(Image credit: Future)

Burn-in, of course, remains somewhat of a worry with OLED display technology, even if several third party long-term tests have shown that it's not a major problem with Samsung's QD-OLED tech. So, it's good to see that MSI has included several burn-in compensating features such as pixel shifting. You also get burn-in cover as part of MSI's three-year warranty. At minimum, you needn't have any concerns during the warranty period.

Finally, fans of glossy screen coatings will be pleased to learn that the MSI MPG 322UR X24 comes so equipped. It certainly heightens the visual impact of QD-OLED panel technology, even if that comes at the cost of increased reflectivity. In short, glossy screen coatings are a preference thing, they have pros and cons.

(Image credit: Future)

• Design: 4 / 5

MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24: Performance

• Fantastic new QD-OLED panel
• Stupendous HDR experience
• Full-screen brightness now "good enough"

Samsung's first effort at a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED panel for PC gaming monitors was pretty stellar but had a few arguable issues, including somewhat limited full-screen brightness and a purple tint that was visible in bright ambient light.

The MSI MPG 322UR X24 upgrades that experience with a new generation of QD-OLED technology that directly addresses those shortcomings. And it really is closing in on QD-OLED perfection.

First up, there's the overall vibrancy and punch. The full-screen SDR experience is now surely good enough for the vast majority of use cases and preferences. It's worth noting that the full-screen experience is, if anything, subjectively better than the official 300 nit rating implies.

The panel contrast still suffers a little in really bright ambient light. (Image credit: Future)

That's because, unlike LG's competing WOLED tech which relies on additional white subpixels to achieve its peak brightness rating, Samsung QD-OLED panels are pure RGB tech. Long story short, QD-OLED panels have better colour brightness and this MSI monitor has some serious SDR zing as a consequence.

Of course, where it really delivers is with HDR content and games. It really is hard to overstate how much better this monitor is than any LCD-based panel, even one with full-array local dimming, when it comes to the HDR experience. This new QD-OLED panel takes the usual advantage of OLED panel tech, which is perfect per-pixel lighting, and adds even more punch and sizzle. It's spectacular.

For this monitor, MSI has also implemented its EOTF boost mode technology. It's designed to combine the best aspects of both the VESA HDR 400 calibrated mode with the HDR Peak 1000 nits mode and give the highest brightness and image detail for both darker and brighter HDR gaming scenes. In short, it does just that and means you can use EOTF boost mode for all HDR content and be confident you're getting a good experience.

Of course, along with all that goodness specific to the latest QD-OLED tech, you're also getting the razor-sharp image detail and pixel density of 4K on a 32-inch panel. It's an incredible combination, and the overall result is genuinely spectacular.

So, is it perfect? Not quite. The new panel film does indeed reduce the purple tint of QD-OLED technology in bright light. But it doesn't entirely remove it. Apart from that, well, you really are into nit-picking territory. The panel's color temperature remains just a touch warm. And the concerns I mentioned around burn-in will remain in the context of really long term use. But this monitor truly is the art of QD-OLED panel tech very nearly perfected.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24?MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24 scorecard

Value

At $1,099, the MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24 isn't exactly cheap. But then, what 4k 32-inch OLED gaming monitor is? At least this new MSI has Samsung's latest and most impressive 4K QD-OLED tech.

3.5 / 5

Design

MSI hasn't changed much, design-wise, versus the previous model. But that's mostly a good thing and includes excellent connectivity.

4 / 5

Performance

The new-gen Samsung QD-OLED panel is a zinger. It's punchier, the purple tint problem is reduced and all the usual 4K OLED goodness remains.

5 / 5

Final score

This is not a cheap monitor. But it is as close to a flawless 4K OLED experience as you can currently get.

4.5 / 5

Buy the MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24 if...

You want the ultimate 4K OLED experience
The MSI MPG 322UR QD-OLED X24 packs Samsung's new-gen 4K QD-OLED panel and it's definitely closing in on perfection.

You want a true HDR experience
Forget every LCD monitor, ever. This is the way HDR is meant to be experienced.

Don't buy it if...

You're into multi-tasking
While this is a fairly large 32-inch display, there's no doubting ultrawide monitors do multi-tasking better.

You want a real bargain
OLED monitors are generally expensive. The new-gen QD-OLED panel in this one adds a further premium.

• Originally reviewed in May 2026

The Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 aims to keep the premium chair styling of some of Sihoo’s other chairs while also being a bit more wallet-friendly. Not everyone has north of $1,000 to drop on an ergonomic chair, and for those who do, they likely don’t want to spend it on just any chair; they want to make sure it’s a good value.

That’s where the C300 Pro V2 comes in. This chair obviously reminds me a lot of the other Sihoo Doro chairs I have tested. But it also reminds me of the Hinomi line of chairs, with a thousand areas to adjust to make it comfortable.

Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2: Unboxing and First Impressions

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

My unboxing experience for the Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 was unique in a few ways. First of all, I had to have two delivered. My first model had a damaged wheel, but when flagging to Sihoo, they sent me a second chair.

Once I got the second chair, I had just assembled one of the fastest and easiest chairs (of the ones I had to actually assemble, some come fully assembled), so my tolerance for building is slightly tweaked. That being said, assembly took a full 30 minutes, with about 8 minutes just for unboxing everything. Sihoo has always been a company with many pieces, and they ensure that every piece is properly packaged individually, resulting in a lot of material to remove from the individual elements before assembly.

While assembling, I noticed that the letters on the included diagram did not match anything on the pieces, but instead matched the diagram. I then had to refer to the diagram to confirm which screw type to use, for example. Also, I was slightly frustrated and slowed down by having to use the included hand tool instead of my Hoto Tools screwdriver.

Once built, the chair feels high-quality, the materials seem likely to last, and there’s no squeaking or creaking. So now the question remains, is the build time worth the comfort of the chair? I think it’s worth consideration.

Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2: Design & Build Quality

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

The Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 is mostly a sleek, elegant white mesh, with a PU-coated armrest and a rigid frame. The chair itself is quite comfortable, all while looking very modern and clean. It’s not your average office chair, nor your average cheap Amazon home office seat. Nay, this is a high-brow, powerful-feeling office chair that feels like it belongs in NASA, not in a home office.

While using this chair, I haven’t noticed any wobble or shake, and I haven't had any concerns about base stability, rolling wheels, or leaning back. While this may not be the look that everyone wants, the comfort is hard to deny. I remember the first round of Sihoo Doro chairs that I tested. I was genuinely impressed by how comfortable the spaceship-like chair felt, even on long days.

The mesh seating provides a good balance of support and comfort. The seat doesn't feel like a hammock, which is always a good sign for more expensive chairs. In general, there aren’t any spots that feel cheap or plasticky. Which could be a bit shocking. Not because Sihoo has a bad rap, but because this chair has a ton of moving parts, and that many moving parts could easily result in squeaks, loose tolerances between parts, and so on. But again, what is fantastic is that this has not been the case with the C300 Pro V2 yet.

Another thing to note is that this is a massive chair. I’ve tested a lot of chairs, and some just feel robust, some feel quaint. This chair feels beyond robust. It feels like the difference between a RAM 1500 and a base Ford F-150, or an iPad Pro 13-inch with a Magic Keyboard vs an iPad Air with a thin folio.

Some of the chairs that I have recently tested and am currently testing, along with the C300 Pro V2, are significantly narrower and less… intense… for lack of a better term. Next to a smaller desk, say a 24-inch or even a 48-inch desk, this chair will look massive. But if you have a larger desk, perhaps in the 60-inch range or beyond, this chair will probably fit right in, depending, of course, on some other variables too.

Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2: In use

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

I’ve had this chair back for about a week and a half after getting the replacement unit. So far, after several hours a day using this, I haven’t had any discomfort. It took me a little while to dial the chair in; with so many adjustable options, I kept wanting to make sure every setting was dialed in.

Personally, I see the benefit of the multi-functional armrests for some, but since I am not a gamer, I just keep them in the same general spot. But if you want to use this as an after-hours gaming chair or relaxation chair, too, you’ll be set.

The lumbar support is nice, and I do feel a good amount of support in my upper back when seated, too, though it doesn’t hit me at 6’1” exactly where I wish it did. But if you’re a tad shorter, it would probably be perfect for your lower back.

One thing I absolutely love on chairs like this, though, is the breathable mesh. I’ll say it time and time again: I run warm, so sitting in some of these very soft, non-mesh chairs I have, as comfortable as they are, I feel like I am sweating within a few minutes. With the mesh on the C300 Pro V2, though, I feel like my body can breathe even for long working sessions.

I’ve used this chair for intense writing sessions, leaning back a bit during virtual internal meetings with my team, more alert and focused in client meetings, and while working on project management and other tasks. Unless I am 100% locked in, which does happen pretty frequently, I am fairly fidgety. My leg is bouncing, my feet are moving, and I find myself twisting a little in my chair, even. So far, with all my movements, I haven't heard a creak or a squeak.

Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2: Final verdict

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

At the end of the day, this is a spectacular chair when you sit in it. The hesitations come with the build time, the complexity, and the design language, but primarily because it’s a distinct chair. It doesn't blend in and takes up a lot of space. So, if you’re the kind of person who likes that, this may be a dream come true, but if not, then this may not be the chair for you, and that’s okay.

However, if you do want a more robust chair, if you have the space for it, and you want a chair that you can fiddle with to make fit your every possible position of work play rest and everything in-between, then this may just be exactly what you are looking for.

Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future Collin Probst // Future

For more top-performers, we've tested the best office chairs.

Admit it. It’s okay; we’ve all thought about it: upping sticks, going off grid, and living the vanlife. But the wanderlust usually wears off once we start to consider the impracticalities and its unglamorous aspects. Outbound doesn’t share that sour-faced realism, though. Its vision of leaving the rat race and immersing oneself wholly in nature is purely positive.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PC
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
Release date: May 11, 2026 (PC, Xbox); May 14, 2026 (PS5, Switch / Switch 2)

This is a ‘survival’ game where surviving is no trouble at all; it’s just you and your camper (and potentially a companion or three), cruising the wilderness with nary a care in the world.

I, for one, have been waiting for a game like this, and judging by its art style and mechanics — not to mention the dog — it looked to be exactly what I was looking for. Having now played it, I can confirm that it succeeds in painting an idyllic picture of vanlife — to an extent.

On the road

(Image credit: Future)

You begin by choosing your van type and creating your character. Of the former, there are three to choose from, varying in their extension capabilities, carrying weight, and handling. You can also choose any base and accent colors you like.

There are a good number of customization options for your character, with face and hair types. There are also various accessories available, including painted fingernails. Oh, and there are shoes that look exactly like Crocs, which is a win in my book (look, they’re the perfect summer shoe, okay, and I won’t hear otherwise). Clothing options are more limited, though.

Once you’ve made your choices, you’re thrust onto the open road for a short drive before pulling up into a scenic parking lot in the middle of what looks like a North American national park. This lot is the site of the Outbound’s mini tutorial, tasking you with downloading a blueprint for a wrench from a nearby signal tower, crafting it, and using it to open the barrier to the map proper.

(Image credit: Future)

There’s no story here. No reason given as to why you’re journeying around in your van, other than a couple of lines of monologue at the start about leaving the city behind. There are various notes strewn about the map written by inhabitants, but these merely serve as gameplay hints rather than expounding some kind of overt narrative.

The whole game is rendered in a cell-shaded style, with a vibrant color palette that complements the tone of the game perfectly. Textures are simple but detailed, just enough to offer some semblance of realism, while landscapes on the horizon adopt a cardboard cutout look. The environment can get surprisingly atmospheric, too, especially as night falls, which really helps to sell the idyll of living deep within nature.

This soft aesthetic extends to the music, which is understated and wholesome, if a little anonymous. It drifts in and out rather than playing constantly, although there are occasions when it cuts off abruptly.

Sound effects are well placed and sufficiently detailed to feel immersive, from the cacophony of birdsong to the crackle of campfires. When rain falls, it sounds great both outside when it hits the ground and inside when it hits the roof of your van. And since your van is electric, all you hear as you drive along is the sound of the tires rustling over rough terrain, which I found oddly relaxing. Occasionally, your character will say something to give hints or after completing an action, but these are a little too generic to inject much personality or color.

The game’s map is large and expansive, mixing dirt roads and open forest with rocky canyons, streams, and waterfalls. There are also various man-made structures, from towers to treehouses, acting as points of progression.

The map screen itself is vibrant and detailed, with a rustic, hand-drawn appearance that’s clear and readable. It also tracks player locations in real time, which, as someone with a shocking sense of direction, I welcome.

Camp n’ craft

(Image credit: Future)

Outbound is upfront about its laid-back nature. There are no time constraints; you’re encouraged to play at your own pace and explore as you see fit. I did find the day/night cycle a little too fast, but thankfully, you can adjust this.

Attending to your needs is easy. In fact, you only have one, and that’s to feed yourself. What’s more, food is plentiful. There aren’t any real fail states, either. If your health reaches zero, as a result of fall damage or standing in a campfire for too long, the screen merely fades to black and declares that “you fainted,” before respawning you to the next day, with a quarter of your health replenished.

Best bit

(Image credit: Future)

That beautiful world. Exploring the varied and picturesque environments while driving or on foot is a meditative and sometimes awe-inspiring experience.

The typical survival gameplay loop is adhered to. You collect resources for crafting and explore the environment, which in Outbound means finding signal towers for downloading crafting blueprints and investigating landmarks for more rewards.

Managing the inventories of your backpack and van storage is easy, thanks to the clear interface of both. You can easily dump everything you’re carrying in the former into the latter with a single input. And if you want to prevent certain items from transferring, you can lock them to your backpack, which is a welcome convenience.

(Image credit: Future)

You can also go around the map lighting campfires, although I failed to see the point of doing so, other than to tick them off your list. They offer no special benefits or features, other than letting you sit down in a chair and gaze into the flames.

Driving is fun and fluid. Your vehicle is easy to control, yet feels weighty enough to feel realistic, and provides a soft challenge to make it feel satisfying. You can also change to a third-person camera angle while driving, which helps when manoeuvring in tight spots.

One annoying aspect of driving, though, is getting in and out. It’s a two-stage process requiring you to first open the door, then sit on the seat. This soon becomes a nuisance as you frequently hop in and out to gather resources on the roadside.

To gather certain resources, you’ll need various tools. Once you’ve acquired their blueprint, you can craft them in your van’s workshop. You’ll have to complete a simple minigame where you click in time with on-screen prompts, but there’s no punishment for getting this wrong. Tools can then be upgraded to tackle different types of rocks, logs, and shrubs.

(Image credit: Future)

The hammer tool gives you access to the base building menu. There are a fair number of options here, letting you build cabinets, shelves, and extensions on top of and outside your van. Cosmetically, many of these assets are quite basic, but they have their own simple charm.

You can also build various bits of machinery in your van to craft more materials. You feed them resources, and they work on churning out their outputs in the background, freeing you up to go about other tasks.

Naturally, these machines — along with the drivechain — require your van’s battery to be sufficiently powered. As you expand your van’s capabilities, you’ll require more and more power, and it’s this aspect that you perhaps need to be most mindful of in Outbound, as you can quickly find yourself out of charge.

Thankfully, you can feed your battery wood and fibre, both of which are fairly easy to come by. You can also build solar panels and other power-giving equipment to keep your van topped up.

There are multiple upgrade trees for your van, too. For example, you can increase the power of its motor so you can climb steeper inclines and increase building space.

Riding shotgun

(Image credit: Future)

Once you’ve got the gist of its central loop, Outbound doesn’t do much beyond it. There are some more interesting things to be found as you explore further afield, but they offer little in the way of interactivity. For all its splendor, the world is just a bit too empty.

I do like Outbound’s pacing, though. Like any good survival game, it holds back on giving you all the toys, requiring some effort to attain them all, which only makes it more rewarding once you do. It takes a while to get a dog, for instance, which is strange given that one features prominently in the game’s promotional material.

There are a few annoyances that spoil the fun slightly. There can be a lot of backtracking to signal towers as new blueprints appear, and while you can look at your map while driving, you can’t move around it or adjust the zoom. You’ll need to be a passenger or on foot to do those.

(Image credit: Future)

I can’t complain about the game’s performance, though. I didn’t encounter any visual bugs or drops in framerate. Online multiplayer was solid, too. Again, there was no lag or other glitches, save for a few instances of misaligned character placements. For example, there were times when I was in the back of the van while my partner drove, but on her screen, I was in the passenger seat.

The bigger issue with multiplayer is the absence of shared saves. This means that if you’re the guest in someone else’s game, you can’t carry on the adventure by yourself.

I’m hoping more content will be added in the future to expand the game’s potential, since there’s a good foundation here for more exploration and van-building opportunities to be added on top. For now, though, Outbound is a fun and good-natured way to while away a few hours, either alone or in good company.

Should you play Outbound?

(Image credit: Future)Play it if…

You want peaceful exploration
This is a no-stakes cozy game, where you can go at your own pace and follow your own path without risk.

You want to see a wholesome and positive representation of vanlife
With its beautiful environments and stress-free gameplay, you won’t find many depictions of the nomadic lifestyle as rosy as this.

Don’t play it if…

You want plenty of gameplay variation
The repetitive nature of collecting and crafting may start to grate after an hour or too.

You want a challenge
Outbound always goes easy on you, and lack of any real stakes can make those small victories feel a little hollow.

Accessibility

There aren’t many accessibility features in Outbound, although there are some I haven’t seen before. For instance, you can disable consumption sounds, which I presume is designed to aid people with misophonia.

You can also disable the mini games and disable the flashing effects from storms. The size of the UI is adjustable, too, although the range isn’t particularly wide. Thankfully, the maximum size should prove large enough for most gamers to see clearly.

You can toggle subtitles for the narration of player characters, but unfortunately there's no option for audio descriptions.

How I reviewed Outbound

(Image credit: Future)

I played Outbound for several hours, which is enough time to see most of what the game has to offer. There’s already a DLC (downloadable content) pack, entitled School Bus Adventures, but I’ve yet to play this.

Most of that time was spent playing cooperatively with my partner, although I also played it solo. We both played on PC: she used an Acer Nitro 14 gaming laptop, which features a AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, and 16GB of RAM, and I used a desktop with an AMD Ryzen 7, an RTX 5070, and 32GB of RAM. My partner played with the GameSir G7 Pro, which is one of the best PC controllers around, while I used the MSI Versa 300 Wireless 8K gaming mouse and the Corsair Vanguard Air 99 Wireless gaming keyboard.

I’ve been gaming for decades, and I’m a fan of titles with similar mechanics and pacing to Outbound, such as walking sims and adventure games. I’m also experienced in the survival and cozy genres, with Hozy and Subnautica 2 being two of my recent favorites.

First reviewed: May 2026

Honor 600: two-minute review

The Honor 600 is the brand’s latest mid-range phone, offering an iPhone-style design and a whole host of innovative AI features to Android users. Priced from £549.99, it’s a more affordable alternative to the flagship Honor 600 Pro, which was released around the same time for £899.99. But how does it hold up against other mid-range phones?

Let’s kick off with that AMOLED display. Coupled with its 2728 x 1264 resolution, this 6.57-inch screen delivers a pixel density of 458ppi, which means it can produce very crisp images. It’s also capable of ridiculously bright peak brightness, hitting up to 8,000 nits in certain limited circumstances. Colors are generally lush and vibrant, although on occasion, whites run a little blue for my liking.

In terms of design, I’d say the Honor 600 is attractive enough, though it doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself from many of the best phones out there. Honestly, it looks far too similar to the iPhone 17 Pro, even down to the full-width camera module and bright orange colorway. Fortunately, it redeems itself somewhat with its solid build quality and IP68 / IP69 rating, meaning you can count on it to shrug off dust and the occasional dunk in water.

Under the hood, the Honor 600 runs the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 CPU with 8GB of RAM. While that’s not a top-of-the-range chipset, it’s still very decent for a mid-range handset and offers pretty credible performance. During productivity tasks and everyday use, it always felt smooth and stable. Even when playing Call of Duty: Mobile with its HD packs installed, the Honor 600 was slicker than a frozen lake… although not quite as icy, given it warmed considerably over the course of three matches.

The Honor 600 also puts this performance to good use when it comes to software. MagicOS 10 is not only smooth and intuitive, but it also has great multitasking features, like the ability to multiscreen apps or share files with Honor devices, iPhones, and Macs. The only black mark here is the bloatware it ships with — despite allowing me to deselect some during installation, it still came teeming with unnecessary third-party apps like Temu, leaving a slightly sour taste in my mouth.

Another thing you can’t get away from when trying out the Honor’s software is AI. The Honor 600 is absolutely crammed with generative AI tools. Some of these are genuinely astounding — being able to reanimate still photos or create convincing-looking drone videos from nature photography is awesome. But there’s some inevitable jank here too, with some of the output I generated hallucinating extra cats (there’s relevant context here, I promise) or giving people shifting, changeling-esque faces that saw me nose-dive straight into the uncanny valley. If you’re into generative AI, though, you’ll likely be tempted by the sheer variety of tools on offer.

The camera system on the Honor 600 also makes no bones about its use of AI, although here the results are a lot more subtle. Its 200MP AI main lens can produce impressively crisp images, and all the macro shots I took showed a wonderful level of detail. Generally, colors appeared vibrant, although the Honor does slightly overemphasize blues in some shots. At longer focal distances, though, I found its cameras could sometimes lack a little in HDR pop, which is a real shame given its talents elsewhere.

Perhaps my favorite thing about the Honor 600 is a little more pedestrian: its battery. At 7,000mAh, it’s one of the largest-capacity batteries on any phone I’ve used — only narrowly beaten by the OnePlus 15R and OnePlus 15 — and during my testing, it lasted over 23 hours of constant video streaming. Just as remarkable, its 80W supercharging can fill it all the way up again to 100% in just over 50 minutes, meaning you shouldn’t ever have to be without your phone for long.

All in all, the Honor 600 is an impressive phone that punches above its £549.99 list price. Its screen is crisp and bright, its battery is ludicrously long-lived and, if you’re into AI features, it has a staggering range of presets and effects. Sure, its camera is a little inconsistent, it features too much bloatware, and it gets warm when you really test its CPU. But for a mid-range handset, its peaks are very high indeed, while its low points aren’t as abyssal as they could be.

(Image credit: Future)Honor 600 review: price and availability

• Launched May 7
• List price: £549.99 or £599.99

Launched on May 7, the Honor 600 is available now in the UK — but, as with other Honor devices, you won’t be able to get your hands on it in the US or Australia. It’s available for £549.99 with 256GB of storage or £599.99 if you’d prefer 512GB.

Storage size isn’t your only choice here, though: the Honor 600 comes in three different colorways. There's the Golden White version I tested here, plus Orange and Black. It’s worth noting, though, that Golden White is only available on the £599.99 model.

(Image credit: Future)Honor 600 review: specs

Dimensions

156 x 74.7 x 7.8 mm

Weight

185g (or 190g depending on variant)

Screen

6.57-inch AMOLED

Resolution

1264 x 2728

Refresh rate

120Hz

Chipset

Snapdragon 7 Gen 4

RAM

8GB / 12GB

Storage

128GB / 256GB / 512GB

OS

Android 16 (MagicOS 10)

Rear cameras

200MP wide (f/1.9), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2)

Front camera

50MP (f/2.0)

Battery

7,000mAh

Charging

80W wired

(Image credit: Future)Honor 600 review: design

• Stylish albeit unremarkable design
• Solidly built
• IP68 rated

Starting with my first impressions, the Honor 600 is attractive enough, if a little anodyne. It’s not shattering norms like Nothing’s phones and its colorways will look eerily familiar to anyone who followed the launch of the iPhone 17 last September. But, on the whole, it looks sleek and inoffensive. The anodised metal trim and smooth glass back feel nice to the touch, and it has just enough weight to feel well-built without seeming unwieldy.

I feel less ambivalent about that full-width camera module if I’m honest, though. I get that it helps with stability, but I still find them pretty unsightly, and I’m not convinced the problem they’re intended to solve is a big enough issue to justify the amount of space they gobble up. Regardless, the Honor 600’s hunchback still looks less awkward than the one now shown off by the iPhone 17, so I’ll give Honor the W here.

In theory, the Honor 600 should also prove pretty sturdy, with the brand claiming it has obtained 5-star SGS Drop & Crush Resistance certification. While I’m not about to try verifying this by chucking it from the top of the Shard or running it over in an SUV, it does seem as robustly built as many phones I’ve tested. Literally the only marks it seemed to gather during my testing were a little scuffing of the metal around the camera lenses, and I’ll admit that was probably more down to me stashing two phones in the same pocket.

It’s not just good at resisting being squashed; the Honor 600 also has some of the best water and dust resistance of any phone I’ve ever used. Confusingly, it’s labeled IP68 and IP69… and IP69K – something that’s apparently to do with differences in international standards for how each rating is tested. At the very least, though, it should survive a dunking in more than 1m of water.

• Design score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Honor 600 review: display

• Very decent pixel density
• Blazing 8,000 nit peak brightness
• Colors vibrant but occasionally cooler than they should be

No matter how you look at it, the Honor 600’s screen is a serious achievement. At 6.57 inches, it might not be the largest screen on the market — getting absolutely dwarfed by behemoths like the 6.9-inch Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max — but it still outstrips many flagship screens in terms of scale.

Spreading its 2728 x 1264 pixel AMOLED display across those 6.57 inches gives the Honor 600 a 458ppi pixel density. That’s pretty impressive, falling just a little short of the iPhone 17 Pro’s 460ppi — although neither is anywhere near as impressive as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus’s meticulously detailed 513ppi. Trying out the screen on Planet Earth III, I could clearly see every wrinkle of the skin and every eyelash of an elephant matriarch and her calves in exquisite detail.

But where it really impresses is its brightness. I recently raved about how bright the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro was with its 5,000-nit peak, but honestly, the Honor 600 outshines it like a supernova, hitting an absurd peak of 8,000 nits.

OK, real life is never going to be as perfect as lab conditions. But I can certainly say my experiences with the phone revealed what a bright spark the Honor 600 can be. Comparing it side-by-side with my iPhone 16 Pro, the white levels were fantastic — while watching Planet Earth III, each of the fine white hairs on the cowl of a Cape fur seal pup practically glowed.

Colors on the Honor 600’s display are also impressively vibrant, with the beautiful blues and rich yellows of a golden-shouldered parrot looking exquisite and more expressive than my iPhone could manage. In some areas, the Honor loses a little accuracy, though, tending toward cooler hues that help those whites pop — for example, during a wildfire in the South African shrubland, the smoke looked overly blue while some of the reds felt a little lacking in range.

Thanks to its Sunlight Mode, the Honor 600 can maintain these impressively vivid pictures even when in direct sunlight. While that glass definitely shows visible reflections, they never overpower the bright peaks on the screen, although, naturally, they do swamp the darker areas. Despite this, I actually felt like my iPhone 16 Pro did a better job here, conveying more of a sense of color despite its duller screen.

Finally, the Honor 600’s display is capable of seriously fluid and responsive motion, even if it’s not literally the fastest on the market. Topping out at 120Hz, its display offers the same refresh rates as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra or iPhone 17 Pro, while falling short of the 144Hz offered by the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro or the ludicrous 165Hz offered by the OnePlus 15. Certainly, it felt very slick to me in day-to-day use and when navigating menus. Only serious gamers are likely to spot a difference between this and phones with higher rates.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Honor 600 review: camerasFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFuture

• Great detail, especially in macro shots
• HDR sometimes a little flat
• Unashamedly AI-enhanced

I'm not gonna lie: testing the Honor 600’s cameras has given me slight emotional whiplash. Because every time I’ve found something it doesn’t handle well, I discover another feature that blows me away. As a result, I want to acknowledge its shortcomings, while also emphasizing it’s still an impressive camera system in many ways.

First off, the level of detail it’s capable of is spectacular. Combining a 200MP AI main lens and a 12MP 112-degree ultra-wide lens, it takes some wonderfully crisp images – for example, showing the watchful eyes of two pigeons in sharp detail. I’ll admit, there’s a whole debate to be had about what level of AI enhancement can be laid over the top of photos before they stop being true photos, but I imagine more casual snappers won’t mind having this kind of helping hand in improving their shots.

This level of detail is most apparent when taking macro photos. I’ve been taking macro snaps on several generations of iPhone, and I’ve honestly never seen detail like this from my close-up photos. Shots of lilacs and the leaves of lupines after a heavy rain showed off exquisite details, like the beading of individual drops of water. And while I assume it gets a healthy assist here from its AI algorithm, the results were incredibly true to life, focusing purely on upscaling rather than applying artificial polish.

Color performance on the Honor 600’s camera is vibrant and, for the most part, faithful. For example, the rich pumpkin orange of lady’s purse flowers really jump off the screen. Like some other cameras I’ve used, though, the Honor 600 slightly overplays its hand when it comes to blues — rather than the subtle cornflower blue they should be, it rendered green alkanet flowers a bright azure. It’s not a complete deal-breaker, but if, like me, you value faithful hues over brilliant color, it’s something to bear in mind.

Unfortunately, its HDR images were a bit of a mixed bag. While close and medium-range shots conveyed a good balance of light and dark, I found some scenes with a much longer focal length looked a little washed out, especially on overcast days. And while that might not be an issue if you live in, say, LA, that’s a real issue given it’s on sale in the UK, where we see the sun about as often as we see the dentist.

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The Honor 600's zoom performance is a definite highlight, though. Taking a series of photos of a waterside building in Bath at different levels of magnification, I was impressed by how crisp the fine details of the balcony railings and stonework were, particularly at 4x zoom.

And the AI superzoom is impressive, even if it doesn’t remotely feel as clean as the output of an optical zoom. When shooting distant buildings and rooftops at 8x to 12x zoom, it straightened up wobbly lines and enhanced blurry textures well, though I’m not sure they’re shots I’d be sticking in my photo books.

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Night photography is very decent, showing everything in crisp detail without a hint of grain. Snapping shots of the River Avon running through the center of Bristol, the Honor’s camera accurately conveyed the reflected light shimmering across its surface, while maintaining the deep blacks of the shadows. Unfortunately, it does seem to stumble into one of my personal pet peeves of slightly overbrightening night shots — it often left the sky looking far bluer than it did in reality, losing some of the magic of shooting at dusk.

All things considered, the Honor 600 camera system has some minor shortcomings but also some things I’ll genuinely miss when going back to my flagship phone. And while I’m not totally comfortable claiming the creative polish of AI as my own, I’m sure a lot of people just want shots of their loved ones and their adventures to look their best, which the camera here can absolutely help with.

• Cameras score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Honor 600 review: software

• AI features seriously powerful
• Decent productivity tools
• Way too much bloatware

The Honor 600 uses MagicOS 10, which is built upon Android 16. When setting up the phone, I was initially pleased with how the OS seemed to let me deselect all the bloat Honor wanted to install… until I actually booted the phone up.

At this point, I found it was still absolutely crammed with third-party apps. There’s a reason I don’t want apps like TikTok and Temu on my phone, and it’s quite irritating that Honor acts like it’s giving you a choice while actively making that choice for you when it comes to some of the worst offenders.

That’s a real shame because, outside of this, MagicOS 10 offers a relatively smooth user experience. Accessing the App Tray, Control Center, notifications, and wallpaper & style settings are all perfectly intuitive. While it’s not quite as versatile as something like NothingOS — with added features like scalable app icons — I generally found it easy to use, even as a diehard iOS user.

It’s hard to discuss software on the Honor 600 without talking about AI. A lot of the hype around this handset has been based around how absolutely crammed with creative AI features it is. And they’re often impressive, periodically janky — and occasionally just a touch unsettling.

One of the first features I used was the Honor 600’s Image to Video function. When looking at a photo in your gallery, all you have to do is hold the AI button, and up pops a dialogue allowing you to convert the image to a short-form video.

Like anyone who grew up perennially online, my immediate instinct was to create cat videos. So I selected a couple of shots of Muffin, my own little bundle of joy sociopathy, licking his paw, and clicked Generate. The results were seriously impressive — not only did the licking look realistic, but it even maintained details like the irregular white patch on his nose.

Occasionally, the results were a little wobbly. When I uploaded a snap of my cat looking worried after he’d clambered too high up the curtains, the generative AI did a good job of animating his movements but got his proportions really wrong. No way is my boi as chonky as the AI made him look.

But the Honor 600’s AI features extend far beyond just adding movement to still photos. You can also add prompts, although these can be far more prone to hallucinations. Using a shot of my cat sitting on the sofa and one of him standing on his hind legs by my French doors, I typed in a prompt asking the AI to make him get up and then start dancing. Weirdly, it made the choice to have Muffin flee the scene and be simultaneously replaced by a dancing doppelkitteh — although, to be fair, his moves were pretty on point.

For those who don’t want to do a whole bunch of prompt wrangling to bring their photos to life, the Honor 600 comes with a bunch of preset effects you can apply instead. Some of these produced truly amazing results. Using the Magic Motion feature on a macro photo of a bee I took nestled among some rhododendrons, the bee convincingly sprang to life and crawled through the blooms. When I used the Drone Pullback effect on a close-up photo I took of a thistle by a Scottish loch, it was utterly convincing in the way it zoomed out, perfectly maintaining the look of the water and mountains in the background.

Other features made me feel slightly queasy, though. One preset generated a video of my partner and me embracing that looked just different enough to us to give me the uncanny feeling that I was watching a stranger wear my skin like an ill-fitting suit. Another video that showed my girlfriend busting moves like a breakdancer struggled to accurately capture her face, making it morph between ersatz Selena Gomez and nigh-on Winona Ryder — watching AI do this to a face you wake up to every day definitely gives you slight body-horror vibes.

There are some strong productivity features. Single tap sharing is available between the Honor 600 and other Honor devices, as well as the iPhone — although if you’re sending from the iPhone, you’ll need to use the Honor Connect app. You can also connect and seamlessly share with Honor and MacOS laptops and desktops, something I couldn’t actually get to work on either of my MacBooks.

On top of this, the Honor 600 offers a lot of AI productivity features. Not only do you have access to Gemini, but you can also share your camera or screen in Gemini Live conversations so you can discuss things you’re looking at.

It also offers some AI security features, such as AI Deepfake Detection and AI Voice Cloning Detection. Short of building my own deepfake bot, I didn’t have much opportunity to test these last couple of features, but assuming they work, I can absolutely see how they’d be useful tools to have.

Fundamentally, this is a phone that goes all in on its AI software. How appealing or off-putting you find that will likely depend on your overall attitude to Generative AI, but either way, it’s hard to deny that the tools it offers are seriously powerful.

• Software score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Honor 600 review: performance

• Decent mid-range chipset
• Smooth performance for productivity and gaming
• Gets quite warm under heavy loads

Under the hood, the Honor 600 runs the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, which is a very decent chipset for a mid-market phone. While it’s hardly the bleeding edge of the manufacturer’s chips, it’s the same chip used by the impressive Nothing Phone (4a) Pro and considerably more powerful than the Exynos 1680 packaged with the recent Samsung A57.

In practice, I generally found this combo of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 and my testing handset’s 8GB of RAM gamely shouldered pretty much everything I threw at it. Whether I opened multiple games, loaded up myriad tabs in Chrome, or tapped away in Google Docs all while streaming videos in the background, I didn’t notice any real slowdown or stuttering, suggesting you’ll be fine carrying out most productivity tasks on this handset.

And its gaming performance was equally impressive, even if it wasn’t quite top tier. When I tried to set Genshin Impact to the Highest graphics setting, the game warned me that would overclock the CPU. But just one tier down, at High, it was incredibly stable, even when I was soaring through the sky or surrounded on all sides by enemies.

Next, I fired up Call of Duty: Mobile. Even with all of the HD graphics packs installed, it ran smoother than a waxed eel, not betraying any hint of judder or frame rate drops. Even wheeling round in the midst of battle, I could react fast enough to gun down groups of three or four opponents before they even had me in their sights.

But while its mid-range chipset seems to respond with impressive speed, it sure loses its cool easily. After three matches of multiplayer, it was warm enough that my sweaty mitts were slightly losing their grip. It wasn’t so hot that I was worried about the phone being damaged, but it does make me question whether you can game for hours at a time on this handset.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Honor 600 review: battery life

• Huge 7,000mAh battery
• Lasted 23 hours of constant use
• Incredible 80W supercharging

Given that the Honor 600 banks so heavily on its super-bright screen and AI features, it would be a bit of a disaster if it had a meager battery capacity.

Fortunately, the opposite is true. Honor’s kitted out the 600 with a truly absurd 7,000mAh battery. That’s significantly higher than most flagships, and I think it's only beaten by the OnePlus 15R and OnePlus 15, with their 7,400mAh and 7,300mAh respective capacities.

What does that mean in practice? Well, I set the phone streaming a 2K video from YouTube on a loop and timed how long it took for the battery to drain from full to empty. It finally conked out at just over 23 hours, which is one of the longest results I’ve ever seen. So you should definitely expect well over a full day of normal use.

And even when the Honor 600 does run out, its 80W supercharging tops it u unbelievably fast. When I hooked it up to a power brick rated for 100W, the Honor’s battery seemed thirstier than a middle-aged tech bro cranking out TikTok memes, drinking down enough juice that it went from flat to fully charged in just over 50 minutes. That’s honestly wild with a battery this large.

All in all, the Honor 600’s battery and charging put most phones to shame. It keeps going and going, and even when it finally falters, it needs to be plugged in for less than an hour to get it on its feet again. That’s truly fantastic.

• Battery life score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Honor 600?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design

Sleek design that perhaps plays it too safe; chunky full-width camera module; robustly built with IP68 rating.

4/5

Display

Wonderfully detailed 459ppi resolution; blazing 8,000 nit peak brightness; great color reproduction even if it is a shade cooler than some displays.

4.5/5

Software

Massive variety of generative AI functionality, some of which are fantastic while others can be a little janky, great productivity tools; comes with too much bloatware installed.

4/5

Cameras

Wonderfully crisp detail, especially for macro shots, vibrant color; powerful night photography that brightens scenes a little too much; mixed HDR performance. Built-in AI functionality might not be for everyone.

4/5

Performance

Solid mid-range chipset and 8GB RAM, strong performance during productivity tasks and demanding games; heats up quite quickly during heavy loads.

4/5

Battery life

Stupendous 7,000mAh battery capacity that lasts 23 hours continuous use; 80W supercharging fills entire battery in just 50 minutes.

5/5

Buy it if…

You want superb battery life
Lasting over 23 hours during our battery test, the Honor 600 has one of the most capacious batteries I’ve ever tested in a phone. And its superfast charging means you can juice it up completely in less than an hour.

You love AI tools
The Honor 600 is positively crammed with AI features. If you’ve always wanted to watch your dog body popping or see yourself hug Henry VIII, then you’ll have a blast here.

Don’t buy it if…

You hate AI tools
Given how much the Honor 600 embraces AI, you’ll find it very hard to ignore, as it’s baked into many functions of the phone. Disabling it is possible in most circumstances. But really, why buy an unashamedly AI-focused phone if you don’t want those features?

You’re a serious mobile gamer
The Honor 600 offers very solid gaming performance, but it does get warm relatively quickly. Dedicated gaming phones like the RedMagic 11 Pro offer even more punchy performance.

Honor 600 review: also consider

Category

Honor 600

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro

Google Pixel 10a

Dimensions

156 x 74.7 x 7.8 mm

163.7 x 76.6 x 8 mm

153.9 x 73 x 9 mm

Weight

185g

210g

183g

Screen

6.57-inch AMOLED

6.83-inch AMOLED

6.3-inch Actua pOLED

Resolution

1264 x 2728

2800 x 1260

1080 x 2424

Refresh rate

120Hz

144Hz

60-120Hz

Chipset

Snapdragon 7 Gen 4

Snapdragon 7 Gen 4

Google Tensor G4

RAM

8GB / 12GB

8GB / 12GB

8GB

Storage

128GB / 256GB / 512GB

128GB / 256GB

128GB / 256GB

OS

Android 16 (MagicOS 10)

Android 16 (Nothing OS 4.1)

Android 16

Rear cameras

200MP wide, 12MP ultrawide

50MP wide, 8MP ultrawide, 50MP periscope

48MP wide, 13MP ultrawide

Front camera

50MP

32MP

13MP

Battery

7,000mAh

5,080mAh

5,100mAh

Charging

80W wired

50W wired

45W wired, wireless Qi

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
While the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro offers slightly less storage at 256GB and has a weaker camera than the Honor 600, it has a whole heap of strengths too. It’s super cool, both in terms of its iconoclastic design and its excellent VC cooling system, which keeps it from heating up even when playing high-end games. It’s also just packed with fun features like its rear glyph matrix display, which offers loads of new ways to interact with your phone.

Read my full Nothing Phone (4a) Pro review

Google Pixel 10a
Coming in just a tiny bit cheaper than the Honor 600, the Google Pixel 10a should be your choice if you still want a phone crammed with AI features but can’t get your hands on the Honor 600. It offers Google’s streamlined take on Android, a flush camera module — no huge lump here — a decent 5,100mAh battery capacity, and seven years of software and security updates.

Read our full Google Pixel 10a review

(Image credit: Future)How I tested the Honor 600

• Tested phone for two weeks
• Assessed a wide range of features
• Six years of handling phone reviews

I tested the Honor 600 over several weeks. To put the display through its paces, I played multiple HDR videos and compared the color and brightness side-by-side with my iPhone 16 Pro. Trying out the camera modules, I made sure to take a range of pictures of people, places, and plant life at a range of zooms and distances.

When testing the Honor 600’s software and performance, I tried it out on a range of productivity tasks, played multiple demanding games and used as many of the AI features as possible. Finally, to assess how well the battery performed, I streamed a 2K video on a loop until the battery ran out and then charged it up using a charger rated for at least 80W to see how long it would take to hit 100% again.

In terms of my personal experience, not only have I been writing about gadgets and tech for over 10 years, but I’ve also been overseeing phone reviews for multiple titles for the past six.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: May 2026

IMOU AOV PT: two-minute review

Founded in 2015 as a spin-off from the Chinese surveillance giant Dahua Technology, Hangzhou-based IMOU has quickly become a major player in the value segment of the smart home market. A few months ago, I looked at the IMOU Cell 3C, another budget outdoor security camera. I liked the model, but it was a lot more basic than this model (and much cheaper, too).

For starters, the AOV PT features a separate, rather than the integrated solar panel found on the Cell 3C. For many set-ups this is an important distinction because often the best place for a camera, such as under an eve or in a porch, is the worst place for a solar panel. Having a separate panel means it can be located up to four metres away in a sun-drenched spot using the long USB-C cable provided.

The IMOU AOV PT features 'smart tracking' to follow subjects (Image credit: Future)

Whereas most battery cameras stay in a deep sleep until a PIR is triggered, this latest IMOU features the company’s Always-On Video (AOV) technology — hence the AOV moniker. It’s like a sort of low-power mode where the camera records a frame every two seconds continuously, creating a low-frame rate timelapse of the entire day. Then, when the AI detects a human or vehicle, it ramps up to full-speed 3K (5MP) recording. Particularly clever is the smart tracking option which means once the pan-and-tilt camera detects movement it will follow the ‘target’ as it moves around. It’s all a bit Big Brother-y maybe, but useful if you want to track certain individuals or vehicles.

Usually, where security cameras manufacturers make their money is in selling you a monthly subscription to store your video footage in the cloud. Not only is this a potential cybersecurity risk, it can also get very expensive (I’m looking at you Ring). Even the average price of a subscription is £5 (about $7 / AU$10) a month, which I think is a bit excessive for basically storing your video clips.

With the IMOU AOV PT not only is a MicroSD card slot provided for storage, but IMOU has even thrown in a 32GB MicroSD card gratis — it’s a really nice touch, especially if you're always scrabbling around for a card to record onto! If you want more storage, though, the device can support up to 512GB. Alternatively, it is possible to sign-up to one of IMOU’s subscription plans (see details below).

The camera has a slot for a MicroSD card, but this can only be accessed with a screwdriver (Image credit: Future)

Usefully, in addition to a MicroSD card, the IMOU also comes with a 4G SIM. This enables you to control the camera via the IMOU Life app without it having to be hooked up to the home’s Wi-Fi. IMOU provides a modest 100Mb of data (with a trial offer for a 6GB plan). However, for those monitoring properties where Wi-Fi connectivity is either non-existent, or at best patchy, it’s a potential game changer.

On the downside, though, the camera only supports the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi frequency rather than the higher 5GHz Wi-Fi frequency which is better for faster data transfer.

The camera features IMOU's Always-On Video (AOV) technology (Image credit: Future)

Designed to be mounted permanently outdoors, the IMOU boasts an IP-66 weatherproof rating for heavy-duty waterproof protection. It also comes with two reasonably powerful spotlights, a built-in microphone and speaker for two-way communication and a siren for warding off intruders (though this isn’t the loudest). There’s also a clever smart night vision feature so that when the camera detects an object, the spotlight is automatically activated, and recordings are displayed in color.

IMOU AOV PT: subscription options

Basic Plan: Covers seven days of event history and basic AI detection, between £2.59-£3.50 ($4-$5 / AU$5-AU$7) per month or approximately £30 ($40 / AU$70) a year.

Plus Plan: Offers 30 days of event history, enhanced AI detection, and sharing with up to 20 users. Costs around £5.99 ($9 / AU$12) per month or £60 ($80 / AU$110) per year.

See https://www.imou.com/uk/imou-protect for more details

IMOU AOV PT: price and availability

How much does it cost? IMOU AOV PT, $170 / £129 / AU$260

When is it available? Since December 2025

Where is it available? UK / US / Australia

Chinese firm IMOU is known for its competitively priced home security products. This one is no exception. OK, it’s quite a bit more expensive than the IMOU Cell 3C we reviewed which also comes with a solar panel. But then the AOV PT offers so much more and is still under £150.

In fact, when you consider the package includes a separate 5W solar panel, a pre-installed 32GB MicroSD card, and a 4G SIM card, the IMOU AOV PT is actually really very good value for money. That’s not to mention other useful features such as 360-degree field of view thanks to the pan-and-tilt camera and smart tracking so you can monitor the movements of intruders!

Compared to 4G rivals from Arlo or Reolink, which often require separate purchases for solar panels or storage, the IMOU really is a cost-effective, all-in-one solution for those needing off-grid security. Best of all is that you don’t need to pay for a monthly subscription — although that option is available from around £3 a month if you want it. Instead, you can store video clips on the MicroSD card provided or upgrade to one holding 512GB (these are now widely available for under £50/$50).

• Value score: 5/5

IMOU AOV PT: design

• Pan-and-tilt design
• Separate solar panel
• IP66 waterproofing

It’s fair to say that the IMOU AOV PT won’t win any security camera beauty competitions. Built for utility rather than stealth, it comprises a not particularly attractive black pan-and-tilt camera inside a large white plastic housing, plus a separate lightweight solar panel designed to tilt up to 45 degrees for maximum solar gain.

Installation isn’t the easiest either. Because of its weight and the way it protrudes from the wall, it requires a very secure mount. It’s not a camera you can casually stick up with a couple of small screws. Instead, you’ll need the full four-screw bracket provided (plus wall plugs if drilling into brick) to prevent it from vibrating in the wind or feeling flimsy.

This camera is quite chunky, and takes more than just a couple of screws to mount (Image credit: Future)

For added protection/security the camera snaps firmly into the mount and can only be released by pressing a button underneath the unit. Here you will also find a rubber flap covering the power on and the USB-C input for connecting to the solar panel and for recharging the camera (it comes with an integrated 1000mAh lithium-ion battery).

For our set-up we installed the camera on a wooden summer house/home office with the solar panel located nearby and angled towards the sun (the app tells you when it is receiving power from the panel). However, 4m of cable is provided if you need to locate the solar panel a bit further away to capture the sun’s rays. Thankfully, the solar panel is much simpler to install than the camera but the two units together do take up quite a lot of space, compared to other designs.

The camera snaps firmly into its mount (Image credit: Future)

Finally, one slightly odd aspect of the design is the panel for the MicroSD card and 4G SIM card slots. Located at the back of the camera lens, this can only be accessed with a Phillips screwdriver. Perhaps it’s to deter casual thieves from easily stealing the MicroSD/SIM cards, or maybe to provide further protection from the elements?

• Design score: 4/5

IMOU AOV PT: performance

• 360-degree field of view
• 3K resolution
• Color night vision

When it comes to performance, the IMOU AV PT is one of the best I’ve reviewed — especially at this price level. When it comes to functionality, it’s difficult to imagine any other cameras matching it. However, what’s impressive is that it combines this functionality with very good performance too. For example, the 3K image quality is crisp enough to identify faces at a distance, and the full-color night vision is excellent, using two bright spotlights to illuminate intruders.

What I particularly like is the pan-and-tilt camera which effectively gives the camera a full 360-degree view, much wider than most cameras which are limited to a maximum of around 150 degrees. Either you can move it around using the left/right, up/down keys on the app or you can use the ‘smart tracking’ option in the menus so that it tracks movement automatically.

In-app controls make it easy to pan and tilt the camera (Image credit: Future)

During testing it was great fun, picking up neighbours on balconies, even family members walking close to the patio doors inside the kitchen. However, I could see it would have a serious function too if ever I was burgled, capturing the culprit as they approached the house and closing in on their physical details.

Any criticisms? Well, a few, but they are minor. Firstly, it is worth bearing in mind that the ‘smart tracking’ option really does drain the 10,000mAh battery. During a day of heavy testing, it dropped 11% in just 24 hours, even with some additional solar power from the panel. For long term use it’s probably best to switch it off completely or limit the use of the camera to certain hours of the day.

Full-color night vision is impressiveFutureThe camera is actually fun to useFutureUsing 4G means you need to be aware of your data allowanceFuture

Using the app, recording times can be set for each day (so the camera only records footage at night) or you can quickly put it into ‘privacy mode’ where the lens turns around completely so you can’t record. It’s also possible to set areas where you don’t want to record, such as a neighbor’s garden or a busy main road using the ‘activity zone’ option.

As with many security cameras, one small bugbear is that the IMOU AV PT is a little too sensitive, creating a few false alarms. Not only can this get a little bit annoying after a while (getting an alert every time a bird flies past), it can further drain the battery. Finally, while the siren works effectively enough, it’s certainly not the loudest we’ve ever heard.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the IMOU AOV PT?IMOU AOV PT score card

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

Costing around $170 / £129 / AU$260, the IMOU really is excellent value for money especially considering that it comes with a solar panel, a 4G SIM and a MicroSD card.

5/5

Design

Built for the outdoors with IP66 weatherproof rating, the IMOU focuses on rugged practicality rather than stunning good looks. It’s quite bulky too.

4/5

Performance

The IMOU AOV PT combines great functionality with high quality 3K images. We particularly like the smart tracking option though it does wear the battery down.

4.5/5

Overall

Want to protect a property but Wi-Fi is dodgy or non-existent? This outdoor security camera is the perfect solution, combining great performance with 4G connectivity and MicroSD storage.

4.5/5

Buy it if

You are in a rural location

If you don’t have Wi-Fi and access to power is limited, this is probably the best security camera around for keeping an eye on your property or business.

You want total coverage

The 360-degree pan and tilt lens ensures there aren’t any blind spots. Smart tracking means the lens will follow any movement — whether it’s human or a vehicle.

Don't buy it if

You want a discreet solution

The IMOU AOV PT is quite a bulky and slightly tricky to install proposition, comprising a large camera and separate solar panel.

You want a loud siren

The siren on the IMOU AOV PT is one of the quietest I’ve heard.

IMOU AOV PT: also consider

If you're not sure whether the IMOU AOV PT is the right camera for you, here's how it stacks up against two of its rivals.

IMOU AOV PT

Reolink Solar Floodlight Cam

IMOU Cell 3C

Subscription price

None. Optional subscription from £3 (about $5 / AU$6) a month

None. Optional subscription from £2.71 (about $4 / AU$6) a month.

None required. Optional IMOU Protect from from £3 (about $5 / AU$6) a month

Viewing angle

360-degree pan and tilt lens

150-degree ultra-wide diagonal

120-degree horizontal

Network connection

Wi-Fi (2.4GHz)/4G

Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz)

Wi-Fi (2.4GHz)

Audio

Two-way audio

Two-way audio

Two-way audio

Video

3K (5MP) video resolution

2K (1440p) video resolution

2K (3MP) video resolution

Power

Battery/Solar

Battery/Solar

Battery/Solar

Hardware price

$170 / £129 / AU$260

$99/ £85 / AU$169 (with built in solar panel)

$55 / £49 / AU$129 (with built in solar panel)

Reolink Solar Floodlight Cam

Looking for a decent security camera with powerful spotlights that you don’t have to keep recharging every few months? Then the Reolink Solar Floodlight Cam is a good option, especially given its competitive price tag.

Read our full Reolink Solar Floodlight Cam review

IMOU Cell 3C

A pretty decent outdoor security camera with an integrated solar panel. What it lacks in image quality, the IMOU more than makes up for in functionality and the price is extremely competitive.

Read our full IMOU Cell 3C review

How I tested the IMOU AOV PT

• I used the camera outdoors for seven days
• I set it up myself using the fittings provided by the manufacturer
• The security camera and solar panel was installed on the outside of my summer house/office

I am forever climbing up and down step ladders changing over outdoor security cameras on my summer house, so much so that the neighbours must think I’m paranoid about getting burgled. This is the latest in a long line of solar panel cameras I’ve looked at recently and I think one of the best so far.

I really enjoyed the smart tracking feature, watching the camera following the movement of family members and my dog Poppy, as well as the occasional glimpse of neighbours standing on a balcony. If I had the device for a long time I would probably switch this off as it is a major drain on the battery as well as being overly intrusive (although less so than using the pan-and-tilt camera in the house).

I can also see the benefits of the 4G SIM. While my Wi-Fi is generally OK in the garden, thanks to a Wi-Fi repeater near the back door, there are many homes especially in rural areas where this option could be a game-changer.

First reviewed May 2026

Shark PowerDetect Speed: one-minute review

The Shark PowerDetect Speed is a very capable cordless stick vacuum with a great auto empty base, but like other high-powered cordless vacuums a lack of battery life means it can’t replace a main vacuum.

It did a great job picking up fine dust and larger debris in our tests on carpet and hard floors, has good edge cleaning, and can easily be moved around the house making it an ideal occasional cleaner.

(Image credit: Future)

It's a premium product from an established vacuum brand, but when compared with Dyson it's significantly more affordable, making it a good choice if you want top, reliable performance without the high price.

Battery life is a major concern though, as it didn’t last 11 minutes on the highest power setting and took over five hours to recharge the battery, limiting its practicality.

Shark PowerDetect Speed: price and availability

The PowerDetect Speed launched in the US and UK in April 2026 costing US$499.99 and £499.99 for the Clean & Empty version that comes with an auto empty charging dock (although it is worth noting the US version comes with an extra Pet Multi tool that the UK version doesn’t). At the time of writing, it's not available in Australia.

This places at the premium end of the scale for vacuums, although it is significantly cheaper than the Dyson Gen5 Detect models it is competing with making it feel very good value for money when comparing spec with spec.

The build quality is good, it feels capable of handling the rough and tumble of everyday cleaning and it has a good set of features you would expect of a top of the line vacuum including floor and dirt detection. The addition of a dock that empties and charges the vacuum is a godsend and real standout at this price point.

The PowerDetect Speed is also available without the auto empty dock for $429.99 or £429.99, which come with an extra upholstery tool in the US or pet tool in the UK.

• Value score: 4/5

Shark PowerDetect Speed: specs

Weight (body only)

1.6kg

Weight (with wand and main floorhead)

3.2kg

Bin size

16oz / 470ml

Dock bin size

2.1 quarts / 2 liters

Runtime in Min mode

54m 5s

Runtime in Max mode

10m 38s

Charge time

5h 19m

Size: body, wand & floorhead (unfolded)

43 x 10 x 16 inches / 110 x 26 x 41cm

Size: body, wand & floorhead (folded)

26 10 x 12 inches / 67 x 26 x 31cm

Size: body, wand & floorhead in dock

41 x 10 x 16 inches / 105 x 26 x 40cm

Size: body only

10 x 3 x 14 inches / 26cm x 8.5cm x 36cm

Max suction

150AW

Modes

Eco, Max, Variable

Shark PowerDetect Speed: design

• Simple, functional design
• Place to store accessories
• Dirt detect feature not shown on the floorhead

While a vacuum cleaner is very much a practical product rather than a statement piece it is nice for it to look at least smart in a subtle way if you do have to have it visible and Shark has done a decent job with the PowerDetect Speed. The grey and blue metallic finish feels mostly focused on blending into the background and any out-there accents have thankfully been limited to the orange roller in the floorhead.

The auto empty dock is also unfussy but does include one of my favorite features of this entire product in the shape of two small notches at the back of the dock for storing the included accessories. This is such a small thing, but after years of trying to find where in the house the kids have hidden the crevice tool this time, it is hugely appreciated.

FutureFutureFuture

The body of the vacuum is similar to the older PowerDetect model but it is slightly smaller, lighter and they have swapped the trigger button for a second button on the back of body. This is a definite improvement as it was easy to accidentally change modes with the trigger button, especially if vacuuming at different heights such as cleaning the stairs.

The PowerDetect Speed does lose 0.5kg on the previous version and comes in under Dyson’s Gen5 Detect by around 300g, but that said, this is still a bit of a chunky vacuum cleaner and may feel like a bit of a workout to push around for some, Rivals like the Dreame R20 weigh in almost a whole kilo lighter so if lightweight is top of your priority list it may be worth looking elsewhere.

FutureFutureFuture

It's controlled using two buttons on the back of the body, which also has a screen to show you what mode you are in, how much battery you have left and whether the vacuum is currently detecting dirt where you are cleaning. This is done through a color coded arc around the top of the screen with a dark purple color indicating it is picking up a lot of dirt which then progressively goes paler until it goes white indicating the floor is now clean.

I will go into more detail about the PowerDetect feature later but I do have a gripe about how this is presented. In the previous PowerDetect model this color-coding was also shown in lights at the back of the floorhead so you could see cleaning performance as you cleaned without taking your eyes off where you were moving the floorhead. With it only on the back of the body of the vacuum you now have to keep moving your eyes from one to the other which is definitely a step backwards.

FutureFutureFuture

The floorhead uses one roller with anti-wrap elements and a light that switches from regular white light on carpet to a blue UV light on hard floors for highlighting dirt. This works well although I’m not sure the UV light really provides a significant improvement over a regular light.

Depending where you are you will get different accessories with US customers getting a crevice tool and pet multi tool and those in the UK only getting a crevice tool, but the slightly better version that includes a sliding duster to it. The pet multi tool did OK at picking up cat hair, although no better than the regular floorhead and generally just caught them in the bristles rather than picking them up directly. Where it was most useful was as a wider cleaning path than the crevice tool when vacuuming a car.

• Design score: 4/5

Shark PowerDetect Speed: performance

• Dirt Detect works well
• Excellent fine detail and debris pick up
• Handles pet and long hair well without tangling

It is straightforward to use with only the two buttons for one and off or to change mode — which unless you are trying to maximize battery runtime, you shouldn’t need. The attachments are easy to snap into place or detach using the large buttons and the whole vacuum can fold in half for storage away from the charging dock.

It maneuvers well and while it might not be quite as smooth as the Dyson equivalent or as light as some other rivals it is easy to steer around furniture. It also is able to bend the wand so you can run the cleaner under low furniture reaching hard to clean spots. This is a nice bonus and may be ideal for some homes but I personally didn’t find myself using it day to day.

I used coffee grounds to test the vacuum's edge cleaning on carpetFutureAfter one pass on low power mode, only a little remainedFutureA second pass on high power removed the remainderFuture

Emptying the vacuum is one area where it really stands out, you simply pop it back on top of the charging dock when you are done — or more likely when it has run out of battery but more on that later — and the base sucks all the dust out into its own larger two-liter bin. This obviously will need emptying itself, but the shape (and the fact you will have to do it less often) makes it much easier to do this without making a mess.

The detect part of PowerDetect comes from the four ways it adjusts suction power to optimize cleaning by detecting the floor type, amount of dirt being sucked up, whether it is close to the edge of a room and what direction it is traveling. This means all you need to do is move the vacuum around and it will change its cleaning modes, with the dirt detection also letting you know whether certain sections are worth some more attention through the color coding display on the handle.

Rice and coffee grounds are two of our usual picks for testing vacuums on carpetFutureOne pass on low power removed all the rice and most of the coffee, though some debris was leftFutureA second pass on high power, and everything was goneFuture

When I first used this dirt detection I was a bit skeptical that it was still picking up debris where it claimed it was but the dust bin would time and again prove me wrong. At first this felt like an amazing feature, but later when combined with the battery life, having to go back and forth over the same bits of floor made me start to wonder if ignorance was bliss.

In the cleaning tests the Speed struggled a bit in low suction mode with one pass leaving quite a bit of fine dust and larger debris on both carpet and hard floors. Moving it up to full suction did much better with it picking up almost all the fine dust on the hard floor and, aside from some scattering of the rice, most of the debris on the next pass.

I also tested the vacuum with rice and coffee on a hard floorFutureThe vacuum struggled somewhat on low powerFutureHigh power was much more effective, with only a few stray coffee grounds leftFuture

Edge cleaning was a similar story at both low and high power, with it doing very well on high for hard floors. It still needed the crevice tool to get the finest material but it did as well as I have seen from a stick vacuum.

Hair pickup was also excellent handling long and pet hair well without any sign of tangling on the floorhead brush.

It’s not quiet but at around 70-75 dbs (somewhere between traffic and a busy restaurant) on maximum power it's not the loudest either. The auto empty base creates a similar level of noise as it flushes the dust from the cleaner, but this is a pretty quick process.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Shark PowerDetect Speed: battery life

• Less than 11 minutes on boost mode
• Long recharge time
• Spare batteries not yet available

My sticking point with the PowerDetect Speed is the battery life as, when testing on full power, it only managed a paltry 10 minutes and 38 seconds. While the variable speed in dirt detect mode will allow you to get a bit more cleaning out of a charge, I often found it would last less than half an hour. Couple this with a recharge time of 5 hours and 19 minutes and it severely limits its practicality as a main vacuum for anything but a small apartment.

This is a common problem for high powered stick vacuums as they try to keep the weight of the batteries down, but it is one of the shortest run times and longest charge times I have tested making it a bit of a challenge even thoroughly vacuuming the car on a single charge.

While you can switch out the battery, I wasn’t able to find a way of buying a spare battery online with the cordless vacuum battery available through Shark’s website only compatible with older models. If one is made available expect this to come with a hefty price tag, the older model batteries cost an additional $87.99.

• Battery life score: 3/5

Should you buy the Shark Poweretect Speed?

The answer is going to depend heavily on the size of your home and how you plan to use the cleaner. If this is going to be your only vacuum it’s barely going to get through a studio apartment before it needs a recharge. If you are looking for a convenient cleaner for spot cleaning it is superb both in terms of performance and ease of emptying, all while being a step cheaper than the Dyson equivalent.

Shark PowerDetect Speed: score card

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

It’s not cheap but feature for feature it stacks up against some of the most expensive available and delivers top performance.

4/5

Design

Well built and unfussy, it definitely leans more towards substance than style but that’s exactly what I look for in a vacuum.

4/5

Performance

Tackling fine dust and large debris equally well on hard floors and carpet, plus pretty good edge cleaning make it a top performer.

4.5/5

Battery life

Only tasting 10 and a half minutes on the highest setting and a long charge time hold it back from being a practical main vacuum.

3/5

Buy it if

Size matters

You want a portable vacuum for quick cleans when you don’t want to get out a big wired cleaner

You're on a budget

You want a Dyson but can’t bring yourself to pay those prices.

You want to keep things tidy

You hate the mess of emptying cordless vacuum cleaners, but love their light weight and convenience.

Don't buy it if

You want to clean a house in one go

You need a main vacuum cleaner that can power through big cleans and tackle multiple rooms in a single session.

You struggle with heavy vacuums

This is one of the weightier vacuums we've tested.

How I tested the Shark PowerDetect Speed

I tested the PowerDetect Speed for over a week in day-to-day use as well as specific tests picking up fine dust (tea) and larger debris (rice) on hard floors, carpet and around room edges. Battery life was tested on the highest power setting and lowest, as well as checking the time it took to fully charge from empty.

I tested the Speed in different cleaning scenarios including vacuuming stairs, a car and a variety of floor types.

First reviewed May 2026

reMarkable Paper Pure: Two-minute review

reMarkable’s new Paper Pure is the company’s cheapest and most accessible black-and-white handwriting tablet. Comparisons to the now-discontinued reMarkable 2 are inevitable. The Paper Pure is the reMarkable 3 — or perhaps the reMarkable 2.5 — in all but name.

Now, I absolutely adore my five-year-old reMarkable 2. I use it pretty much daily for work and play. So, I was a little dubious about this thrusting young upstart muscling in. A budget reMarkable with no frontlight, the same old 226ppi, and a plastic shell? In 2026? That’s something absolutely nobody was asking for. Unboxing the tablet, I prepared myself for disappointment.

Happily, I was wrong. The Paper Pure is a surprisingly good device, delivering a faultless writing and sketching experience that’s as close to using a pad and pen as you can get at this price point.

All reMarkable devices focus on stripping out any and all distractions. So, like its predecessors, the Paper Pure has no notifications, no apps, and no ads. Even the AI is restricted to converting handwriting into text. At a time when every other device you own is desperately trying to sway your attention, this is pure, beautiful minimalism.

It’s by no means the best digital notebook on the market. But it effortlessly lives up to the company’s distraction-free ethos. The monochrome display is easy on the eyes, and I found it lightweight and very comfortable to hold for extended periods.

The low latency means your writing appears almost instantly on the screen, as if ink really is dripping from the nib of the exceptional Marker Plus stylus. That’s especially true when using no-nonsense pen types like the fineliner and ballpoint pen, but even the stylish calligraphy pen only has a minor lag. Like its black-and-white predecessor, the battery also lasts for weeks on a single charge.

(Image credit: Future)

Where it stumbles on the hardware front is the lack of those two core features that fans really wanted from this latest model: a frontlight and a 300ppi pixel density for improving the ereader experience. Bafflingly, both are absent here.

That probably won't put off most new users from getting the Paper Pure — and it really shouldn't, because beyond those omissions, the tablet's handwriting experience is superb. But the inclusion of one or the other might've sweetened the deal a little more.

As ever with reMarkable, though, the mostly excellent hardware is let down by the mixed bag on the software side. The handwriting-to-text conversion is still not perfect, requiring adjustments to your writing style to make it work. And locking key features and even templates behind a subscription paywall stings, considering the cost of the device.

If you already own a reMarkable 2, I can’t recommend the upgrade just yet. Sure, the Paper Pure is faster, with a better processor and double the memory (here you’re spoiled with a whole 2GB RAM). However, it’s otherwise largely the same experience. And for what it’s worth, I still prefer the softer writing of the older device compared to the firmer but smoother one found on the Paper Pro and Paper Pure series.

However, if the Paper Pure is your first foray into distraction-free note-taking, the price alone makes this the best place to start.

reMarkable Paper Pure: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• The cheapest reMarkable yet — but not a budget device
• Connect subscription is essential for business users, an unnecessary nice-to-have for everyone else

The Paper Pure is pitched as the most affordable of the reMarkable range, coming in at $359 / £359 / AU$629 for the tablet and standard Marker stylus.

You can also upgrade to the Paper Pure bundle for $399 / £399 / AU$699, which includes the tablet, colored sleeve, and the upgraded Marker Plus.

For what it’s worth, I’d always opt for the Marker Plus, which features an eraser at one end. It retains that pad-and-pencil feel, and being able to delete handwritten notes without tapping into the menu, selecting the Erase option, then manually lassoing the writing you want to remove is far better for flow.

Some notable corners have been cut to keep costs down. The Paper Pure isn’t as thin as the reMarkable 2; it’s got a plastic chassis rather than an aluminum one, a monochrome display unlike the color Paper Pro, and, disappointingly, there’s no frontlight here.

The upshot, however, is that this is one of the cheapest 10.3-inch handwriting tablets around. At under $400, it’s more or less in line with the Boox Go and Amazon’s base model Kindle Scribe (2024), although both of those tablets boast app support and 300ppi displays.

On top of the hardware costs, there’s the Connect subscription, which comes in at $3.99 / £3.99 / AU$6.99 a month. This unlocks a range of extras that some — particularly business users — will want, such as Slack and calendar integration, and AI summaries. You can see the full breakdown of Connect features by clicking here.

Without a Connect subscription, you can still convert handwriting to text, connect to third-party cloud storage services, and share your screen. So, for general users, I wouldn’t call it essential, especially if you’re ultra-focused on distraction-free writing and sketching. But you will be missing out on a lot of features.

While that subscription may sting considering the price of the Paper Pure, it’s still relatively cheap, and I can’t fault the hardware design at this price point. For my money, reMarkable still comes closest to reproducing that paper-like feel compared to competitors.

reMarkable Paper Pure pricing

reMarkable Paper Pure

reMarkable Paper Pro Move

reMarkable Paper Pro

With Marker

$359 / £359 / AU$629

$449 / £399 / AU$779

$629 / £559 / AU$929

With Marker Plus

$399 / £399 / AU$699

$499 / £439 / AU$849

$679 / £599 / AU$999

reMarkable Connect

$3.99 / £3.99 / AU$6.99

• Value score: 4 / 5

reMarkable Paper Pure: specs

(Image credit: Future)

The reMarkable Paper Pure uses the same dual-core processor found in the Paper Pro Move with 32GB LPDDR4 RAM, which makes overall performance feel snappy.

At 6mm thick, the Paper Pure is thicker than both the Paper Pro (5.1mm) and the ultra-thin reMarkable 2 (4.7mm). However, it weighs just 360g, making it far lighter — and noticeably so — than the reMarkable 2 (403.5g) and the weighty Paper Pro (525g).

reMarkable Paper Pure specs

Starting price:

$359 / £359 / AU$629

Operating system (as tested):

reMarkable OS (Linux-based)

Chipset

1.7 GHz dual core Cortex-A55

Memory:

2GB LPDDR4 RAM

Storage:

32GB

Display:

10.3-inch monochrome Canvas, based on E Ink Carta 1300

Size:

228.1 x 187.1 x 6.0mm

Weight:

360g

Battery:

3,820mAh (rechargeable /replaceable)

Supported file formats:

PDF, EPUB (importing)

PDF, PNG, SVG (exporting)

Supported cloud services:

reMarkable, Google Drive, Microsoft Onedrive, Dropbox, Slack

reMarkable Paper Pure: display

(Image credit: Future)

• Perfect paper feel for writing and sketching
• Black-and-white screen with no frontlight

The Paper Pure uses an E Ink display — it’s a really clever technology used by a lot of handwriting tablets and ereaders. Beneath the glass, there are millions of microcapsules that can turn black or white depending on whether they’re positively or negatively charged.

When you move the stylus — in my case, reMarkable’s Marker Plus — over the screen, the device tracks its position and sends a positive charge to those exact coordinates, pulling the negative black particles to the surface.

It’s the same principle that applies when you turn the page of an Amazon Kindle, with the system telling each microscopic ball whether to display in black or white. These microcapsules stay in that state until told otherwise, which is why the battery can last so long on these devices.

But we’re getting sidetracked here.

The result is a seamless writing experience. reMarkable says the latency between the stroke of the stylus and the words appearing on-screen is around 21 milliseconds. And while I’m not Superman and my eyes don’t operate at that speed, it feels about right.

To me, it feels pretty much instantaneous when using standard pen types like the ballpoint pen or fineliner. It’s about as close to using a pad and pen as you can get in digital form. When switching to a more stylized writing tool, such as the calligraphy pen or the pencil, I saw only a minor lag.

In terms of the feel of writing, there’s a clear distinction between the Paper Pure and its 10-inch predecessor.

Using the reMarkable 2 felt very soft, like using a thick pencil or felt tip on the first page of a new Moleskine notebook. The Paper Pro Move felt firmer but smoother, as if writing with a biro on the last few pages of a well-worn legal pad. And since the Paper Pure uses the same active stylus and textured glass cover lens display as the Pro and Pro Move, reMarkable's newest tablet falls into the latter camp.

Personally, I loved the tactile feedback of the reMarkable 2 — it’s still the best digital writing experience I’ve ever had — but after 10 minutes with the Paper Pure, I found myself enjoying this new writing style.

Saying that, there are three issues here. I wouldn’t call them deal-breakers, but it’s worth highlighting them.

There’s a clear tapping each time you lift and then lower the stylus to make your next mark on the page. It’s not especially loud — it won’t drive colleagues, friends, or the other customers at the cafe to distraction — but it is present.

And there were two big fan requests for the follow-up to the reMarkable 2: 300ppi, which is a better resolution for reading eBooks and PDF documents, and a frontlight. The reMarkable Paper Pure delivers on neither of these.

Now, for writing, I didn’t find the 226ppi to be an issue at all. Handwriting still looks sharp, the display is easy on the eyes, and the writing tools perfectly recreate the ink-on-paper style. But for reading documents, you will see a slight pixel blurring around the edges of words that’s noticeable if you’re coming from something like the Kindle Scribe.

For me, the lack of a frontlight is the biggest misstep. I can live with a lower pixel density, and I can accept the demise of the EMR stylus, but I think a frontlight is an absolute must these days. I get it — it’s all about keeping costs low — but the addition of lighting for day and night use would’ve made the Paper Pure a much more attractive proposition.

• Display score: 4 / 5

reMarkable Paper Pure: Design & build

(Image credit: Future)

• The plastic case feels surprisingly durable
• It’s lightweight and feels good in the hand

Perhaps the Paper Pure’s most significant shift from its predecessor and the Paper Pro line is the switch from a metal to a plastic casing. Having grown used to the hardy aluminum frame of the reMarkable 2, I was seriously skeptical about this change. But it really works.

The rear side of the Paper Pure is oh-so-lightly textured for better grip, and the tablet as a whole is more lightweight and portable, clocking in at a svelte 360g. Overall, it feels delightfully comfortable to hold with one hand or rest on your knee as you sketch and write.

Because of the switch to plastic, the Paper Pure also feels a lot more durable than its predecessor, which I tended to handle with kid gloves while on the move.

I mean, I wouldn’t drop it off the side of a ten-story apartment block and expect it to survive. It’s not a rugged tablet by any stretch of the imagination; it’s not even waterproof. But the Paper Pure certainly feels like it could take a few knocks in your rucksack or survive a violent commute — especially when slipped inside the reinforced sleeve.

Design-wise, you’re looking at a 10.3-inch tablet that’s identical in width to, but slightly shorter than, the reMarkable 2. The thick white bezel on the left is reminiscent of the original reMarkable 1.

Flipping over the Paper Pure, I found something very interesting: ten screws allowing access to the internals. Now, whether this is just a sop to EU regulations that mandate a right to repair or whether the reMarkable intends to provide replacement batteries in the future, I don’t know. But it might make the reMarkable Paper Pure a more viable investment for IT managers maintaining a fleet of devices if nothing else.

At the top of the device, there’s the power button, and at the bottom, a USB-C port for charging. And that’s your lot. Talk about distraction-free. The Paper Pure has everything it needs and nothing it doesn’t.

(Image credit: Future)

The Marker magnetically attaches to the right side of the tablet, where it’s charged. It feels good in the hand, and it's not too heavy for prolonged writing sessions.

The replaceable nibs are estimated to last about a month or two if you don’t press down too hard, and that feels about right. For what it’s worth, the one on my reMarkable Paper Pro Move lasts about that long, and they very visibly wear down at a slower rate than the reMarkable 2 pen tips.

As I’ve mentioned before, the Marker and Marker Plus are the same active styluses used by the Paper Pro range. These are proprietary tech, so don’t lose them, because they're a lot more expensive to replace than the cheaper third-party EMR stylus that worked with the reMarkable 2.

On that note, I liked the Paper Pure's new polymerweave sleeve folio — there are three available, in mist green, desert pink, and ocean blue. This flips open on one side and is vastly superior to the original reMarkable book folio, since it actually protects both tablet and stylus. Slot the device inside, and it'll automatically go to sleep, which is a nice touch for conserving battery.

• Design score: 5 / 5

reMarkable Paper Pure: Software

(Image credit: Future)

• Distraction-free but not feature-free
• The AI optical character recognition can be hit-and-miss

You can tell a lot of love has gone into the Paper Pure's hardware. I’m not sure the same can be said for its software. Sure, it's functional, and it does more than you might think, but it’s nothing to (digitally) write home about.

reMarkable has always been a bit spotty when it comes to the software side of things. We tend to get marginal updates, tinkering here and there, the inclusion of this or that integration, but nothing ground-breaking. And maybe that’s fine. Maybe we just expect too much.

Still, the brand is getting better every time, adding extras like a very useful handwriting search function, the ability to draw freehand shapes, and the ability to add text blocks to notebooks, typed via the on-screen keyboard (sadly, there’s no support for an external keyboard right now). I especially enjoyed using the screen share feature, which I found works very well, letting you present or write on pages pretty much in real-time.

For absolute basics, you’re looking at a broad selection of templates like ruled paper, gridlines, and even music sheets, with more available to Connect subscribers via reMarkable Methods. I’m still not convinced templates like daily planners and calendars need to be locked behind a subscription — especially considering the price of the device — but there you go. Put up or shut up.

You can also integrate the tablet with Slack, Microsoft’s OneDrive and Outlook, Google Calendar and Google Drive, and Dropbox. While you can integrate with all the cloud services, you can only add a single calendar integration.

As I use a restrictive work account on Slack, I couldn’t test that particular feature. However, OneDrive and Google Drive both synced quickly, importing and exporting files to and from the tablet as PDFs without delay.

While the Paper Pure’s display may be monochrome, I chose different colored highlighters for annotating the PDF documents. And I was pleased to see they all rendered clearly and correctly when I picked up the file from Google Drive.

One point of interest is that reMarkable requires access to see, edit, create, and delete all of your Google Drive files, rather than at a folder level. This, I really hate, and I recommend doing what I’ve done: create a reMarkable-only Gmail account instead of using your main one. It’s probably fine, but why take the risk?

FutureFuture

Handwriting conversion is probably the big software highlight, transforming handwritten notes into usable text you can paste into a word processor. This is, effectively, optical character recognition in the cloud. And it’s one of the main reasons I originally bought a reMarkable. The results are... ok. With some caveats.

Firstly, you can’t just write any old squiggles that only you understand and pray the AI knows what you’re getting at (as I learned with my own spidery, illegible scrawl). If you’re anything like me, when I’m in the writing flow and my brain is working faster than my hand, you’re going to run into problems.

Secondly, I found the best results came when using the fineliner or ballpoint pen. Here, the translation was flawless, albeit oddly formatted. When I switched to the calligraphy pen, the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) struggled to make sense of the words even when I wrote ultra-neatly in all-caps.

Finally, if you’re making a list, you’ll absolutely need to add a dash before the word, otherwise the tool just lumps it all into a single line.

It’s a so-so experience that does the job if you take the time to work with the OCR tool, but it could be so much better.

• Software score: 3 / 5

reMarkable Paper Pure: Performance

• A faultless writing experience
• Faster and smoother than the reMarkable 2

Responsive is how I’d describe the reMarkable Paper Pure. Starting the device from sleep, opening notebooks, scrolling menus, pinching and zooming, swiping through documents — it all feels fast and smooth. There’s none of the lag that dogged the older reMarkable 2.

There’s also no delay when writing on the screen, which is the real high point. There’s a genuine fluidity to the Paper Pure that I appreciated, making the experience practically faultless on that score.

There’s a welcome snappiness to using this tablet. I know speed isn’t the main priority with a device like this — it’s all about how well it digitizes handwritten notes. But, for me, the performance of the Paper Pure is the killer reason anyone would want to upgrade from the reMarkable 2.

To help you visualize the difference between the two models, I compared the scrolling speed of the reMarkable Paper Pure (right) and the reMarkable 2 (left) in the video below.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

reMarkable Paper Pure: Battery

• 3,820mAh battery is an upgrade over the reMarkable 2
• Lasts for weeks on a single charge

The reMarkable Paper Pure has a built-in 3,820mAh battery. The company says it lasts up to three weeks, depending on your use. Based on my testing, that seems accurate.

I’ve been using the Paper Pure daily for hours at a time over the last couple of weeks without needing a recharge. The only reason I plugged it in during that time was out of caution, not necessity.

For comparison, the reMarkable 2 boasted a 3,000mAh battery, and I typically squeeze about three weeks out of that device already. The Paper Pro has a 5,030mAh battery but uses color E Ink and a frontlight, which drains faster than the black-and-white tablets, lasting about two weeks.

Likewise, the battery inside the Marker Plus lasts a long time. Charging is quick — you do so by attaching it to the side of the tablet — but I don’t recall it ever dropping below half during my entire review process, and you’ll see a battery meter briefly pop up each time you clip it to the side.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the reMarkable Paper Pure?

(Image credit: Future)reMarkable Paper Pro Move scorecard

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

The cheapest reMarkable yet. It may lack a frontlight, but for the price, it’s a top entry-level handwriting tablet.

★★★★☆

Display

The monochrome display is perfectly sized and textured to recreate the feel of writing with a pad and pen. I found it very easy on the eyes when used indoors and outdoors.

★★★★☆

Design

The lightweight tablet is delightfully comfortable to hold for extended periods of time. It feels like it has a surprising amount of durability, too.

★★★★★

Software

It’s simple, has plenty of integrations and features (some subscriber-only). But what should be the highlight — converting handwriting to text — needs work to get accurate results.

★★★☆☆

Performance

Superb performance that’s fast and fluid, whether navigating menus or writing on the screen. There’s no discernible lag.

★★★★★

Battery

The tablet has exceptional battery life — expect it to last weeks on a single charge. The same can be said for the stylus, which rapidly charges when attached to the device.

★★★★★

Buy it if...

You're a born writer or sketcher
The Paper Pure is a pitch-perfect portable device for authors, architects, UI designers, and anyone else who needs to sketch or write at work. It perfectly recreates that pad-and-pen feel.

You’re a student
For the price, the Paper Pure is arguably the best handwriting tablet around. It feels durable enough to survive days on campus, and lets you focus on your work without being distracted by apps.

Don't buy it if...

You actually like distractions, thank you very much
If you want a standard tablet with all the bells, whistles, and essential apps with the added bonus of writing or drawing with a stylus, you’re better off with an Apple or Samsung device.

You’re an avid ebook reader
While I didn’t have any problems using the Paper Pure to read documents, the pixel density is lower than I’d recommend for a true ereader, and it doesn’t support buying Kindle books anyway.

Also consider

reMarkable Paper Pro
It’s got a larger screen, a bigger battery, and displays in color. If the Paper Pure feels too basic for your needs, this is the true upgrade device from the same stock.

Read our full reMarkable Paper Pro review

Kindle Scribe (2024)
You could go for the newer 2025 model, which excels as an ereader. But if you’re focused on writing, I find the 2024 edition of the Kindle Scribe has a superior feel and is similarly priced to the Paper Pure.

Read our full Kindle Scribe (2024) review

reMarkable Paper Pure

reMarkable Paper Pro

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024)

Price:

$359 / £359 / AU$629

$629 / £559 / AU$929

$399.99 / £379.99 / AU$649

Price for premium edition:

$399 / £399 / AU$699 (Marker Plus)

$449 / £429 / AU$749 (Marker Plus)

$449.99 / $429.99 / AU$729 (64GB, Premium Pen)

Display:

10.3-inch, monochrome Canvas display, based on E Ink Carta 1300

11.8-inch Canvas Color, based on E Ink Gallery 3

10.2-inch E Ink Carta 1200

Supported files:

PDF, EPUB (importing) | PDF, PNG, SVG (exporting)

PDF, ePub

PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, DOCX, DOC, HTML, EPUB, TXT, RTF, AAX (Audible audio format)

Storage:

32GB

64GB

16GB

How I tested the reMarkable Paper Pure

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I tested the reMarkable Paper Pure for two full weeks, using it daily to make notes for work, then in the evenings, I was doodling and writing that novel I always promise myself I’ll definitely finish.

Basically, I replaced my beloved reMarkable 2 and Paper Pro Move solely with the Paper Pure during this review period.

Once I connected the device to my existing reMarkable account, I could check how quickly documents synced between the different tablets, as well as the cloud integrations. I spent time loading various PDFs onto the Paper Pure, annotating and highlighting them before importing and exporting the files across supported services.

Next, I tested the writing experience using all available pen types — officially called Writing Tools — to explore the latency differences between them. After this, I began examining other software features, such as different templates. More time than I’d like to admit was spent with the AI handwriting conversion tool here, with me attempting to see how to get the best results.

Finally, I compared the speeds of the three reMarkable tablets to gauge overall performance, from navigating menus to writing on-screen, with a stylus in each hand.

Throughout the review process, the Paper Pure was slipped inside the misty green sleeve folio for protection when not in use.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed: May 2026

I never thought I'd find a Tatiana Maslany role I enjoyed as much as Orphan Black, yet here we are. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is Apple TV's latest thriller, following on from recent huge releases like Margo's Got Money Troubles and Widow's Bay, and it's another fantastic release from the streaming service.

Here, Maslany plays newly divorced mother Paula, who has been spending time with Trevor (Brandon Flynn), a camboy. Since Paula's ex-husband has main custody of their daughter, she spends lonely nights talking with him, which inevitably leads to more.

Unfortunately for Paula, her private life doesn't stay that way for very long. During a session with Trevor, a masked man bursts into his apartment and starts beating him up. Paula films the attack, only to be told it's "not a real crime" when she tries reporting it.

Things take a darker turn from this moment on when Trevor calls her, begging for a $50,000 ransom, otherwise he'll be killed. She can't pay this, of course, and is spooked when she gets a call from Trevor and an accomplice on her work number. Considering she never shared that information, it's clear she's in trouble, and Trevor demands the money; otherwise, he says he'll ruin her life.

Trevor also coldly reveals that he’ll publish their secretly recorded interactions and ruin Paula's chance at maintaining custody, a threat that's not to be taken lightly.

It's good old-fashioned blackmail, and that's the catalyst for the rest of the ten-part series. Paula must balance her complicated divorce from Karl (Jake Johnson) alongside the stress of being blackmailed, with plenty of twists along the way.

Maslany is perfectly cast as she works to keep her job, be a good mother to her daughter, while trying to unravel who is blackmailing her. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed does center on how mothers, and women in general, can be so harshly judged by those around them to the point where evidence that Paula did connect with a camboy could ruin her life, just as the mysterious accomplice told her.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is one of those shows I wish had been released all at once. It's moreish and binge-worthy, so waiting a week between episodes might feel annoying. Even if it doesn't always balance the tonal shifts from humor to seriously shocking moments, I was largely impressed by the twists and turns throughout; it did keep me guessing.

As Paula falls deeper into this rabbit hole, we meet a great supporting cast of the various people in her life. Nobody here feels miscast; everyone does a great job at bringing the totally wild story to life, even if it's Maslany that shines throughout.

There's enough to help it stand out among the abundance of thriller shows across the best streaming services, and it's well worth hanging on to your Apple TV subscription so you can enjoy a new episode each week.

It really does feel like we're spoiled for choice there at the moment, with many of my current favorite shows having a home on Apple TV.

Saily launched in 2024 under Nord Security, the company behind NordVPN, and it shows. Most eSIM providers are purely in the connectivity business: buy a plan, get data, done. Saily takes that baseline and adds a layer of security tools built directly into the service, including an ad blocker, web protection, and virtual location, none of which cost extra.

For travelers who already think about what happens to their data on public Wi-Fi in airports and hotels, that combination in a single app is worth paying attention to.

Plans start at $3.99 for 1GB in most destinations, and the coverage spans 200+ destinations through a mix of country, regional, and global plan types.

Saily: Plans and pricing

Instead of pushing everyone toward expensive unlimited plans like Holafly often does, Saily lets you choose exactly how much data you need.

There are also regional and global plans if you are moving between countries, with options that can last up to a year for longer trips. The Global plan covers 121 destinations, while Saily’s full catalog stretches across 200+.

If you do go unlimited, there is one thing worth knowing. You get 5GB of high-speed data each day, and once you burn through that, speeds drop to 1 Mbps until the daily reset kicks in.

Region

Data Amount

Validity

Price

US

3 GB

30 days

$8.99

UK

3 GB

30 days

$8.99

UK

Unlimited

15 days

$71.99

Australia

3 GB

30 days

$7.99

Japan

3 GB

30 days

$6.99

India

20 GB

30 days

$38.99

China

3 GB

30 days

$9.99

Saily: Features

Saily is one of the few eSIMs that actually prioritizes security because it sits inside the Nord Security ecosystem. This matters if you are regularly on public Wi-Fi in airports, hotels, or cafes abroad, where network-level threats are easy to ignore right up until they are not.

• Virtual location: Saily's virtual location feature lets you browse from over 115 different locations worldwide, effectively masking your real location. This feature operates at the network level rather than through a traditional VPN app, meaning it works with mobile hotspots without registering as a VPN on your device. You can access geo-restricted content, use home services while abroad, or simply browse more privately with a few taps in the app.
• Ad blocker: The built-in ad blocker uses DNS filtering to remove intrusive advertisements, helping you save mobile data while browsing. Unlike browser-based blockers, this works at the network level, blocking domain-hosted ads across all apps and browsers on your device. Some website-hosted ads may still appear, but the feature reduces data consumption and improves browsing speeds.
• Web protection: Saily automatically blocks access to known malicious websites and limits online tracking. This works in the background without manual setup, protecting against phishing attempts and malware using NordVPN's anti-phishing technology.
• Flexible plan management: Saily allows multiple eSIMs under a single account with easy top-ups through the app. You can purchase plans up to 30 days before activation, and they activate automatically when you reach your destination. Real-time data usage tracking and an 80% usage notification round out the management tools.

Is Saily Ultra worth upgrading for?

Saily Ultra is built for people who already pay for NordVPN, fly often enough that airport lounges feel less like a luxury and more like a reasonable ask, and want their eSIM, security suite, and travel perks consolidated into one monthly line item.

At $59.99 a month, you get 30GB of high-speed data before speeds drop to unlimited at 1 Mbps. It also includes one airport lounge pass and one fast-track security pass each month, both of which roll over for up to three months if you do not use them.

If your flight is delayed by two hours or more, an extra lounge pass is automatically issued. On top of that, there is a $5 monthly Uber credit and access to the full Nord Security bundle, including NordVPN, NordPass, NordLocker, and Incogni.

I personally see the 8% cashback in Saily credits as a nice little bonus. It starts to feel genuinely useful once those credits add up from regularly buying plans.

Whether the full package is worth $59.99 really depends on what you are already paying for elsewhere. If something like NordVPN is already part of your monthly stack, the value starts making a lot more sense than it might at first glance.

Saily: Installation

(Image credit: Saily)

To install Saily, just download the app, pick a plan, and the eSIM installs in a few taps. The profile downloads over Wi-Fi and activates automatically when you land, which means you step off the plane connected without having to open the app or fiddle with settings at the airport.

Activation does require an active internet connection, so setting up before you leave is important. Saily makes this clear during onboarding, and the in-app guidance walks you through the process without needing to contact support.

Saily: Performance

Saily partners with major local carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone, and Orange across its network. You can expect 5G speeds where available, with actual performance depending on location and local infrastructure.

Coverage is going to depend a lot on where you are traveling. When I used Saily in Thailand last year, it connected to the True network and worked well even when I was outside Bangkok. Vietnam was a different story. Hanoi, in particular, has been a weaker spot, with airport connectivity sometimes struggling to get beyond 3G on Vietnamobile.

If you are traveling through Southeast Asia, it is worth checking which local network Saily partners with at your destination before you land.

Saily: Customer support

(Image credit: Saily)

Saily offers 24/7 live chat assistance directly through the app. If something goes wrong mid-trip, you are working through in-app chat rather than email, which is the right call for time-sensitive issues. Response times are fast, with connections to support agents typically happening within minutes.

The help resources inside the app cover the most common setup problems without needing to contact anyone. For issues that do require human support, the support generally does not give up after one failed suggestion.

Saily: Competition

Saily has real limitations worth knowing before you buy. The data-only constraint is the most obvious one, and if you need a local number, Airalo and Holafly have options that Saily simply does not.

Coverage in more remote areas is where Airalo and Airhub usually have the upper hand, which matters if your trip takes you beyond the usual tourist-heavy spots. Saily’s real advantage is the built-in security. At this price point, no comparable provider bundles an ad blocker, web protection, and virtual location into the base plan without charging extra.

Saily: Final verdict

Saily is worth considering if online privacy is something you already factor into how you travel. The security tools are built in, genuinely useful in regions with censorship or unreliable public Wi-Fi, and they come at no extra cost above the data plan.

The Global plan's 121-destination coverage is narrower than the 200+ headline figure suggests, and if you are visiting a single country where local SIM cards are easy to find, cheaper options exist.

For multi-country trips where you want one app, one install, and built-in privacy tools without paying extra, Saily holds up well. And if airport lounges and NordVPN are already line items in your monthly stack, Saily Ultra at $59.99/month is worth running the numbers on.

Saily: FAQsCan I make phone calls or send SMS messages with Saily eSIM?

No, Saily is a data-only eSIM service. You cannot make traditional phone calls or send SMS messages through the Saily connection. You can still use VoIP apps like WhatsApp, iMessage, Skype, or FaceTime for calls and messages over data.

Do I need the internet to activate my Saily eSIM?

Yes, you need an active internet connection to activate your Saily eSIM, which is why setting up before departure is recommended. The plan itself does not activate until you arrive at your destination or 30 days after purchase, whichever comes first.

Can I reinstall my Saily eSIM on a different device?

Yes, Saily allows you to reinstall your eSIM on a different device as long as you use the same email address to log into the app. You can only use the eSIM on one device at a time, and reinstallation requires an active internet connection, so make sure you have a data source available when switching devices.

Nomad is a global travel eSIM provider offering prepaid data plans across a wide range of destinations, founded in 2020 by LotusFlare, Inc., and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The travel eSIM market has quickly become crowded.

However, Nomad has maintained its position due to its clean app, honest pricing, and reliable coverage in places beyond just London and Tokyo.

The setup is quick, activation is straightforward, and the pricing sits well below what most domestic carriers charge for roaming. For the most part, it just works. Sure, you will come across the occasional complaint about slower speeds or patchy connectivity, but those feel more like exceptions than the general experience.

Nomad: Plans and pricing

Nomad's pricing is based on data usage and destination, with rates starting at $0.66/GB for some European countries. That number is worth sitting with for a second, because most people assume travel data has to be expensive. It doesn't, at least not with Nomad.

Here's an overview of current starting rates by region:

Region

Data range

Validity

Starting from

Global

1 GB-20 GB

7-30 days

$5.15/GB (123 destinations)

Global-EX

10 GB-50 GB

10-365 days

$2.17/GB (54+ destinations)

North America

Varies

Varies

$2.20/GB (US, CA, MX)

Europe

Varies

Varies

$0.66/GB (35+ destinations)

Asia-Pacific

Varies

Varies

$1.02/GB (14+ destinations)

Africa

Varies

Varies

$4.50/GB (11 destinations)

The listed prices are really just your entry point. What you end up paying depends on how much data you need and how long you are away. Yes, if you are willing to figure things out after landing, a local SIM can sometimes save you a few bucks. But Nomad helps you sort it before the trip, land, switch it on, and your phone is already connected while everyone else is still standing around trying to get a signal.

Nomad: Features

Nomad keeps things lean on features, but what it does offer is well thought out. There is a subscription plan for Europe regulars, multi-device sharing, and a referral programme that actually pays out.

Nomad pass

If you travel to Europe more than once or twice a year, Nomad Pass is worth a close look. For $3/month, you get 1 GB of Europe regional data as a standing base, plus a 15% discount on any add-on plans you purchase. It is not a replacement for a full data plan on longer trips, but as a monthly subscription that keeps you covered for quick runs to London, Milan, or Amsterdam without having to buy a fresh plan every time, it is genuinely useful. (The latest version of the Nomad app is required to access it.)

Multi-device support

Nomad lets you share your eSIM data across multiple devices, which matters more than people realize until they're trying to get their laptop online from a hotel room in Tokyo. Smartphones, tablets, and laptops: it works across all of them, and managing it stays within the same app.

Nomad perks and referral programme

Nomad runs a referral programme where both you and up to five friends each receive $5 off plans priced at $5 or more. It is a straightforward reward structure without the fine print gymnastics that make most referral programs frustrating. There are also broader perks and discounts on travel-adjacent services like accommodation and tours, which add value beyond the data plan itself.

Nomad: Installation

(Image credit: Nomad)

Buying and activating a Nomad eSIM takes a fraction of the time. You purchase through the website or the iOS and Android app, receive a QR code by email, scan it with your device, and the carrier profile installs itself. From there, activation is a few taps in your device settings.

The smarter way to use Nomad is to install your eSIM before you leave home, because the profile installs over Wi-Fi and you can set it to activate automatically once you land in your destination country. That means stepping off the plane and being connected before you reach passport control.

The one thing to watch: Activating your plan too early (before you're actually in the destination region) will start burning your data allowance, so hold off on switching it on until you're ready to use it.

Nomad: Coverage and speed

(Image credit: Future)

Nomad covers a broad range of destinations worldwide, putting it firmly in the top tier of travel eSIM providers by reach. Real-world connectivity is generally solid across the regions that matter most: Western Europe, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and North America all perform well in practice.

Regarding speeds, Nomad typically delivers 4G/LTE and 5G connectivity, with actual speeds depending on your destination and local network conditions at any given time. Peak-hour slowdowns in dense urban areas like Tokyo are a known occasional issue, but not something you should expect to run into regularly.

Nomad: Support

(Image credit: Nomad)

Most of what you'd need help with is already answered in Nomad's help center, which covers the full setup journey through visual guides, step-by-step articles, and a searchable FAQ spanning everything from installation to billing.

Support runs through a ticketing system powered by Intercom, accessible from both the website and the app, across more than eight help categories covering troubleshooting, billing, account management, and general eSIM questions.

While there’s no phone line, the help center offers over 100 articles that effectively address a range of traveler issues.

Response times are fast, even on weekends, and the 24/7 availability across time zones is not just a claim on the website. If something does go wrong, support is typically the part of the experience that holds up.

Nomad: Final verdict

Nomad is a solid contender for anyone who travels internationally more than a couple of times a year and wants connectivity sorted before they leave home, rather than figured out on arrival. It is not the cheapest option for every destination, and if you are heading somewhere, a local SIM is easy to grab at the airport; it may not need to be your first call.

For multi-country trips, frequent Europe travel, or simply not wanting to think about connectivity at all, it is worth considering. The product works without requiring you to understand mobile networks to use it, and that straightforwardness is genuinely harder to find than it should be.

Nomad: FAQsIs Nomad eSIM good for the USA?

Yes, and specifically because of the network coverage. Standard Nomad US plans run on the AT&T and Verizon networks, which gives you strong reach not just in cities but on highways and in rural areas too. Unlimited plans switch to T-Mobile's network instead. The US eSIM supports 4G/LTE and 5G speeds depending on your location, and plans start from $2.20/GB under the North America bundle.

Is Nomad better than Airalo?

Nomad and Airalo both offer plans across a wide range of countries, and the honest answer is that neither is universally better: the right choice depends on your specific destination and data needs. Nomad tends to offer more flexibility in plan sizes, and its per-GB rates in Europe are particularly competitive.

The price gap between the two is usually small enough that support quality and app experience become the deciding factors, and Nomad holds up well on both fronts.

Is Nomad eSIM secure?

Yes. Nomad eSIM is built on GSMA-approved security protocols, the same standards used by major global carriers. When you activate your eSIM by scanning a QR code, the profile is encrypted end-to-end and bound directly to your device. It cannot be removed, copied, or transferred to another phone, which makes it significantly more secure than a physical SIM card that can be cloned or swapped.

Nomad also follows PCI DSS standards for payment processing and does not sell or share your personal data. The one-time QR code used during installation is protected against reuse or interception.

What happens if my phone with Nomad eSIM is stolen?

Contact Nomad's support team immediately. Because your eSIM is locked to your specific device, a thief cannot extract it and use it in another phone. Nomad's support team can help you secure your account and deactivate any active plans remotely.

To reduce risk before anything happens, it is worth enabling device-level protections like a passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID, and keeping your account credentials unique and strong. Two-factor authentication on your Nomad account adds another layer of protection worth switching on.

Who is behind Nomad eSIM?

Nomad eSIM is a business line of LotusFlare, Inc., a telecommunications infrastructure software company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Nomad was launched in 2020 with a mission to make international travel connectivity easy and affordable for everyone. The full eSIM platform is built on LotusFlare's DNO Cloud.

May has been a strong month for new horror movies, but as we approach the end of the month, it's safe to say that Passenger is the weakest of the bunch. A disappointment indeed, considering how interesting the trailer looked.

Passenger follows an unconvincing couple Tyler (Jacob Scipio) and Maddie (Lou Llobell), who have traded the Big Apple for an RV, which they're using to live a simpler life on the road. I wasn't hugely impressed by their dynamic here, unfortunately, which posed some problems as we spend the majority of the movie with these two leads.

On their journey, Tyler and Maddie learn that the roads are haunted (because of course they are) by an evil apparition called The Passenger. They learn all about him from an RV enthusiast called Diana (Melissa Leo), but there's nothing all that interesting about The Passenger and his backstory. This is the point in a movie where you'd hope to get some cool exposition, but it falls flat.

After being warned not to drive at night and if you have to, not to stop, Tyler and Maddie naturally ignore this advice when they witness an accident. Following on from this typically dumb horror movie decision, The Passenger hitches a ride and terrorizes them, simply because he can, I guess.

In my opinion, the Passenger exists to provide a lot of cheap, annoying jump scares and little else. There's nothing particularly interesting about this horror antagonist at all, and he has a weak backstory, which is a missed opportunity in my eyes, given how the trailer and marketing hyped the concept of him up so much.

The atmospheric lighting throughout the movie is very cool. (Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

I've been quite harsh so far, so let's examine some of the positives. Yes, it's a scary movie. There are scares in abundance as mentioned above, so this is not a slow burn, psychological horror at all. If you are the horror fan who loves being scared and having things jump out at you, then you will not be disappointed. Be warned, though, the trailer does spoil a lot of them.

Unfortunately, I find it lazy, so this technique of randomly jump-scaring the audience with no build-up or clever camera work (aside from one scene, where it does work) got boring real fast. We've seen this done a hundred times before in similar movies. Demonic creature screams out of nowhere, we jump, rinse and repeat. It doesn't work if you don't have the strong, compelling lore or tension building to go alongside it.

The cinematography is very good, though, especially when it comes to tight spaces. It is atmospheric, but it seems to rely on this too much. The movie is well shot and looks good; the red backlighting is especially cool, but I was expecting a lot more.

Passenger's predictability is disappointing too. If you've seen a lot of horror movies, you won't be surprised by many of the reveals or scenes that were intended to shock. In a world with so many fresh, exciting new horror movies, it falls by the wayside.

Despite the underwhelming nature of Passenger's final destination, it's worth seeing if you simply want a scary movie that will make you jump out of your skin. If you're more interested in the fright-filled journey than the end of the road, you might have a better time than I did.

But from a director like André Øvredal, who was behind the brilliant Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, I expected something far better.

Passenger is in theaters globally now.

How we tested Proton VPNProton VPN review scores

Category

Score

Comments

Total

84 / 100

Powerful, secure, and with privacy at its heart, there's little not to love about Proton VPN. Read more ▼

Price plans & value

8 / 10

One-plan-fits-all does a great job of balancing value and capability. Though it still sits slightly more expensive than some other top VPNs. Read more ▼

Features

7 / 10

Proton VPN is not as feature heavy as other top VPNs, but what it has, works, and is available on almost every platform too. Read more ▼

Server network

10 / 10

Proton VPN has the more servers than almost any other VPN. It has a huge number of locations, with a good global spread, and high-end server technology. Read more ▼

Read all of Proton VPN's review scores ▼

Privacy

10 / 10

Based in Switzerland, with bags of no-log audits to back its privacy claims, Proton goes above and beyond to ensure its VPN gives no reason to doubt that you're browsing privately. Read more ▼

Security

9 / 10

Proton puts every measure in place to ensure your security is absolute while you're browsing. It doesn't yet have post-quantum encryption but it's more than secure than most VPNs in the present day. Read more ▼

Speed

8 / 10

Proton VPN is among the very fastest VPNs we've tested. It's more than capable of handling any home environment. Read more ▼

Unblocking streams

8 / 10

Despite some hiccups, Proton performed well for the majority of our streaming tests. Read more ▼

P2P & Torrenting

5 / 5

Port forwarding support, P2P optimized servers almost anywhere, and a bunch of guidance for beginners all make Proton VPN perfect for torrenting no matter your experience. Read more ▼

Apps & Compatibility

4 / 5

Proton VPN has apps everywhere, with near-perfect feature-parity between platforms. Plus they look great. But, the web extension does deserve some love sometime soon. Read more ▼

Usability

4 / 5

Easy to look at, explained continuously, and offering intuitive access to everything you need, there are few flaws to Proton's apps. Read more ▼

Accessibility

3 / 5

Despite its wealth of language support, Proton's screen reader is too limiting for those who are visually impaired. Read more ▼

Customer support

4 / 5

Proton VPN has detailed guides on a wealth of topics, and easy access to support agents even if they're not the best we've encountered. Read more ▼

Track record

4 / 5

Proton VPN has a faultless record. While an incident with Proton Mail left some users concerned, years of back-to-back no-logs audits, Swiss privacy assurances, and some major infrastructure investments all make Proton VPN among the most trustworthy VPNs. Read more ▼

Proton VPN price plans

• Proton has a single VPN plan, from $2.99 per month.
• Lower auto-renewal price increases than almost any other VPN.
• Proton Unlimited bundles other Proton products with the VPN.

1-month

1-year

2-year

Proton VPN

$9.99

$3.99/month

$2.99/month

Proton VPN Unlimited

$12.99

$9.99/month

$7.99/month

Unlike many top VPNs, Proton VPN doesn’t offer tiered pricing. Instead, there is a single paid plan (alongside the Proton VPN Free product). This plan is offered in three lengths: 1-month, 1-year, and 2-year. The price of the plan drops as the length increases. All of these plans do, however, come with a 10-device limit, much like NordVPN.

We always recommend picking up the two-year plan, since it is the cheapest overall. As with all VPNs, you pay the full cost upfront. Just make sure you turn off auto-renewals, so you’re not stung by unwanted price rises. That said, Proton’s price rises are almost non-existent.

Read more about Proton VPN's price plans ▼

Right now, picking up a 2-year plan costs $2.99/month, paid as $71.76 upfront, and renews at $79.95 every 12 months (or $159.90 over two years). By comparison, NordVPN Basic costs $80.73 for the first two years, then auto-renews at $312.93 for the next two years – and that’s including far fewer features than you’d get with Proton.

NordVPN also charges VAT on top of these costs, making the overall price rise even further both on initial sign-up and at renewal. By comparison, Proton’s price is all you pay; tax is included in the advertised cost, barely a renewal increase, little to worry about.

What's more, it's important to remember that Proton Plus is compared here to all of the other entry-level plans of our recommended VPNs. It comes with features that aren't available with other VPNs unless you go up a price tier. So, Proton VPN is, in fact, far better value than it appears.

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gap: 12px !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-carousel-nav-btn { background: transparent !important; border: 1px solid #d1d5db !important; border-radius: 6px !important; padding: 6px 10px !important; cursor: pointer !important; font-size: 13px !important; color: #6b7280 !important; display: flex !important; align-items: center !important; gap: 4px !important; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-carousel-nav-btn:hover { border-color: #9ca3af !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-carousel-counter { font-size: 14px !important; color: #6b7280 !important; text-align: center !important; margin-top: 1rem !important; } /* Legend */ #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-legend { display: flex !important; justify-content: center !important; flex-wrap: wrap !important; gap: 8px 16px !important; margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important; margin-top: 1rem !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-legend-item { display: flex !important; 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} #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-bar-label { width: 150px !important; flex-shrink: 0 !important; font-size: 14px !important; color: #4B5563 !important; padding-right: 10px !important; text-align: right !important; font-weight: 500 !important; display: block !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-bar-container { flex-grow: 1 !important; background-color: #E5E7EB !important; border-radius: 4px !important; height: 25px !important; border: 1px solid #D1D5DB !important; position: relative !important; display: flex !important; align-items: center !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-bar { height: 100% !important; border-radius: 3px !important; display: flex !important; align-items: center !important; transition: opacity 0.2s ease, width 0.8s ease-out !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-bar:hover { opacity: 0.8 !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-bar-inner-content { display: flex !important; justify-content: space-between !important; 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display: block !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-x-axis-title { text-align: center !important; font-size: 15px !important; color: #6B7280 !important; margin-top: 8px !important; margin-bottom: 16px !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; padding: 0 1rem !important; display: block !important; font-weight: bold !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o .fv-y-axis-title { font-size: 15px !important; color: #6B7280 !important; line-height: 1.5 !important; text-align: left !important; padding-left: 5.83% !important; /* Aligns with Y-axis line inside SVG (35/600) */ margin-bottom: 4px !important; display: block !important; font-weight: bold !important; } /* Mobile / Forced Mobile View */ #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o.mobile-view .fv-pie-container { flex-direction: column !important; gap: 1rem !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o.mobile-view .fv-grouped-product-title-wrapper { padding-left: 0 !important; } #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o.mobile-view .fv-bar-row, #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o.mobile-view .fv-stacked-product, #fv-chart-1766052358326-paz4b5b8o.mobile-view .fv-grouped-bar-product { flex-direction: column !important; 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Important to remember that Proton VPN Plus has more features than these other VPNs at these price tiers too.", "keywords": [ "NordVPN Basic", "Surfshark Starter", "ExpressVPN Basic", "Proton VPN Plus", "Total price", "benchmark", "comparison", "performance", "review", "TechRadar" ], "measurementTechnique": "Performance Benchmarking", "variableMeasured": [ { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "NordVPN Basic – Total price", "value": 80.73, "unitText": "USD" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Surfshark Starter – Total price", "value": 53.73, "unitText": "USD" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "ExpressVPN Basic – Total price", "value": 97.72, "unitText": "USD" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Proton VPN Plus – Total price", "value": 71.76, "unitText": "USD" } ]} Total cost of cheapest 2-year plan

All prices (from December 2025) are before tax

Total price NordVPN Basic 80.73 Surfshark Starter 53.73 ExpressVPN Basic 97.72 Proton VPN Plus 71.76 0255075100 USD Total price Data ProductValue (USD) NordVPN Basic 80.73 Surfshark Starter 53.73 ExpressVPN Basic 97.72 Proton VPN Plus 71.76 Proton VPN, while at $2.99 per month, is relatively cheap next to ExpressVPN and NordVPN's entry level plans. Important to remember that Proton VPN Plus has more features than these other VPNs at these price tiers too. 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One option you do have with Proton is to upgrade to its Proton Unlimited plan. This plan gives you Proton VPN, and all its features, but also Proton Mail, Pass, Calendar, and Drive. So, if you want added security for your emails, photo storage, or personal events, you can get it all bundled into one package.

Proton Unlimited costs only a fraction more than NordVPN’s super-premium Prime Plan. That's $191.76 for two years compared to $186.03. What’s more, you’re not stung with the huge price increase you’d face with NordVPN, and you can access a whole suite of products.

What's quite astounding is that a single, on-off month of Proton Unlimited is actually cheaper than a one-month plan from any other of the best VPNs. For only $12.99, you get the full Proton experience, including all its apps and features.

For comparison, 1 month of NordVPN Basic (which gives just the VPN and basic Threat Protection) is the same price, while one month of Surfshark Starter is even more at $15.45.

So, for one month of security, Proton will struggle to be beaten. If you don’t need the additional Drive, Pass, Mail, and Calendar apps, Proton VPN for 1 month is only $9.99 with all features included too, so you’re always going to save compared to even its biggest rivals.

All of this sits Proton VPN somewhere in the middle for value. At regular two-year pricing it's in the same ballpark as NordVPN and ExpressVPN. It's only Surfshark that is significantly cheaper out of our top choices.

Score: 8/10

Features: What can Proton VPN do?

• Ad blocking from NetShield is excellent.
• Profiles are a very handy feature.
• Fewer tangible features than other top VPNs.

Proton’s one-price-gives-all approach means you get the full suite of VPN features straight away. That said, it doesn’t offer a great deal in terms of add-ons.

NetShield is the primary example of this. As Proton VPN’s biggest additional feature, NetShield blocks your device from ads, trackers, malware sites, and phishing sites. It works at a system level, meaning no additional installs for browsers or apps; they’re all automatically protected.

It is highly effective at blocking ads online. However, in our most recent testing we noticed a drop off in performance concerning the blocking of phishing and malware sites.

Testing it across Windows, Android, and iOS, we never saw it impact our battery life, nor did we encounter issues with most apps or websites despite the warnings Proton gives that problems may occur.

NetShield is easy to set up, available on all devices, and super effective at ad blocking (Image credit: Future)

Read more about Proton VPN's features ▼

The only sites that struggled were streaming sites. VPN ad-blockers and streaming sites are known enemies, especially when the streaming site is regional and relies on ads to run. We’ll cover this in more depth in the unblocking section later.

Profiles are another key tool in Proton’s arsenal. While some VPNs have functionality to auto-connect on using specific apps or WiFi connections, Profiles goes a step further.

Proton’s solution allows users to create multiple, uniquely tailored settings combinations, 'profiles', for when using the VPN in specific situations. The profiles can be tailored to according to:

• Server type (Standard, Secure Core, P2P)
• Country selection
• Whether NetShield is turned on or off
• Whether port forwarding is turned on or off
• What protocol you use (WireGuard, Stealth, OpenVPN)
• What NAT type

It’s also got what Proton calls ‘Connect and Go’, which allows you to pick an app or website that loads automatically when you turn on your profile.

In testing, we set up a ‘US Streaming’ profile. We used WireGuard UDP and turned NetShield off to avoid ad-blocker issues, and auto-loaded Peacock so we could get straight to watching shows. It worked flawlessly every time.

Usefully, the profiles you create also appear on Proton’s mobile widgets if you’ve connected to them recently. That means you don’t even need to enter the app to get streaming if you’re on the go and want to save time.

On desktop, you can also pin any profile you create to the top of your recents list.

I really like Proton VPN's profiles. They're easily accessible, work flawlessly, and supremely helpful, top marks!

Proton recently added "Exclude locations" for Android (allowing users to blacklist specific cities from "Quick Connect") and a "Discreet Icon" feature, which lets users hide the VPN app as a decoy (e.g., a calculator) to bypass physical device inspections.

Profiles is super-customizable, easily accessed, and never failed to connect exactly how we wanted it (Image credit: Future)

The final unique aspect of Proton VPN’s experience is VPN Accelerator. It supposedly increases performance by up to 400%.

We’ll get into the results of that later, but it works by splitting the processing needed to handle VPN traffic across multiple processors rather than just one.

This reduces the risk of overload to the processor, which would impact performance and result in reduced speeds for a user. It's on automatically for paid Proton VPN users and it’s unavailable for those on the free plan. We recommend leaving it that way to ensure the best speeds.

That's it for Proton's features, and, while it's not a lot, as I say, it functions well, and there are plenty of 'added value' features on other VPNs that don't.

I'd like to see Proton offer a little more with its VPN going forward but, if all you need is a VPN, then you shouldn't have any complaints.

Score: 7/10

Server network and locations

• Second-most countries and locations offered of any tested VPN
• The most locations of any tested VPN in Asia and Africa.
• Fewer locations in the Americas and Oceania.

Proton VPN offers the second-largest number of total locations of any VPN we tested (188, tied with ExpressVPN), and the most countries covered (145). Only NordVPN, with 211 locations, offers more.

While the number of locations and countries can be a good indicator of a provider’s spread, it’s never perfect. Often the global spread of these servers can be more telling.

Of all the VPNs we test, Proton VPN has the most locations in Asia (48) and Africa (31). By comparison, NordVPN offers 41 Asian locations and 21 African ones.

However, Proton scores lower in North America (39), South America (10), and Oceania (7). Its 53 European locations put Proton slightly below average here too – with the likes of NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN offering 54, 54, and 58 locations in the region, respectively.

Read more about Proton VPN's server network ▼

It's important to put that in context, though. Proton company mission is to provide private and secure internet access to all, and that's very much reflected in the server spread of its VPN network.

While it might not have as big a concentration in certain areas – mainly North American and Europe Proton makes sure its product is available to as may parts of the globe as possible. That also means it can open up servers and provide free access in times of trouble for local people.

Proton has regularly become a popular choice for people during periods of heightened internet censorship. Recently, Proton recorded an 8,000% increase in sign-ups from people in Uganda during the country's elections and the associated internet shutdown. The company also recorded a spike in interest in Argentina after two popular streaming platforms were blocked.

That's a unique and laudable pillar of Proton VPN identity. It's a great reason to choose Proton if you live in these areas of the world or your likely to travel to them for work. These are also areas where internet restrictions can be toughest, and present a very immediate need for privacy software.

It's also important to realize that Proton has a large number of servers in its network and that makes it good for handling the ebbs and flows of capacity needs.

Proton’s total number of servers currently sits at nearly 20,000 (19,704 at the time of our latest research). This is not only a huge jump from the 5,000 Proton claimed to have back in June 2024, but also puts the VPN provider far in advance of almost any other.

The more servers a provider has in total, the less likely your connection is to be impacted by excessive server load which, in turn, can lead to reduced download speeds and increased latency or jitter. Those are both things to be avoided if you're looking for a gaming VPN or streaming VPN with consistent, high-speed connections the ideal.

Among Proton’s many locations are some virtual locations. Using virtual servers is common among even the top VPNs, but it’s refreshing to see Proton’s level of transparency surrounding the matter.

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Continental split of server network resources

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if (!chart) { chart = new google.visualization.PieChart(chartDiv); } chart.draw(data, options); } google.charts.load('current', {'packages':['corechart']}); google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(function() { drawChart(); var resizeTimeout; window.addEventListener('resize', function() { clearTimeout(resizeTimeout); resizeTimeout = setTimeout(drawChart, 200); }); }); })(); Data for NordVPN AttributeValue (number of server locations)Percentage Asia 38 23.0% North America 39 23.6% South America 10 6.1% Europe 53 32.1% Oceania 8 4.8% Africa 17 10.3% (function() { if (typeof google === 'undefined' || !google.charts) return; var chartDiv = document.getElementById('pie_chart_div_fv-chart-1766053504798-bilbvhy0u_pieExpressVPN'); if (!chartDiv) return; var chart = null; function drawChart() { var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([["Attribute","Value"],["Asia",36],["North America",70],["South America",9],["Europe",59],["Oceania",8],["Africa",6]]); var options = {"backgroundColor":"transparent","chartArea":{"left":"5%","top":"5%","width":"90%","height":"90%"},"legend":{"position":"labeled","textStyle":{"color":"#4B5563","fontName":"Open Sans","fontSize":14}},"pieSliceText":"none","tooltip":{"trigger":"none"},"colors":["#4285F4","#DB4437","#F4B400","#0F9D58","#9C27B0","#009688"],"title":""}; if (!chart) { chart = new google.visualization.PieChart(chartDiv); } chart.draw(data, options); } google.charts.load('current', {'packages':['corechart']}); google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(function() { drawChart(); var resizeTimeout; window.addEventListener('resize', function() { clearTimeout(resizeTimeout); resizeTimeout = setTimeout(drawChart, 200); }); }); })(); Data for ExpressVPN AttributeValue (number of server locations)Percentage Asia 36 19.1% North America 70 37.2% South America 9 4.8% Europe 59 31.4% Oceania 8 4.3% Africa 6 3.2% (function() { if (typeof google === 'undefined' || !google.charts) return; var chartDiv = document.getElementById('pie_chart_div_fv-chart-1766053504798-bilbvhy0u_pieSurfshark'); if (!chartDiv) return; var chart = null; function drawChart() { var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([["Attribute","Value"],["Asia",31],["North America",34],["South America",10],["Europe",54],["Oceania",6],["Africa",6]]); var options = {"backgroundColor":"transparent","chartArea":{"left":"5%","top":"5%","width":"90%","height":"90%"},"legend":{"position":"labeled","textStyle":{"color":"#4B5563","fontName":"Open Sans","fontSize":14}},"pieSliceText":"none","tooltip":{"trigger":"none"},"colors":["#4285F4","#DB4437","#F4B400","#0F9D58","#9C27B0","#009688"],"title":""}; if (!chart) { chart = new google.visualization.PieChart(chartDiv); } chart.draw(data, options); } google.charts.load('current', {'packages':['corechart']}); google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(function() { drawChart(); var resizeTimeout; window.addEventListener('resize', function() { clearTimeout(resizeTimeout); resizeTimeout = setTimeout(drawChart, 200); }); }); })(); Data for Surfshark AttributeValue (number of server locations)Percentage Asia 31 22.0% North America 34 24.1% South America 10 7.1% Europe 54 38.3% Oceania 6 4.3% Africa 6 4.3% 1 of 4 Proton VPN has the best global server spread of all of our recommended VPNs. It's the top choice for coverage in Africa and the Middle East. 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That said, it’s not perfect. In our testing, it was quickly apparent that the app lacks clear visual indicators for virtual servers. For instance, the Windows app currently doesn't display any icons to let you know a server is Smart Routed.

What’s more, we found a few instances where these virtual locations didn't appear to connect from exactly where Proton VPN’s website said they were hosted.

However, it's worth noting that the vast majority of servers were hosted exactly where Proton claimed they were. The few exceptions we found were generally hosted in neighboring countries, which is unlikely to cause a noticeable performance drop.

It's most likely that Proton's website server lists are just a bit out of date, rather than anything nefarious.

The real diversion from the norm for Proton's server network, though, is that it doesn't use RAM-only servers. Proton believes the security benefits of such servers are minimal and consequently not worthwhile, which they explain in a blog post.

Instead, Proton runs full disk encryption on their servers. This means that even if a server were to be taken away, it would not be possible to access the server certificates that might allow bad actors to create an attack, or attempt to track customers.

Alongside these servers are Proton’s own Secure Core servers. These servers are owned and run by Proton itself, stored in high-security locations, including a former military base and an underground data center, and form the basis of Proton’s multi-hop offering.

Based in Sweden, Switzerland, and Iceland, these servers are deliberately in physically hardened locations with strong privacy laws, reducing the ability of other countries to file legal challenges for data. Plus, the servers are connected to the internet by a dedicated network Proton owns, with IP addresses owned and operated by its own Local Internet Registry.

The average user won’t see a huge difference in performance but any multihop connection does reduce download speeds and increases latency owing to the added VPN server connection. However, those extra measures mean you’re far more protected when using Secure Core than you would with any other VPN multi-hop system. If that doesn't add peace of mind, then we don't know what will.

Overall, then, a great number of locations, backed by strong, secure infrastructure. There's little you need to worry about when it comes to where to connect with Proton VPN.

Score: 10/10

Privacy

• Based in Switzerland – giving users protection from strict data privacy laws.
• Detailed, clear, privacy and no-logs policies.
• Key privacy features: Stealth, full-disk encryption, Secure Core.

Proton is as a privacy-first company. Its VPN product is no different – and doesn’t disappoint!

We should first address the fact that it is a Swiss company. Being based in Switzerland means the company is protected by some VPN customer-friendly data privacy laws. Switzerland isn’t part of any intelligence-sharing agreements, and sees such importance in privacy that rarely will a Swiss court grant any data request it receives from another country.

This is furthered by Proton’s full, detailed privacy policy, no-logs policy, and transparency reports when it is subject to legal requests by Swiss authorities. We read through Proton’s privacy policy and were pleased to see a high level of detail, without unnecessary complexities.

The same is true for its no-logs policy. It covers everything we’d expect, including linking out to explainers surrounding the technology Proton has in place to secure your data, such as full-disk encryption and bare-metal servers, both of which we’ll cover later.

The future of Switzerland's reputation as a privacy haven is not certain, however. In recent months, there has been discussions about changes to the country's surveillance legislation. Proton has said it will leave the country if Switzerland no longer offers the privacy protections it feels it requires to operate securely.

Read more about Proton VPN's privacy measures ▼

This no-logs policy has also been audited four times. The last was in August 2025.

These audits have regularly confirmed there is nothing to worry about, even emphasizing the lengths Proton goes to internally to ensure security.

This includes monitoring server configurations and raising alerts if there is an unauthorized change. It also has a change management system which means an employee cannot change any configurations without another employee’s approval.

If that wasn’t enough, Proton’s no logs policy was tested in 2019 when a Swiss court approved a request to hand over customer information. However, since Proton’s no logs policy was watertight and well enforced, there was no information to hand over.

If you’re interested in how many requests Proton receives over a year, you can look over its transparency report. This report is updated whenever a new request is received, even if, as is most common, the request is declined due to Swiss privacy laws.

Proton’s quest for privacy superiority doesn’t just stop with the legalities, though; its Stealth protocol is a staple part of its infrastructure and offers a stellar solution to remaining secure when you need to hide that you’re using a VPN to connect.

Stealth is a protocol based on traditional WireGuard over TCP. By tunneling WireGuard over TCP, having already encapsulated your traffic in TLS, your connection appears as any normal online traffic would.

This is because TCP runs your traffic through the same port that normal HTTPS traffic goes through, port 443. By disguising your traffic in this way, you’re much less likely to be picked up by VPN detection technologies, allowing you greater success when bypassing censorship restrictions, VPN bans, and the like.

All this protective technology does mean that Stealth is by no means the quickest protocol, though that doesn’t mean you’re short of options if you need speed.

Alongside Stealth, you can also pick from WireGuard connection types across all apps, or OpenVPN if you are on Windows, both of which are available in TCP or UDP configurations.

In January 2026, the company announced that it be retiring older manual OpenVPN configurations due to security concerns. Although users of the official app will be unaffected, those running manual setups or on Linux will need to refresh their credentials by February 28 to avoid losing connectivity.

Picking TCP gives a more reliable connection, while UDP is more speed-focused. So, if you’re after a secure, reliable connection, OpenVPN on TCP is the pick, while if you want speed, WireGuard over UDP is ideal, especially with VPN Accelerator enabled.

Proton offers huge amounts of customizability of its protocols (Image credit: Future)

We’ve mentioned already how Proton avoids using RAM-only servers in favor of full-disk-encrypted servers instead, but it’s also worth mentioning its commitment to physical locations in regions of high risk.

In ‘unfriendly jurisdictions’, as Proton describes them, Proton uses third-party, physical servers to ensure that it’s not subject to local laws and remains a Swiss company, since the infrastructure is owned by a third-party, and it has full control of the server all the way to the base operating level.

Using physical servers, rather than virtual, ensures the hardware is solely dedicated to Proton VPN, allowing for greater security and control when navigating the difficulties faced in these regions.

In terms of privacy features in-app, there are several that are particularly handy.

We’ve already mentioned Proton’s version of multi-hop, Secure Core. This is a super-secure solution to a two-VPN connection, though the added security does mean it sacrifices country availability. Every connection must go through one of Proton’s Swiss, Icelandic, or Swedish Secure Core bases, and the connection can then only exit in 68 of Proton’s usual 145 countries.

While this may seem like a sacrifice initially, 68 is far more than the 12 multi-hop locations NordVPN offers. Only Surfshark’s Nexus network offers more since it allows a multihop connection between any two Surfshark locations without limitation.

Much like NordVPN, you also get Tor over VPN connectivity should you wish to access .onion sites. Again, Proton comfortably beats NordVPN for locations in this respect, with six to Nord’s two.

As with any Tor over VPN connection, performance does take a hefty hit. Our tests showed a maximum download speed of only 1.89 Mbps, though this is more than double NordVPN’s result, which barely scraped over 700 Kbps.

It’s unlikely that, if using the Tor network, you’re doing anything requiring a huge amount of bandwidth, but beware that you’re never going to get the same speeds you would with a different protocol. If you’re unsure how to safely use Tor over VPN, Proton does offer a handy guide you can access from within the app.

Score: 10/10

Security

• Excellent current encryption standards but no post-quantum yet.
• Kill switch that can now be used alongside split-tunneling on Windows
• Poor recent malware site blocking result.

Proton does almost all the necessary security steps well. AES-256-GCM and ChaCha20 encryption using Diffie-Hellman key exchanges are standard practices, and Proton only uses protocols that support perfect forward secrecy. This means not only are you secure, but even if a session were to be compromised, none of your older or later sessions are at risk since they’ll use unique encryption keys.

On the topic of encryption keys, Proton uses 4096-bit RSA keys, a step above VPN providers such as Surfshark, which only use 2048-bit, though you won’t notice the difference day-to-day. 2048-bit encryption keys are extremely safe, which is why top VPNs still use them, but 4096-bit keys add additional security through the increase in key length – why the likes of Proton and NordVPN now use these instead.

Proton’s VPN hasn’t yet implemented post-quantum encryption (PQE). However, it is currently working on adding this feature. In October 2025, the company announced it had started working on a new, in-house VPN architecture This will enable the company to introduce PQE in the coming months. The architecture is now being deployed and PQE rollout is imminent.

In an April 2026 update, the company said it was still working on this and currently laying the groundwork for PQE.

That said, its introduction is still lagging behind NordVPN and Express, who already offer PQE. For a closer look, we've also written an in-depth comparison of NordVPN and Proton VPN.

Read more about Proton VPN's security features ▼

Despite lacking PQE, Proton has plenty of features to keep users secure.

Auto-connect is an option right out of the gates. However, it’s not the most flexible system we’ve seen, especially when compared to NordVPN. While you can set your desktop to auto-connect on launch, and mobile apps feature a basic 'Always-on' toggle to re-establish dropped connections, it lacks advanced condition-based triggers.

This lack of any customization is surprising. The likes of NordVPN or Surfshark allow you options such as creating a trusted network list or enabling auto-connect under specific connection circumstances. Without this Proton is a distance behind.

The home screen offers quick access to everything from auto-connect settings to profiles and specialist servers (Image credit: Future)

Next comes split tunelling. Proton’s split tunelling is advanced, but until recently Windows users couldn't use the split tunnel with the kill switch enabled. Fortunately, this was resolved in an update in February.

Proton does have several advanced features for split-tunneling. You can choose to split-tunnel both apps and IP addresses on Windows and Android, while Mac users are currently limited strictly to apps. On these supported platforms, you can decide whether your tunnel excludes or includes what’s selected from the VPN connection.

Proton’s app detection on desktop is very good. Any .exe file we had was found and properly thumbnailed on our list – a list which usefully retains any app you add permanently, should you wish to amend your list in future.

On mobile, Proton did a great job finding any app we’d installed (including those installed via Chrome), and could even identify and isolate specific system apps. That said, it did take a few seconds to collate the full list of apps, and didn’t give options for specific Chrome ‘apps’ we’d set up on our Android device to quickly access specific websites.

That won’t impact many but it does mean you’re left split-tunneling Chrome as a whole instead of having specific, unencrypted access to sites where VPNs cause issues, including financial sites.

Proton's settings menu is well laid out and offers superb explanations of even its most complex options (Image credit: Future)

Finally, we should mention Proton’s kill switch. On desktop, you get two kill switch options: Standard, and Advanced. Standard works as you’d expect. You turn it on, and your internet connection drops if your connection to Proton VPN is interrupted.

Advanced adds another layer to this. It only allows internet access when connected to Proton VPN, and it remains active even after restarting your device.

Testing the kill switch over Stealth, WireGuard, and OpenVPN, Proton foiled all of our tricks to forcibly drop the VPN. We were disconnected instantly and saw no signs of leaks, and that's exactly what you want.

iOS and Mac users get the equivalent of Windows’ Standard kill switch, which is more than good enough. Android users use the Android-native kill switch, which is essentially the Windows Advanced option. While it would be great to see consistency across the board, none of our testing suggests any reason to worry about Proton’s kill switch no matter the platform.

Diving into Proton’s advanced settings offers several other ways to improve your security too.

That means using non-Proton server network methods to ensure online access to Proton users in crisis situation.

You can also choose to allow LAN connections while still connected to the VPN, set up custom DNS servers, choose your specific NAT type and OpenVPN network driver, and enable IPv6 support and leak protection.

This is extensive customization for any VPN. What’s also great to see is that mobile users get almost all of these functions, losing only IPv6 leak protection and OpenVPN network driver choices from the otherwise extensive list.

The final tool in Proton VPN’s security arsenal is NetShield. This is Proton’s ad, tracker and malware blocking tool. It works at a system level, meaning there’s no need for separate installs for at-risk programs such as your browser. It instead protects all of your apps instantly.

We put NetShield to the test against 36 brand-new malware and phishing sites and attempted to access them. We also ran it through an ad-blocking tester. These are our most recent VPN lab results:

Phishing Sites Blocked

Malware Sites Blocked

Ads blocked

NordVPN (Threat Protection Pro)

92%

80%

21%

Proton VPN

32%

4%

88%

ExpressVPN

84%

16%

87%

Surfshark

48%

28%

44%

Proton’s results raise a number of discussion points. Its 32% phishing sites blocked score is a drop from its previous highs, putting it behind competitors like NordVPN. However, blocking 88% of ads means Proton remains top-tier here, achieving double the successful blocks of Surfshark and four times that of NordVPN's basic blocker.

Its 4% malware sites blocked score is concerning, of course. Though curiously, we also found this with ExpressVPN, which scored just 16% in this round, despite both testing well in the past.

As with speed testing, these ad and site blocker tests are only a snapshot in time, and are relative to the latest threats of that particular day. In other words, it might have just been a bad day at the office for ExpressVPN and Proton VPN.

The takeaway message is that, while Proton VPN currently misses a significant number of malware and phishing threats compared to the top performers, its core ad blocking remains highly effective.

Score: 7/10

Speed

• Very fast WireGuard speeds over long and short distance connections.
• OpenVPN speeds a long way behind the competition.
• Stable jitter recorded on recent tests.

Proton shot to the top of the pack in our most recent VPN lab speed tests. That's likely thanks in part to its VPN Accelerator technology.

We recently broadened our testing parameters, adding more data points to our testing and increasing our maximum speed capacity to 10 Gbps. This allows for more precise, comparable testing across all VPNs to discern even the smallest differences.

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< Prev Download speed (local) Next > Surfshark (WireGuard) 1615 NordVPN (NordLynx) 1256 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 1479 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 694 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 1521 05001,0001,5002,000 Mbps Download speed (local) Data ProductValue (Mbps) Surfshark (WireGuard) 1615 NordVPN (NordLynx) 1256 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 1479 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 694 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 1521 Surfshark (WireGuard) 355 NordVPN (NordLynx) 857 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 1374 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 523 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 1242 03757501,1251,500 Mbps Download speed (long distance) Data ProductValue (Mbps) Surfshark (WireGuard) 355 NordVPN (NordLynx) 857 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 1374 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 523 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 1242 Surfshark (WireGuard) 2.3 NordVPN (NordLynx) 2.4 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 5.3 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 2.4 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 5.2 01.534.56 ms Jitter (local) Data ProductValue (ms) Surfshark (WireGuard) 2.3 NordVPN (NordLynx) 2.4 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 5.3 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 2.4 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 5.2 Surfshark (WireGuard) 27.5 NordVPN (NordLynx) 4.7 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 5.7 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 2.3 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 28.3 07.51522.530 ms Jitter (long distance) Data ProductValue (ms) Surfshark (WireGuard) 27.5 NordVPN (NordLynx) 4.7 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 5.7 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 2.3 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 28.3 Surfshark (WireGuard) 21.7 NordVPN (NordLynx) 17.2 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 14.8 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 13.6 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 21.7 07.51522.530 ms Latency (local) Data ProductValue (ms) Surfshark (WireGuard) 21.7 NordVPN (NordLynx) 17.2 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 14.8 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 13.6 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 21.7 Surfshark (WireGuard) 171 NordVPN (NordLynx) 83 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 75 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 72.1 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 90.6 050100150200 ms Latency (long distance) Data ProductValue (ms) Surfshark (WireGuard) 171 NordVPN (NordLynx) 83 ExpressVPN (Lightway Turbo) 75 ExpressVPN (WireGuard) 72.1 Proton VPN (WireGuard) 90.6 1 of 6 Proton VPN is very fast using WireGuard over any distance on its server network. 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Having previously recorded only 871 Mbps, Proton now hits an impressive 1475 Mbps download speed using WireGuard over a short-distance connection.

What’s more, when connecting to the US from the UK (i.e. over long distance) using WireGuard, Proton VPN's download speeds have leapt from 436 Mbps to a staggering 1548 Mbps this time round, making it the fastest performer in this test and easily beating ExpressVPN's Lightway Turbo.

Read more about Proton VPN's performance ▼

Both of these results are more than fast enough for any household looking to protect a Netflix binge, gaming session, or just their emails. Among top VPNs, Proton actually takes the top spot for outright speed on short-distance connections (1475 Mbps), comfortably beating out Surfshark (1021 Mbps).

This lead continues over long distances, where Surfshark's respectable 935 Mbps UK to US connection is still nothing like as quick as Proton VPN's staggering 1548 Mbps.

Additionally, gamers will be pleased to know that Proton recorded very stable jitter in our most recent test (16.8ms and 17.8ms on WireGuard).

While for most these figures won't mean much, gamers should take note, since high jitter can contribute to inconsistent online gaming — a trap some competitors fell into this round. Fortunately, Proton VPN's latency recordings were also highly competitive and comparable with the other best VPNs.

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Average download speeds, latency and jitter rates on local and long distance server connections.

< Prev OpenVPN speed (local) Next > Surfshark 978 NordVPN 974 ExpressVPN 1038 Proton VPN 240 03757501,1251,500 Mbps OpenVPN speed (local) Data ProductValue (Mbps) Surfshark 978 NordVPN 974 ExpressVPN 1038 Proton VPN 240 Surfshark 430 NordVPN 857 ExpressVPN 808 Proton VPN 173 02505007501,000 Mbps OpenVPN speed (long distance) Data ProductValue (Mbps) Surfshark 430 NordVPN 857 ExpressVPN 808 Proton VPN 173 Surfshark 33.4 NordVPN 14.6 ExpressVPN 15.5 Proton VPN 14.7 010203040 ms OpenVPN latency (local) Data ProductValue (ms) Surfshark 33.4 NordVPN 14.6 ExpressVPN 15.5 Proton VPN 14.7 Surfshark 174 NordVPN 83 ExpressVPN 73.5 Proton VPN 73.8 050100150200 ms OpenVPN latency (long distance) Data ProductValue (ms) Surfshark 174 NordVPN 83 ExpressVPN 73.5 Proton VPN 73.8 Surfshark 9.8 NordVPN 4.2 ExpressVPN 6.8 Proton VPN 7.3 02.557.510 ms OpenVPN jitter (local) Data ProductValue (ms) Surfshark 9.8 NordVPN 4.2 ExpressVPN 6.8 Proton VPN 7.3 Surfshark 15.9 NordVPN 4.7 ExpressVPN 11.5 Proton VPN 8.1 05101520 ms OpenVPN jitter (long distance) Data ProductValue (ms) Surfshark 15.9 NordVPN 4.7 ExpressVPN 11.5 Proton VPN 8.1 1 of 6 Proton VPN is way behind the other top VPNs for OpenVPN speeds, even when connecting to the nearest server to our lab. 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The main area we'd like to see improvements is with Proton VPN’s OpenVPN performance. It's better than it was but, at 449 Mbps download speeds over a local connection, it's still trailing behind the likes of NordVPN (688 Mbps), Surfshark (825 Mbps), and ExpressVPN (1038 Mbps).

OpenVPN is commonly considered more secure and stable than WireGuard. If you’re using Proton for security, you’ll likely find yourself using its Stealth Protocol instead, given it's far more security-focused.

In most other circumstances, WireGuard is more than up to the job. However, you'll definitely need to look elsewhere if you want to use OpenVPN on non-Windows platforms, as Proton now completely excludes OpenVPN support from its Mac, Android, and iOS apps.

Score: 9/10

Unblocking streaming services

• Successfully unblocks Netflix libraries all round the world.
• Was able to unblock both Disney+ and YouTube in the US.
• Needed NetShield switching off to unblock some ad-funded services.

Proton VPN has a good track record in successfully unblocking streaming service all around the world but it's by no means the best streaming VPN. The accolade goes to NordVPN.

We lab test VPNs for their unblocking capabilities with Netflix libraries in the US, UK, Japan, Australia, and Canada, as well as Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and YouTube. To check its regional capacity, we also put them against BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, ITV, 7plus, 9Now, 10Play, and TVNZ+.

Proton handled every Netflix library with ease, just the same as all of our top VPN choices. However, it did hit a few snags this time around, failing with several Amazon Prime Video libraries and requiring a bit of initial trial and error on other major sites.

On the plus side, it comfortably dealt with the likes of iPlayer, 7plus, 9Now, 10Play, and even TVNZ+ (which it had failed to unblock in previous testing cycles). But server-side issues did crop up elsewhere.

Read more about Proton VPN's unblocking capabilities ▼

Trying to access Disney+ UK and ITV saw us blocked when trying to connect from Proton’s London servers; luckily, though, switching over to a Belfast server saw these issues quickly dissipate.

Similarly, un-signed-in US YouTube wouldn’t work via New York servers, but connecting to Colorado was a quick fix. This is still a great win for Proton, though it's worth noting that top rivals like NordVPN and ExpressVPN also successfully unlocked US YouTube from abroad this time around.

It was the local ad-funded streaming services where Proton VPN required a little extra troubleshooting. Beyond just switching server locations, we've found that services like Channel 4 in the UK can struggle unless you temporarily turn off the NetShield ad-blocker.

Fortunately, there are no special "streaming servers" you have to hunt down; you should theoretically be able to stream content from any server in any country. When faced with a block, as happened with Disney+ or YouTube in our tests, we were simply able to click a different city or server in the same country and try again.

A streaming-friendly network allows a greater spread of server load, reduces performance impact, and even allows you to pick servers with better latency to ensure a high-quality experience. So, while we can't claim that Proton is the absolute tip-top for streaming, it's certainly up there with most of the premium contenders.

Score: 7/10

P2P and torrenting

• P2P supported in all Proton VPN server locations on paid plans.
• Proton VPN supports port forwarding.
• Loads of helpful guides and how-tos on torrenting for beginners.

Proton VPN is arguably the best VPN for torrenting out there right now.

P2P is fully optimized and supported across its entire network of 145 countries for paid users. You can filter into the P2P-optimized servers at the click of a button. I downloaded several test torrents, and had no issues at any point in the process.

Proton VPN supports port forwarding which helps to get the best torrenting speeds. Many major VPNs lack this support owing to the known security risks it brings. That's understandable to a degree, but not only does Proton VPN have features to help people using P2P networks, it's also one of the few VPNs to have a wealth of information in its user base on how to actually do it with guides such as how to torrent safely with a VPN.

You can port forward across Proton VPN’s Windows, Linux, and Mac apps – the last of which was finally added in summer 2025.

If you’re confused or need guidance, Proton has more in-depth posts outlining the risks of port forwarding, how to set it up on its apps, how to manually set it up, and even how to manually set it up on the likes of qBittorrent and uTorrent.

This level of guidance is something we’d rarely expect, let alone the level of support on its apps.

If you want to use a VPN for torrenting, then given all this, and Proton's speeds and server network spread, then you really have to have it on your P2P shortlist.

Score: 5/5

Compatibility

• Apps for almost every platform.
• Lots of capability iOS and Mac users.
• No OpenVPN support on Apple or Android devices, though.

Proton VPN does a remarkable job of not only offering a strong spread of apps, but also ensuring there aren’t huge gaps in features from one app to another.

You can use Proton VPN on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android as expected – plus it has a GUI client for Linux users. Android smart TVs also get an app, as well as Fire TV Sticks and Apple TV boxes.

The Proton VPN browser extension is available on Chrome or Firefox. As with ExpressVPN, PIA, and CyberGhost, you need to download the Chrome Web Store extension onto Edge to get Proton VPN on Microsoft's browser.

Proton VPN is also router-compatible and has a handy, detailed guide that explains what methods you can use to set this up.

In terms of parity across platforms, Proton VPN is near-perfect nowadays, unlike VPN providers such as NordVPN.

The anomalies for Proton to speak of are that its mobile apps lack advanced condition-based auto-connect rules (relying instead on a basic "Always-on" reconnect function), and non-Windows users completely lose native OpenVPN support. This makes Windows the exclusive home for OpenVPN on official desktop/mobile apps.

Proton has pulled native OpenVPN support from mobile and Apple apps to favor faster, more secure modern protocols like WireGuard and Stealth. Interestingly, while iOS lost IKEv2 support alongside OpenVPN, macOS actually still retains native IKEv2 support within its app settings. Should you wish to use OpenVPN on Mac, Android, or iOS, Proton does, however, offer in-depth guides to manually configuring those connections.

Prior to summer 2025, Proton users on Mac were also short of both port forwarding and split tunneling capabilities. These features have since both been introduced—though it's worth noting that split tunneling on macOS is currently labeled as an "experimental" feature, giving Mac users slightly less parity than Windows.

Score: 4/5

Usability

• Apps well designed and consistent across platforms.
• Advanced features are explained well and easy to access.
• The browser extension could be better.

Set up

After signing up for Proton VPN, you have two main ways to get your app downloaded.

First off, if you click the ‘Download’ tab at the top of your screen, you’re quickly presented with every app Proton has, including its extensions, mobile apps, and Smart TV apps – though I highly doubt you’ll be downloading Proton to your Smart TV via the website! If you’re on a smaller screen, the download tab is hidden in the hamburger (three-line) menu in the top right corner.

Alternatively, from the website, if you go into your Proton account (found in the top-right corner of your screen), you can access some more specific application types.

The Proton VPN website is a simple access point to downloading all of its apps and web extensions (Image credit: Future)

Read more about Proton VPN's usability ▼

In the downloads section, you can quickly access APK, GitHub, and F-Droid versions of its Android, Android TV, and Chromebook apps. You’ll also find here your configuration settings to manually set up OpenVPN or WireGuard on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, or a router.

Once you click the download button, you’re on your own, in the app, at least. The download client gives you the option to install Proton Drive, Proton Mail, and Proton Pass, alongside the VPN, and then, once Proton VPN is loaded, you log in, click ‘Get Started’, and go.

User Experience

Once you’re in, Proton’s hues of reddish purple and black could leave a beginner wondering quite how complex an experience they’re in for; luckily, all of Proton’s apps are simple.

This visual identity is consistent across all of Proton’s platforms, as is the simplicity. The key differentiator between Proton VPN on desktop and Proton VPN across other platforms is the map aspect of its interface. On Windows and Mac, the map can be used to identify and connect to a server.

On mobile, this map isn’t navigable, though it shows the country you're connected to from the list. On smart TVs, there isn't a map at all.

In reality, I rarely find myself using the map as a connection location tool with any VPN I use. A search field and list proves quicker in my experience.

No matter the platform you’re on, you’re directed towards everything you’d need straight away.

Smart TVs understandably have the fewest quick action options, but everything other than server location is found under settings, so you’re not left trawling a bunch of submenus using a TV remote – even though Android TVs have to go to the bottom of the locations menu to find the settings panel.

Finding the server you’re after couldn’t be simpler, either. The app doesn’t hide its Tor, Secure Core, or P2P servers entirely. Instead, it offers dedicated tabs across desktop and mobile, and shows each country’s server types in their server lists on Smart TVs. You can even search by individual server code if you know the one you want.

One area Proton previously struggled with was its browser extension, but it has bounced back significantly. While it used to suffer from poor user reviews, it has climbed to a solid 4.0 rating on the Chrome Web Store, matching rivals like Surfshark.

It still offers less customization than the main apps, allowing access only to standard or Secure Core servers, and its settings menu remains primarily focused on data sharing rather than technical features. However, it's a much cleaner experience than it used to be.

I’d also like to see Proton make more efficient use of space in its desktop apps. The Proton map interface takes up an extraordinary amount of space for fairly limited use – one reason why NordVPN completely overhauled its desktop dashboard layout in early 2026 to favor a search bar instead.

Meanwhile, key features such as protocol selection and auto-connect aren’t front and center where they could be.

Proton VPN's mobile and smart TV apps do a much better job of managing space. They prioritize quick access to server locations and connection types, with the map present only once connected.

Quibbles aside, I'm really impressed with the Proton VPN apps. Using features is simple thanks to high-quality explainers under each option, plus links out to some key guides when the setting is more advanced, such as port forwarding.

You can also tell what features are active by whether they’re greyed out or in full color, and on desktop platforms, you’re given a bunch of keyboard shortcuts to make accessing sections of the app quicker than it already is.

The main anomalies across platforms are that mobile apps only offer standard "Always-on" auto-reconnection rather than advanced condition-based rules, and native OpenVPN support is completely missing from Mac, iOS, and Android apps — making Windows the exclusive home for the protocol inside Proton's native software.

You also get full customization of your security options, should you wish, but equally, beginners won't feel pushed into making changes they're not ready for, and they won't get bombarded with complex terms.

Of course, the most prominent feature of any VPN app should be the big Connect button, and that's nice and clear with Proton. There's no fuss, no confusion, just simple security on every platform.

Score: 4/5

Accessibility

• Excellent language support.
• Great keyboard-only experience.
• Proton VPN's website scored fairly low for screen reader accessibility.

Putting ProtonVPN.com through accessibilitychecker.org’s accessibility scan gave us some interesting insights.

Proton VPN’s accessibility audit scored 53% overall, closing the gap on the likes of NordVPN (65%) and Mullvad (95%), while pushing well ahead of providers such as Surfshark (23%). PureVPN remains tied with Proton's historical baseline at 35%.

Diving into the report, the site's issues primarily surround screen reader testing. The automated auditing highlights that multiple page structure and coding problems remain, which greatly reduce its overall screen reader compatibility.

In relation to the industry as a whole, however, Proton’s new 53% score is quite respectable, placing it a mid-range 6th place out of 14 major tested providers. Accessibility is clearly an area that still needs greater focus across the entire industry.

Outside of web-based metrics, Proton VPN's actual application does a great job of accommodating people's physical needs.

Ditching our mouse still meant we rarely struggled using the desktop app with the keyboard alone. On a few instances, we were jumped to unintended areas of the app, and sometimes our selection rectangle just disappeared entirely, but never often enough to stop us from connecting successfully. We also never struggled to search servers specifically, nor did adjusting settings prove difficult.

From our experiences, you’ll likely only find a better keyboard experience using either PIA or ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN has long focused on simplicity in its apps, so success in this regard is no surprise. Proton VPN did a better job in this regard than NordVPN, though.

Proton also completely knocks other premium VPNs out of the water when it comes to localized language support. It natively offers 36 languages across its clients. That makes Proton VPN’s language total significantly larger than major competitors like NordVPN and Surfshark.

So, while Proton could still do better in terms of visual screen-reader compliance, it remains highly accessible in almost every other practical metric.

Score: 3/5

Customer support

• Good depth of support guides
• Live chat and priority support available for paid tiers
• Agents began to struggle once diving deeper into issues

Accessing support for Proton VPN is simple. First off, you can use its FAQs, guides, and resources hub to access guides on almost any topic.

Testing the depth of its guides using ‘DNS’ as a search, it was great to see guides on everything from DNS leaks, to flushing DNS caches, and how you can use custom DNS.

It even filed in instances where DNS was a related topic and highlighted the relevant text. For example, it pulled in Proton’s streaming troubleshooter guide since DNS over HTTPS can contribute.

These guides are easily accessible, too. Whether it’s via a couple of clicks in the Windows app or two taps on mobile, you can quickly enter the Proton Support Center, report issues with your service, or access debug logs to help support assistants troubleshoot your problem.

If you are a paid user on the VPN Plus or Unlimited plans, you also get access to priority support and a dedicated live chat feature to bypass the ticket queue entirely. Keep in mind that if you are using the completely free version, live chat is locked away and you'll be reliant solely on the help documents and email ticketing.

Alternatively, if you run into a unique technical glitch, Proton has one of the absolute busiest Reddit communities in the entire VPN space. With roughly 600+ weekly contributions, the r/ProtonVPN subreddit is a thriving hub for user-to-user troubleshooting that regularly beats out rivals like NordVPN or ExpressVPN for active community help.

The Proton support hub offers reams of depth, with explainers, how-to's and troubleshooting guides for even complex issues. (Image credit: Future)

Read more about Proton VPN's customer support ▼

Next, we tested the skills of Proton’s support agents. We raised the question, “What do we do if we can’t access .onion websites while connected to Tor over VPN?” and got a reply via ticket in around five minutes!

What was more impressive was that our response wasn’t just an automated acknowledgment — we got some sensible suggestions right off the bat around testing different servers, switching browsers, and disabling NetShield. We were also asked for more details to help pinpoint the issue.

At this stage, though, the standard slipped a bit. Our agent became bogged down in browser troubleshooting, and response times jumped from five minutes to around three hours. What we received at the end of that wait felt a bit underwhelming for the amount of information we’d provided.

To be fair to the agent, browser and platform quirks are common culprit areas for Proton's Tor integration. For instance, desktop Firefox requires a manual configuration tweak to resolve onion URLs, Firefox for Android won't open them at all, and Apple users must have their app Kill Switch turned on just to get Tor traffic to pass cleanly.

Even so, the handling could have been smoother. By comparison, we’ve put the same question to NordVPN in the past, and, while the initial response was slower, we received a much more cohesive set of diagnostic questions and an all-around more reassuring experience.

Proton’s lightning-fast initial response does deserve credit, though. Plus, our broader experiences with their team over our months of testing have generally been highly reliable more often than not.

Score: 4/5

User reviews

While not perfect by any means, review sites often prove a good initial gauge of how trustworthy a VPN is, how well it performs, and what issues it’s had in the past.

Proton VPN’s mobile apps are among the best on the market. Its stellar ratings of 4.7 on the Google Play Store and 4.6 on the Apple App Store are a fair reflection of its capabilities and put the VPN provider very much on par with our other top recommended services.

Google Play

App Store

Trustpilot

NordVPN

4.6

4.7

4.2

Windscribe

4.6

4.6

4.7

Surfshark

4.6

4.7

4.3

Proton VPN

4.7

4.6

2.2

ExpressVPN

4.7

4.7

4.1

On the desktop side, its Chrome Extension has undergone a major redemption arc. While it historically lagged behind with a mediocre user rating due to early performance bugs, a series of major software overhauls has seen its score climb to a highly respectable 4.1/5 on the Chrome Web Store.

It’s a massive improvement that brings it right back into the conversation with competing browser extensions.

Proton’s Trustpilot reviews offer further food for thought, since scoring a 2.2 out of 5 is still quite low compared to its app store success. There isn’t a single trending theme driving the negative reviews either—unlike, for example, NordVPN’s frequently targeted auto-renewal policy.

It's also worth noting that Proton has a comparatively tiny footprint here with just 901 reviews in total, while the likes of ExpressVPN and Surfshark have accumulated over 25,000.

It is somewhat strange that these complaints aren't widely reflected in the highly positive mobile app store reviews. Ultimately, while a chunk of 1-star Trustpilot reviews shouldn't be ignored completely, the actual day-to-day performance of the product and our rigorous long-term lab testing simply do not tally with those specific negative metrics.

Track record: can you trust Proton VPN?

• All Proton VPN apps are open source.
• Annual no-logs audits since 2022.
• Proton Mail privacy requests raise concerns for some users.

Proton has a strong track record of proving its commitment to privacy. Since 2022, the VPN provider has undergone yearly no-logs audits. The latest was published by independent auditors in September 2025, but its history of transparency goes back long before this.

What’s more, all of Proton VPN’s apps are open source. This means that anyone can look at, and judge, the code found in each app. By going open source, anyone can check and confirm that Proton’s apps work properly and do everything they’re supposed to safely – providing peace of mind that there isn't anything malicious happening behind the scenes.

The company also helps fund external projects that work to protect people's privacy and in January 2026, it donated over $1.27 million to a variety of digital rights groups. Organizations included Transparency International, Witness, EDRi and Lighthouse Reports.

Despite this, there are a handful of high-profile legal incidents involving its sister product, Proton Mail, that continue to concern some privacy advocates.

In September 2021, Proton was compelled to log and hand over the IP address of a French climate activist. Later, in May 2024, Proton complied with a request to hand over the optional recovery email address of a Catalan independence activist, which authorities then used to identify them via Apple.

Most recently, in March 2026, Proton was forced to share credit card payment data with the FBI regarding an activist in Atlanta.

Read more about Proton VPN's track record ▼

What many critics fail to realize is that Proton did not directly cooperate with foreign governments in any of these cases. Foreign law enforcement agencies had to apply through international legal channels to Swiss courts.

Because Proton is a Swiss company, it cannot ignore a legally binding Swiss court order. Crucially, in none of these cases was Proton's end-to-end encryption broken — no email content, message text, or core data has ever been compromised. The users were ultimately exposed due to peripheral metadata they chose to provide, such as personal credit cards or personal recovery emails.

It also must be remembered that these cases strictly surround Proton Mail, not Proton VPN, and these products are handled entirely differently under Swiss law.

Proton’s privacy policy does a good job explaining this, explicitly noting that Swiss regulations do not force VPN providers to log data, whereas email services can be required to disclose IP logs or account metadata in the event of a Swiss criminal investigation.

The other sensible move for people using Proton Mail is not to register a recovery email address in the first place, although that comes with the obvious risk of losing access to your account.

While it's understandable why these legal disclosures shook the trust of some users who mistook privacy for total anonymity, they do not warrant concern about the VPN itself. To Proton’s credit, it goes to great lengths to remain transparent about its legal obligations, and its core zero-knowledge encryption architecture remains entirely intact.

Score: 4/5

Final verdict

(Image credit: Future / Gemini)

Proton VPN is, without doubt, a top VPN. It offers a huge array of locations, superb speeds, and rock-solid security. It's surprisingly good value too, when you compare it to the equivalently-featured tiers of other VPNs.

Proton VPN's track record and high levels of privacy are what it should be most proud of, though. Of all the VPNs we recommend, it's the one we'd bet our lives on if we really had to.

It’s also a highly customizable VPN with stunning apps. Its whole ecosystem of Big Tech alternative software is well worth using if you like them.

Who should use Proton VPN?

✅ Torrenters: Proton’s breadth of P2P support, and, more importantly, port forwarding support, make it perfect for torrenting. Plus, it offers a wealth of knowledge guides to help you stay safe and effective.

✅ Those wanting to move away from Google: Picking up a Proton Unlimited plan opens the door to more than just Proton VPN, you can use its secure storage, email.

Try Proton VPN $3.59 $2.99

Right now, you can get Proton VPN for only $2.99/month on a 2-year deal. It’s got sleek, customizable apps, servers in 145 countries, and doesn’t struggle to unblock your favorite streaming services thanks to its full streaming optimization and high download speeds.

What’s more, unlike many top VPNs, it has port forwarding support, and guides to equip you to use this and all of its other tools to the maximum. Try risk-free with Proton’s 30-day money-back guarantee. View Deal

Who should try a different VPN instead?

❌ Streamers: While Proton VPN can definitely unblock streaming services, it struggles more than some may like. You can likely find stronger streaming performance for a similar or cheaper price if this is a priority.

Also consider

NordVPN – The best VPN overall ($3.39 $2.99)
While Proton VPN offers much to please privacy purists, our tests have found no better VPN than NordVPN right now. Like Proton, NordVPN has a 10-device limit, but it offers faster speeds, improved streaming performance, and unique tools such as Threat Protection Pro and Meshnet. You can try NordVPN risk-free with its 30-day money-back guarantee. View Deal

Proton VPN FAQsWhere is Proton VPN based?

Proton VPN is based in Switzerland. This is because the country has strong privacy laws, and isn’t part of any intelligence-sharing agreements. This means it’s highly unlikely that any request from a country to access Proton’s data will be approved.

Does Proton VPN support port forwarding?

Yes. Unlike many of the top VPNs, Proton VPN offers full port forwarding capabilities. While the provider is aware of the risks, it offers in-depth guides to explain what those risks are and how to go about port forwarding safely.

Is Proton VPN blocked by Netflix?

No, our testing showed that Proton VPN has no issues accessing Netflix. We tested the provider with Netflix’s UK, US, Canadian, Australian, and Japanese libraries and saw no issues throughout.

Proton VPN testing methodology

Alongside the features that I've tested on my own devices, I'll also refer to what "we" have tested in this review. When I talk about "we", I'm referring to anything found during our lab testing. This testing is conducted by VPN Technical Editor, Mike Williams. Mike has been lab testing VPNs for over 11 years.

Each VPN is tested every six months. We measure speed, ad-blocking, anti-phishing and malware, streaming service unblocking, local IP address leaks, and more. Each server network is spot-checked to confirm that the VPN server locations are accurate. We also confirm a provider's security credentials, privacy policy, and executable files are secure and safe.

To find the full details of our VPN review processes, you can take a look at our VPN testing methodology.

This review has been fact-checked by the TechRadar VPN team, as well as with information provided by Proton. We update this review regularly to include any new features or information about the product. That means that this review is always up to date and as you would find the product if you downloaded and used it today.

If you notice anything in your experience of using Proton VPN that doesn't match what you read on this page, please let us know in the comments or by emailing us.

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Xiaomi 15T review: One-minute review

The majority of the best Xiaomi phones share one core trait: they offer a premium experience without the associated price tag. The Xiaomi 15T is no exception.

Building upon the so-so Xiaomi 14T, the Xiaomi 15T brings the core features of the excellent Xiaomi 15 lineup to a lower price point and is one of the more compelling choices in its category.

If you’re coming from an Ultra-branded phone, you’ll likely be disappointed. However, look past a few mid-range indiscretions, and you have a phone that offers everything the average user needs, and at an incredibly wallet-friendly price (especially so right now, given that the Xiaomi 17T is reportedly just around the corner).

Most people want a large, vibrant screen, solid performance, a reliable camera, and excellent battery life. The Xiaomi 15T ticks all of these boxes and adds a stylishly chamfered camera design into the mix (not to mention a gorgeous color), resulting in a unique yet pleasing overall experience.

If you’re looking for the very best AI features, cutting-edge performance, or a camera that can see far into the distance, you’ll be better served by the pricier Xiaomi 15T Pro or even the flagship Xiaomi 17 Ultra. But if you’re comfortable with a few compromises, the Xiaomi 15T is absolutely a phone you should consider.

Xiaomi 15T review: price and availability

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• Launched for £549 on September 24, 2025
• The current retail price in the UK is ~£449, although it is available from £350
• Not available in the US or Australia

The Xiaomi 15T started at £549, but at the time of writing, it's now officially available for £449, and for as low as £349 via third-party retailers.

The Xiaomi 15T features a sizeable 12GB of RAM across all models, which, considering the current premium for RAM, makes the phone's low price even more impressive.

It comes in three colors — Black, Gray, and Rose Gold — and I’ve been using the latter for my testing. It’s beautiful and quite unique, but it is more bronze gold than rose gold in tone.

• Value score: 5 / 5

Xiaomi 15T review: specsXiaomi 15T specs

Dimensions:

163.2 x 78 x 7.5mm

Weight:

194g

Display:

6.83-inch AMOLED (1280 x 2772), 120Hz, 3,200 nits peak brightness

Chipset:

MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Ultra

RAM:

12GB RAM

Storage:

256GB / 512GB

OS:

Android 15, but Android 16 is now available

Primary camera:

50MP, f/1.7
1/1.55-inch sensor
PDAF, OIS

Ultra-wide camera:

12MP, f/2.2, 120°
1/3.06-inch sensor,

Telephoto camera:

50MP, f/1.9, 46mm
1/2.75-inch sensor
2x optical zoom, PDAF

Selfie camera:

32MP, f/2.2
1/3.44-inch sensor

Battery:

5,5000mAh

Charging:

67W wired

Colors:

Black, Gray, Rose Gold

Xiaomi 15T review: design

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• Three colors, including bronze-like Rose Gold
• Premium feel without the weight

The Xiaomi 15T doesn’t really stand out for its design, but that’s also by design: Xiaomi wanted to build an upper mid-range phone that blends into your daily life, not one that stands out and makes a point. And the Xiaomi 15T absolutely delivers on that front.

The phone's screen features Gorilla Glass 7i protection, while the rear of the Xiaomi 15T features a composite matte finish that’s excellent at repelling fingerprints. This unique finish allows the Rose Gold color to appear iridescent, and while it always looks Rose Gold, there’s enough uniqueness that you’ll find yourself twirling it under the light.

Measuring 7.5mm thick and weighing 194g, the Xiaomi 15T is not the heaviest, lightest, thinnest, or thickest phone that you can buy. Simply put, it’s a middle-of-the-road device that weighs about the same as the Galaxy S26 Plus, though it is taller, wider, and 0.2mm thicker than that particular phone. It's a great size overall, but I do find it slightly too large to be used comfortably one-handed: phones like the Honor Magic 8 Pro Air and iPhone Air, which both use 6.5-inch screens, are the perfect size for me.

One particularly nice feature about the Xiaomi 15T is the chamfered edge design around its rear camera module, which adds a bit of pizazz to an otherwise standard-looking handset. That said, compared to many phones at this price point — the Google Pixel 10a and Samsung Galaxy A57, for instance —the Xiaomi 15T looks and feels distinctly more premium.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Xiaomi 15T review: display

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• 6.82-inch AMOLED display
• 120Hz display, LTPS not LTPO

Two areas in which many mid-range smartphones often make trade-offs are display and design, but Xiaomi has taken an alternative approach with the 15T. As mentioned, its design feels premium, but its display wouldn’t be out of place on a much more expensive phone, either.

The Xiaomi 15T's large 6.83-inch AMOLED display features 12-bit color depth, HDR10+ support, and Dolby Vision certification, making it an absolute joy to watch movies on. It features an advertised peak brightness of 3,200 nits and a 120Hz refresh rate, both of which are lower than the Xiaomi 15T Pro's, but neither proved to be an issue in my day-to-day usage.

One particularly noteworthy thing about this phone's display is that, while it can refresh at up to 120Hz, it’s not the typical dynamic LTPO refresh rate you’ll find on many phones. Instead, the Xiaomi 15T has four predetermined refresh rates — 30Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz — and it chooses between them depending on what's happening on-screen. In practice, this means it’s usually at 120Hz when you’re using it, but for movies or other static use, it’s at 60Hz. This helps strike a balance between buttery-smooth scrolling and power consumption, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.

Overall, the display on the Xiaomi 15T is very good, especially considering the price. This is not a screen I’d complain about on a much more expensive phone, and it works well regardless of lighting conditions.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

Xiaomi 15T review: cameras

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• 50MP main sensor
• 13MP ultra-wide lens
• Strange 50MP telephoto with only 2x zoom

The Xiaomi 15T features three rear cameras, and this is where I felt some disappointment. The 50MP main camera has an f/1.7 aperture and a 23mm focal length, while the ultra-wide camera has a 120° field of view and an f/2.2 aperture.

Both are more than acceptable at this price point, but the 50MP telephoto is somewhat strange. The large megapixel count is paired with an impressive f/1.9 aperture, but an odd 2x optical zoom range. Having reviewed many of the best phones, this 2x optical zoom feels like a strange choice, especially since Xiaomi hasn’t added any zoom stops beyond 2x in the viewfinder.

In many ways, it feels like the telephoto lens on the Xiaomi 15T is firmly an afterthought, but that is somewhat harsh, especially since this phone offers much more photography hardware than others at this price point. The Google Pixel 10a, for instance, is similarly priced but has just two rear cameras, as does the Samsung Galaxy A57 (if you don't count the latter's 5MP macro lens).

The Xiaomi 15T camera is Leica-branded, and the phone also comes with a color spectrum sensor. Overall, images are solid but unspectacular, and while the Xiaomi 15T's camera won’t win any awards, it offers solid all-around performance that is more than acceptable at this price point.

Xiaomi 15T review: camera samplesNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave GondhiaNirave Gondhia

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Xiaomi 15T review: performance

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Ultra chipset is fine for most use cases
• 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage provide excellent value for money, especially with the current RAM shortage

The Xiaomi 15T continues a trend of Xiaomi using both Qualcomm and MediaTek chips in its phones, with the Xiaomi 15T powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Ultra chipset. Despite the nomenclature, this chipset isn’t as powerful as the Dimensity 9400 Plus in the Xiaomi 15T Pro, but during my time with the Xiaomi 15T, I had zero concerns about the all-round performance.

One area where this chipset does somewhat struggle is with high-end gaming; its Mali-G720 GPU isn’t as performant as the Adreno 750 GPU inside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and other Qualcomm processors. This isn’t a huge problem, especially as the core target for the Xiaomi 15T isn’t gamers — that’s the Xiaomi 15T Pro with its higher 144Hz refresh rate — but it’s worth keeping in mind if you like to game.

The Xiaomi 15T was released eight months ago, and in that time, the current RAM and storage shortages have led many phone makers to cut back. At the time of its release, the base variant of the Xiaomi 15T with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage already beat most of the competition, and now the phone offers even better value for money.

Considering how many OEMs are cutting back on RAM capacities, even in flagship phones, the 15T's 12GB of RAM will future-proof the phone for years to come. This RAM capacity is also noteworthy because it means the Xiaomi 15T could well support Google’s new Gemini Intelligence feature suite, which requires 12GB of RAM to function (plus Gemini Nano v3 support, which could be added to the 15T via a future HyperOS update).

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Xiaomi 15T review: software

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• Launched with Android 15.
• Android 16 update is widely available
• Four years of software releases and six years of security updates

Software is where Xiaomi has a love-hate relationship with many customers in Western markets, and the Xiaomi 15T somewhat follows this mold. However, I must commend Xiaomi, as its software is considerably better than it used to be, and everything works as well as on the best Android phones.

Many of my previous experiences with Xiaomi have seen HyperOS preloaded with many apps, which were the first things I deleted. The Xiaomi 15T provided a pleasant surprise: it’s far more reserved, with fewer preloaded apps and more intuitive options and placements. One thing I absolutely love about Xiaomi’s HyperOS is that it is the only launcher to offer a 5x9 layout arrangement, which is perfect for taller screens.

When it comes to Android phones, there are usually two approaches: a simpler UX with limited options and a predetermined way of using it, or options to change everything. Xiaomi fits into the latter category: it’ll take some getting used to, but the sheer volume of customizations available in HyperOS means that, if there’s something you don’t like, you can probably change it.

The Xiaomi 15T also comes with a new Astral Communication feature that allows you to make voice calls between two Xiaomi 15T phones. Think push-to-talk, but between two specific devices. It’s limited to just the Xiaomi 15T, which makes it less useful than it otherwise could be, but there are plenty of reasons this feature needs to come to all Android phones.

The Xiaomi 15T comes with at least four years of OS updates and six years of security patches, and Xiaomi is known for reliable updates and comprehensive update scheduling. The Xiaomi 15T launched with Android 15, and while the Android 16 update is available now, this will count as one of your four OS updates.

• Software score: 3.5 / 5

Xiaomi 15T review: battery life

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

• 5,500mAh silicon-carbon battery delivers multi-day battery life
• 67W HyperCharge will recharge your phone quickly

A common trait among most Xiaomi phones is excellent battery life and superfast charging, and the Xiaomi 15T is no different. The UK version comes with a charger in the box that supports Xiaomi’s 67W HyperCharge feature — mine didn't, as it wasn't a UK sample — while EU buyers will have to buy the charger separately, as it’s not included.

The Xiaomi 15T is powered by a 5,500mAh silicon-carbon battery, which is the same size as the one in the Xiaomi 15T Pro. Sadly, there’s no wireless charging, which is somewhat expected at this price point, but aside from that, the battery life is more than acceptable.

On a full charge, the Xiaomi 15T lasts around two days with moderate usage, and you'll get around five to six hours of screen-on time. During my two stints using the phone to empty, it never once failed to last a full day, despite heavy camera use. Overall, then, the Xiaomi 15T boasts great all-around battery life that generally won’t let you down.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Xiaomi 15T?

(Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)Xiaomi 15T scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design

Xiaomi's design isn't super unique but the chamfered edges around the camera and Rose Gold finish are memorable.

4 / 5

Display

This is a great all-around screen that wouldn't be out of place in a much more expensive phone.

4.5 / 5

Performance

Solid but unspectacular performance offered by the Dimensity 8400 Ultra chipset, but 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is a big bonus.

4 / 5

Camera

The main and ultra-wide cameras are good and acceptable, but don't let the big megapixel count fool you: the telephoto is a bit disappointing.

3.5 / 5

Battery

Outstanding battery life that's on par with that of many flagships. 67W charging is also faster than the competition.

4 / 5

Software

Xiaomi's HyperOS is further improved, but it won't be for everyone. However, it is among the most customizable OS packages, so you can often change the things you may not like.

3.5 / 5

Value

Excellent value for money; this phone belies its price tag.

5 / 5

Buy it if...

You don’t need the absolute best performance
The Xiaomi 15T's chipset won’t win any awards, but the phone has performance to spare and generally won’t stutter, even with heavy usage.

You want great bang for your buck
This is definitely among the best value-for-money phones you can buy right now. It feels far more premium than its price tag suggests.

You want an excellent all-around, no-frills phone
If you want a phone that does all the basics extremely well, but doesn’t have many frills, the Xiaomi 15T is a great option.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best phone that money can buy
The Xiaomi 15T's specs don't stand out in any way, and that’s by design. If you’re looking for a premium, flagship-level experience, you’ll want to look elsewhere.

You need the best camera
If photography is important to you, the Xiaomi 15T's camera, especially its zoom, will probably be a letdown. The main camera is more than good enough, but the same can’t be said for either of its zoom lengths.

You use a lot of AI features
If you already use Gemini or other AI providers on your phone, you’ll find the Xiaomi 15T wanting, whether it’s for on-device AI performance or the general reliability of AI apps on HyperOS.

Xiaomi 15T review: also consider

There are three real competitors worth buying, but like the Xiaomi 15T, they all have their compromises.

Google Pixel 10a
The Google Pixel 10a starts at $499 / £499 / AU$849, for which you'll get 128GB of storage. It offers the best of Google's software, and although it only has two cameras, it’s proven to be extremely capable. The problem? It doesn’t feel anywhere near as premium as the Xiaomi 15T.

Read our full Google Pixel 10a review

Samsung Galaxy A57
Then there’s the Galaxy A57, which brings the best of Samsung’s Galaxy S26 to a more affordable price point. It costs $550 / £450 / AU$749 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and comes with three cameras, an Exynos processor, and a large 5,000 mAh battery.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy A57 review

Nothing Phone 4a Pro
The other phone that’s definitely worth considering is the Nothing 4a Pro. Priced at $499 / £499 / AU$949, it’s one of the most unique phones you’ll find, thanks to its glyph matrix display on the rear. Key reasons to consider the Nothing 4a Pro over the Xiaomi 15T? Better cameras, a more unique design, and longer battery life.

Read our full Nothing Phone 4a Pro review

How I tested the Xiaomi 15T

• Review test period = ~3 weeks
• Testing included = Everyday usage, including navigation, web browsing, social media, photography, gaming, streaming video, music playback, and reading e-books.
• Tools used = Geekbench 6, 3DMark, CellMark, native Android stats

I used the Xiaomi 15T for approximately three weeks across two different stints, which included over a week of consistent usage before writing this review. It was tested with two SIM cards with one roaming, while traveling between two different cities.

First reviewed: May 2026

Dell XPS 16 (2026) Two-minute review

Dell's XPS line finally returns at long last. The company may have shifted tack in its naming scheme, but the XPS has returned, and it's back with a bang. The Dell XPS 16 (2026) I have tested here is beyond impressive. With a clean, crisp aesthetic, stylised CNC black aluminum chassis, super-thin bezels, and a keyboard that genuinely makes you question what other laptop manufacturers have been doing for the last 10 years, it's otherworldly in appearance.

There's no drama, no ostentatious LEDs or illuminated logos, just clean, tidy lines and materials that complement it perfectly. Even the screen (in my review spec, a 3K touch OLED 3,200 x 2,000 @ 120Hz) leaves little to be desired.

(Image credit: Future)

But that's not where it ends; it's how it performs that really drives home the point. Thanks to Intel's latest Panther Lake architecture, that Core Ultra X7 358H, combined with Intel's own Arc B390 discrete GPU, delivers buckets of both battery life and performance across the board. You can game on this thing quite comfortably on titles like Total War: Warhammer 3, Cyberpunk, Black Myth Wukong, the works. And it has a battery life that'll run for the entirety of your working day and then some.

Honestly, it's hard to critique this thing. But there are a few blemishes that do need highlighting. You get a grand total of three USB-C ports, and that's it (admittedly Thunderbolt 4), and the price is a little bit higher than what you'd find on the likes of Apple's MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5).

Is that the end of the world, though? No, not really. Dell has absolutely delivered here. The XPS 16 is, by far, the best laptop I've ever tested.

Dell XPS 16 (2026) review: Price & release date

• Available globally
• Premium pricing without the B390
• Non-upgradable RAM, so buy your spec now

Available right now, you can pick up a Dell XPS 16 (2026) starting at around $2,029.99 or $2,769.99 in the US. The UK and Australia also have some slightly more affordable configurations available as well (where you can change the screen, shift the processor, and drop the memory and SSD capacity further, but I wouldn't recommend you go below the above specs. Still, for global availability, it's a clean sweep, no matter where in the world you are.

The base chassis itself is the same across the board, and there is a Dell XPS 14-inch edition too, if you'd like something a little more compact. By design, you can't upgrade the XPS 16's memory as it's utilizing LPDDR5X soldered directly to the motherboard. So do bear in mind, it's better to pick a higher-end spec now than regret it later.

The SSD, however, you can swap out at a later date if you so desire, albeit with a bit of effort.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

Dell XPS 16 (2026) review: Specs

Base

Review

Price

$2,029.99 / £2,449.99/ AU$4,129.40

$2,769.99 / £2,849 / AU$4,728.99

CPU

Intel Core Ultra X7 355

Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (1.9 GHz, 16 Cores)

GPU

Intel Graphics (integrated)

Intel Arc B390 (discrete)

RAM

16GB LPDDR5X

32GB LPDDR5X

Storage

1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD

1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD

Display

16-inch Non-touch LCD 2K (1920 x 1200), 16:10, 120Hz

16-inch Touch OLED 3K (3200 x 2000), 16:10, 120Hz

Ports and Connectivity

3x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type C, 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0

3x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type C, 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack; Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0

Battery

70Wh

70Whr

Dimensions

311 x 214 x 15mm (12.2 x 8.4 x 0.6in)

353 x 237 x 15mm (13.9 x 9.4 x 0.6in)

Weight

2.16lbs (0.98kg)

3.65lbs (1.65kg)

Dell XPS 16 (2026): Design

• Exceptionally premium
• Can't upgrade memory, but you kinda don't need to
• Lack of ports could be a deal breaker

This thing is beautiful. I've said it enough at this point, but the XPS 16 just absolutely oozes class. From a beautifully sophisticated anodized CNC-machined black aluminum chassis, to the super-thin bezels surrounding that high pixel density 3K OLED touch display, to the softly backlit keyboard, and the subtle XPS branding, it is just gorgeous through and through.

Dell's not held back on its design chops here. This is for professionals and minimalists who want something that's clean, pristine, and exceptional, all packaged up in a beautifully weighted 16-inch package. One negative perhaps? It is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, so do keep a microfiber cloth handy before you jump into that board meeting.

The keyboard's gorgeous, too. Low profile. Quiet. Backlit. With keys that don't stand out or shout. The feel of the actuation, too, although obviously nowhere near akin to a mechanical keyboard, is comfortable enough. There's plenty of spacing as well, and although the bottom row is slightly offset compared to a traditional QWERTY design, it doesn't take long to get used to.

(Image credit: Future)

The ports are a little sparse, admittedly, to accommodate all of that, but on the flip side, each and every one of them is Thunderbolt 4, meaning you've got power delivery and draw up to 100W, 40Gbps data transfer, PCIe 4.0 tunneling, and DisplayPort 2.0 alt mode as well (meaning basically you can hook up two 4K displays without worry. All built out of the USB-C connection standard). It's phenomenal. There are some laptops out there now debuting with Thunderbolt 5 this year (typically workstation models), but this is by no means poor at any level.

The only other negative (again, if you can call it that) is that you cannot upgrade the RAM. The XPS 16 uses LPDDR5X memory, which is soldered directly to the motherboard.

(Image credit: Future)

The advantage of this is that the interconnect isn't the bottleneck, and memory speed is through the roof, with the 32GB in my review unit topping out at staggering 9,600 MT/s. That's nearly 70% faster than the most mainstream kits you get on a high-end desktop.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Dell XPS 16 (2026) review: Performance

• Surprisingly potent at gaming
• Solid CPU performance too
• SSD could be better

My only reservation with the Dell XPS 16 is the lack of higher-capacity storage at this price. That is more of an issue with the global supply chain right now. SSD pricing is still through the roof due to AI consumption being a little more unwieldy than manufacturers can accommodate.

But still, it does feel a little harsh that this £2,800 model only comes with 1TB of storage (again, all configurable on Dell's shop anyway). And to be fair, even competitors like Asus's ZenBook A14 are similarly priced at that capacity anyway.

The reason that feels harsh, though, is because in-game, the XPS 16 is a monster. That Arc B390 is one of the best discrete graphics cards I've ever seen in a laptop of this form factor. For those not in the know, Intel's own GPU line has quietly been building up momentum and offers some of the best performance per $ that money can buy. It's fantastic to see that architecture becoming more proficient generation on generation, and it shows.

Dell XPS 16 (2026): Benchmarks

3DMark: Night Raid: 43,862; Fire Strike: 13,179; Solar Bay: 27,600
Cinebench R24: 124 (single-core); 881 (multi-core)
GeekBench 6.5: 2,867 (single-core); 16,927 (multi-core)
BlackMagicDisk: Read: 4,686.6 MB/s; Write: 3,890.9 MB/s
CrossMark: Overall: 2,211 Productivity: 1,945 Creativity: 2,660 Responsiveness: 1,866
Total War: Warhammer III: 1080p, Medium: 101.5fps
Total War: Warhammer III: 1200p, Ultra: 58.6fps
Battery Life (TechRadar movie test): 17 hours 16 minutes

Our benchmarks for laptops like this typically test games at lower resolutions on medium profiles, to accommodate poor GPUs, but I didn't really need to with this. Total War: Warhammer 3, on Ultra at 1200p, managed 58.6 fps. That's near desktop levels of performance on an aggressively CPU-bound title.

CPU performance too was equally impressive, in no doubt thanks to that 16-core Panther Lake chip. It's got low base clock speeds, but that's mostly thanks to some super-efficient low-power economy cores that keep everything ticking at idle without consuming much in the way of juice.

(Image credit: Future)

Jump into a high-demand task, and those four performance cores kick into life, delivering an outstanding score of 881 in Cinebench R24 and 124 on the single core. Intel has stepped away from hyper-threading with its Ultra line (based on a new architectural shift from the original Core line), but despite the lack of threads, its performance per thread has shot up considerably.

Here's the thing: this laptop isn't just for execs; it's for designers, and gamers, and developers, and it just ticks box after box with wildly broad performance chops with seemingly little loss anywhere else.

• Performance: 5 / 5

Dell XPS 16 (2026): Battery life

• Rapid fast charging
• A 17-hour battery life

I've long been a fan of Snapdragon-based laptops, purely because the battery life typically ran rings around Intel and AMD's best laptop offerings (The Vivobook S 15 Copilot+, is particularly impressive).

It's the benefits of that ARM architecture over x86 (the latter being typically less efficient and far more power hungry than its RISC-esque competitors).

I don't know how Intel has done this with Panther Lake (I hazard again it's likely because of those low-power, efficient cores), but in our battery benchmark, the XPS 16 scored a phenomenal 17 hours and 16 minutes, before going into standby mode.

• Battery life: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Dell XPS 16 (2026)?Dell XPS 16 (2026) scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

At a glance, the XPS's hardware seems overvalued; it's only when you dig under the surface that you realise why Dell chose the kit they did and priced it accordingly.

3.5 / 5

Design

An extraordinary design, backed up with an exceptional display, potent (albeit a limited number of) ports, and some modest upgradability thanks to a swappable SSD. Plus, if you're not a fan of the 16, there's always the 14, too.

4.5 / 5

Performance

Beyond all expectations, Intel's latest Panther Lake architecture, combined with the Intel Arc B390 discrete GPU, delivers exceptional performance no matter what task you throw at it.

5 / 5

Battery Life

Apple is beating in many cases, and it even gives ARM laptops a run for their money, the XPS will look after you well beyond your standard working day

5 / 5

Final Score

The XPS 16 is almost the complete package. The only downsides are that it could probably use one more USB-C port, and some form of anti-fingerprint coating. Outside of that. Phenomenal.

4.5 / 5

Buy it if…

You're looking for the ultimate professional workbook, come ultrabook
With outstanding performance no matter the task, and a battery life to match, the XPS 16 takes the brand to new heights, delivering exceptional quality at almost every level.View Deal

You want something that doesn't shout about how good it is
This isn't a Ferrari or a Lambo; this is a finely tuned Porsche. Its sleek, minimalist design looks phenomenal, and it backs up that hardware underneath by a mile and then some. Timeless.View Deal

Don’t buy it if…

You want more than three USB-C ports
USB connectivity is limited to just three ports. All on the Thunderbolt 4 platform. Although very capable, we are seeing some high-end workbooks launch with Thunderbolt 5 this year.View Deal

You're on a budget and don't like Windows 11
This is a very soft negative, but it is slightly pricier than Apple's MacBook Pro 16, and you are stuck with Windows.View Deal

Also consider

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5)

If you like the sound of this but fancy a macOS equivalent, then Apple's latest MacBook Pro 14 (M5) is a solid alternative, with exceptional ARM-based silicon, a Mini-LED retina display, and all-day battery life with MagSafe charging. It's a beauty. The catch? You do lose out on two-inches of screen real estate, but you can grab the 16-inch variant for a little extra if you need to.

Read our full Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5) reviewView Deal

Asus ZenBook S 16

For a Windows-based alternative that isn't Dell, the ZenBook S 16 is our current pick for the best ultrabook money can buy, and is a genuine in-class rival to the XPS. Asus is utilizing a ceraluminum chassis (technically an alu ceramic composite). It's properly unique, and the 3K OLED holds its own against the XPS 16 above. It packs in an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 as well, and is a bit cheaper too.

Read our full Asus ZenBook S 16 reviewView Deal

How I tested the Dell XPS 16

• Tested at home and in the office
• Benchmarked and used across gaming and productivity tasks
• 11 years of testing laptops, and 4 weeks with the XPS 16

I spent the last month or so living with the XPS 16 as my daily driver, moving over all of my workflow to it for my own agency work, and all of my freelance journalism as well as the odd recreational task, including writing my first novel. I streamed YouTube and Netflix on it, alongside using it for Tidal as well as some light work in Affinity.

I also benchmarked the XPS 16 extensively, utilising a mixture of CPU, gaming and storage-based synthetic and real-world tests, to truly understand exactly how it performed under targeted loads.

It is worth noting that all of this testing was performed in a cooler environment, so your performance may vary depending on where you are in the world.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: May 2026

Airalo is an eSIM marketplace founded in 2019 that now serves more than 20 million customers across 200+ countries and regions. You buy a plan, scan a QR code, and your data connection is ready before you've even landed.

I've heard it from people I've met at hostels across three continents: Airalo just works. Reasonable speeds, no surprise charges, and support that picks up when something goes sideways. Most plans are data-only, so calls go through WhatsApp, FaceTime, or Skype.

• Airalo is offering a 15% discount to all TechRadar readers on all eSIM plans with the code FUTURE15.

Airalo: Plans and pricing

Airalo offers a wide range of eSIM plans with competitive pricing that varies by destination, data allowance, and validity period. Plans come in three tiers: local (single country), regional (multi-country), and global. Airalo also offers unlimited data packages for many destinations, which the original pricing tables in most reviews overlook entirely.

Plan type

Region / Product

Data

Validity

Price

Global

Discover Global

3 GB

30 days

$24.00

Global

Discover Global

5 GB

60 days

$35.00

Local

United States

5 GB

30 days

$14.00

Regional

Europe

5 GB

30 days

$19.50

Unlimited

US (unlimited)

Unlimited

7 days

$11.50

Unlimited

Europe (unlimited)

Unlimited

7 days

$11.50

Unlimited

Asia (unlimited)

Unlimited

7 days

$11.50

Airalo's pricing is transparent with no hidden fees or contracts. If you are heading somewhere for a short trip where you know you will burn through data, unlimited plans can sometimes make more sense than stretching a fixed-data package.

Still, unlimited packages do have a fair usage policy that can throttle speeds once a daily data threshold is reached. As always, a local SIM remains the cheapest option in many destinations.

Airalo: Features

(Image credit: Future)

Airalo comes with a solid set of features built for frequent international travelers, especially those moving between multiple countries, who want predictable data costs and prefer to manage everything digitally rather than deal with physical SIM cards.

Here’s what the service actually offers:

• Airmoney Rewards: Airalo's loyalty program, Airmoney, rewards users with cashback on every new purchase. The program has four tiers: Traveler, Silver Traveler, Gold Traveler, and Platinum Traveler. All tiers come with cashback rates of 5%, 6%, 7%, and 10%, respectively. Note that as of February 2025, unused Airmoney balances can expire, so it's worth keeping an eye on your balance if you travel infrequently.
• Tethering Capabilities: Airalo eSIMs support tethering, allowing you to share your data connection with other devices via hotspots. This can be a lifesaver when you need to connect a device that doesn't have its own cellular data capabilities.
• Global Plans: In addition to country-specific eSIMs, Airalo offers regional and global data plans that cover multiple countries. These are perfect for travelers visiting several destinations in a single trip, providing a smooth connectivity solution across borders.
• Worldwide Network Access: Airalo works with network providers worldwide to keep people connected when they need international mobile coverage. Instead of relying on a single carrier, this partnership model lets you connect to local networks at your destination. This usually gives you faster speeds and more reliable service than what you get with regular international roaming from your home provider.
• No Roaming Charges: Most primary mobile plans put a premium on roaming. Airalo sidesteps this entirely by offering flexible prepaid packages that let you stay connected without the bill shock. You choose the amount of data you need, pay upfront, and there are no surprise charges upon arrival. This makes it a far more predictable option than activating your carrier's roaming add-on.

Airalo: Installation

To get started, simply visit the Airalo website or app, select your destination, and choose a data plan that suits your needs. After creating an account and completing the purchase, you'll receive a QR code for your eSIM.

Installing the eSIM is a snap. Just scan the QR code using your phone's camera, and the eSIM will be automatically added to your device.

However, you should check the specific activation policy for the plan that you're purchasing from Airalo. While some plans activate immediately upon installation, others only start once you arrive at your destination and connect to a supported network.

Airalo: Coverage and speed

Airalo covers over 200 countries and regions, so you can connect to reliable local carrier networks instead of relying on hit-or-miss roaming agreements.

In practice, that means reliable coverage and consistently solid speeds, whether you are landing in a major tourist hub or somewhere far less predictable.

In most destinations I've used it, speeds were solid for Maps, messaging, and light browsing. Where it gets patchy is after you've hit the data cap on a fixed plan. Throttling kicks in, and it shows. 5G is available in the US and parts of Europe, but don't go in expecting it everywhere.

Compared to other eSIM providers, Airalo's coverage is among the most comprehensive. Its data speeds are competitive, with plans striking a good balance between global coverage and reliable performance.

Airalo: Support

(Image credit: Airalo)

Airalo offers 24/7 support in multiple languages via in-app chat and WhatsApp. Unfortunately, there’s no phone support.

I haven't had to contact support often, which is probably the best thing I can say about a connectivity product. When I did, the WhatsApp chat was faster than I expected. No phone support exists, though, so if something goes wrong mid-trip, you're working through chat. Worth factoring in before you buy.

One thing Airalo gets right is accessibility. The app is available in 53 languages and supports multiple currencies, which makes it far easier for non-English speakers to navigate than most competing eSIM providers.

Airalo: Final verdict

Airalo is not always the cheapest option on the market. If you're heading to one country for two weeks, a local SIM will probably beat it on price. That's just the truth.

But that's not really who Airalo is for. It's for the person who's hopping between three countries in ten days and doesn't want to think about connectivity at all. Buy once, land anywhere, connect immediately. The app is genuinely well built, the Airmoney rewards add up if you travel regularly, and the unlimited plans are a solid recent addition.

Airalo’s not perfect, but I think it's currently the best and easiest eSIM option available.

Airalo: FAQsIs Airalo eSIM legit?

Yes, Airalo is a well-established company founded in 2019 as the world's first eSIM store. They have a proven track record of providing eSIM data plans to travelers in over 200 countries and regions, and have served more than 20 million customers to date.

Should I install Airalo eSIM before traveling?

Whether you should install your Airalo eSIM before traveling depends on the specific eSIM's activation policy. If the eSIM's activation policy states "The validity period starts when the eSIM connects to any supported network(s)", then you can install it before traveling without activating it. Otherwise, wait to install the eSIM until you're close to your departure date to minimize data loss with Airalo.

How can I find out if my device supports eSIMs?

To find out if your device supports eSIMs, go into your device settings and see if there's an option to add a new SIM digitally. On iPhones, look under Cellular or Mobile. On Samsung, it's in the SIM Manager. On a Pixel, head to SIMs and look for "Download a new eSIM." If the option isn't there, your device likely doesn't support eSIMs, and no amount of workarounds will change that.

What does "carrier-locked" or "network-locked" mean?

No, Airalo's app includes security checks that detect jailbroken or rooted devices and may refuse to run on them. You can still buy an eSIM through Airalo's website, but you'd need a separate, unmodified device to actually install and use it.

Can I use Airalo with a jailbroken or rooted device?

No, Airalo's app includes security checks that detect jailbroken or rooted devices and may refuse to run on them. You can still buy an eSIM through Airalo's website, but you'd need a separate, unmodified device to actually install and use it.

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review: Two-minute review

If you need a big tablet, you can’t go wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, which sports a gigantic 14.6-inch display that offers a 16:10 aspect ratio, which not only offers plenty of screen real estate compared to alternatives like iPads but also makes the S11 Ultra perfect for watching widescreen movies and shows. Of course, the large screen also lends itself well to productivity and gaming as well.

Staying true to Samsung’s other ‘Ultra’ devices, the Tab S11 Ultra brings all the bells and whistles to justify its high asking price. Like the Galaxy S26 Ultra, an S Pen stylus is included in the box, while the full Galaxy AI suite takes advantage of the larger display with features like screen sharing in Gemini Live and drawing tools like Creative Studio and Sketch to Image. It also retains the IP68 water- and dust-resistant rating from its predecessor, which is still rare for most modern tablets. Granted, these features are also available in the smaller (and cheaper) 11-inch Tab S11, so it’s hardly the reason why you would buy the much larger Ultra.

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

Otherwise, this is another iterative update from the Tab S10 Ultra, which was a disappointment in itself. Our tester wasn’t happy with the older tablet’s lackluster battery life and the MediaTek processor in our Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra review. The good news is that the Tab S11 Ultra has better CPU performance and the battery lasts 1.5-2 hours longer, but the bad news is that MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ doesn’t compare well with the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor in the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is faster. And that makes me question Samsung’s decision to switch from Snapdragon CPUs in the Tab S9 series to MediaTek in the 10th- and 11th-generation slates.

Admittedly, the MediaTek provides better graphics performance, and can also handle ray-tracing better than the Snapdragon to reinforce the Tab S11 Ultra’s gaming focus but, when compared to a similarly priced iPad Pro with an Apple M5 chip — a desktop-class CPU that is more powerful than many Windows laptops — the Tab S11 Ultra feels overpriced even for a top-of-the-line tablet.

The minor upgrades come with a price hike over the S10 Ultra, and you won’t be able to reuse the older cases and keyboards from the Tab S10 Ultra and Tab S9 Ultra because of the thinner chassis, so you’d have to shell out more cash for new ones.

If you want the biggest, best display to run Android apps and games on, and watch widescreen movies and shows, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is a great choice, but if you want to run pro-level software, you’re better off with a similarly priced iPad Pro.

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

• Available since September 2025
• Price starts at $1,299 / £1,269 / AU$2,099
• A 5G model is also available in the UK and Australia from £1,419 / AU$2,349

With a starting price of $1,299 / £1,269 / AU$2,099 for the base model featuring 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is Samsung’s biggest and most expensive tablet to date, comparable to the iPad Pro 13-inch that will set you back $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,199.

In some aspects that’s a win, given that the Samsung offers 65% more screen area with the 14.6-inch display, but the flip side to that is the OLED display on the iPad Pro is brighter and sharper.

An S Pen stylus is included in the box with the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, while an Apple Pencil is sold separately for $129 / £129 / AU$219. It’s a nice bonus, as is the fact that Samsung does multitasking better than Apple.

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

However — and this is the biggest issue I have with the S11 Ultra’s price — the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chipset is a disappointment compared to Apple’s M5 silicon in the iPad Pro, and it doesn’t even top the Apple M4 in the iPad Air, which is $300 / £300 / AU$650 cheaper.

The larger screen makes the Tab S11 Ultra a good laptop replacement, but Samsung sells the accessories separately. You can pick up a slim keyboard and case combo for $199.99 / £189 / AU$399 or an aluminum Pro Keyboard that makes the Tab S11 Ultra work like a laptop for $349.99 / £329 / AU$599. That added cost makes that combination more expensive than more powerful laptops, including ones with discrete GPUs.

Unless you need a water-resistant tablet or if your games are only available on Android, it’s hard to justify the price tag for the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. I think the older Tab S10 FE is a much better buy at $449 / £429 / AU$849.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra configurations

RAM/Storage

12GB/256GB

12GB/512GB

16GB/1TB

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra

$1,299 / £1,349 / AU$2,299

$1,319.99 / £1,299 / AU$2,299

$1,619.99 / £1,549 / AU$2,799

• Value: 3/5

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review: specs

Starting price

$1,299 / £1,349 / AU$2,299

Screen size

14.6 inches

Resolution

1848 x 2960 pixels

Operating system

One UI 8.5 on Android 16

Chipset

Mediatek Dimensity 9400+

Memory (RAM)

12GB / 16GB

Storage

128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB

Display

14.6-inch AMOLED 120Hz

Weight

692g / 695g (5G model)

Battery

11,600mAh

Charging

45W wired

IP Rating

IP68: 1m underwater for 30 minutes

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review: display

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

• Massive 14.6-inch screen makes for a big and heavy device
• Samsung retains Wacom tech for the S Pen

Like its predecessor, I’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger and better display on an Android tablet than the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra’s huge 14.6-inch OLED screen. It’s even brighter than the S10 Ultra’s 930 nits (now 1600 nits), which is the same as the M5 iPad Pro.

The screen brightness is great indoors, which is a given for most tablets these days, but it was also bright enough to use outdoors. I watched an entire movie during a 3.5-hour bus ride while at a window seat and I didn’t have to draw the curtains in.

If you are considering a tablet as a laptop replacement, the Tab S11 Ultra gives you more screen space than a 14-inch Macbook Pro and outdoes its competition in the similarly priced iPad Pro. The latter, however, has a sharper OLED screen with a 264 pixel per inch density, compared to 239ppi on Samsung’s display.

Because it’s from Samsung, the Tab S11 Ultra has HDR10+ support, while iPad Pros favor Dolby Vision.

Samsung has also retained Wacom’s electromagnetic resonance (EMR) technology for its S Pen, meaning the stylus is passive and it doesn’t need a battery to write or draw with. That said, no battery means the S Pen doesn’t support Bluetooth anymore — just like the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s included S Pen.

• Display: 5/5

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review: design

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

• Water-resistant design
• Thinner and lighter than the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra

A tablet this size prioritizes the viewing experience over design, which means the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra isn’t anything special to look at. I like the clean design, but otherwise it’s just a big slab, much like every other Android tablet I’ve seen.

Like the Tab S10 Ultra, the S11 Ultra has four direct-firing speakers hidden around the edges to provide full stereo stage audio when the tablet is in landscape mode for movie watching. During testing, the audio sounded clear and full-bodied, and was loud enough to fill a medium-sized room, and I never felt like I had to reach for my headphones or hook the tablet up to a portable speaker.

The tablet now has just one front camera instead of two from the Tab S10 Ultra, which in turn reduces the notch size. The camera is still in the centre of the Tab S11 Ultra’s long side to favor landscape orientation for video calls, providing a natural head-on eyeline. Apple’s iPads, on the other hand, have cameras on the short side (meant for vertical or portrait orientation).

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

The Tab S11 Ultra retains the same button layout as the S10 Ultra, with power and volume on the top edge in landscape mode (or the right edge when in portrait orientation).

The S Pen attaches to the Tab S11 Ultra on its edges magnetically instead of having a dedicated strip on the back like on the S10 Ultra, similar to how an Apple Pencil attaches to iPads. However, I would recommend buying Samsung’s back cover if you want a more secure way to store the stylus via a recessed groove to cradle it — I found the magnetic attachment wasn’t strong enough and the S Pen would invariably come away when traveling with it in my bag.

As mentioned, the Galaxy S11 Ultra can be used as a laptop replacement thanks to its large screen and Samsung sells keyboard cases that will cost you extra. During my testing, however, I paired it with a wireless keyboard (Logitech MX Keys Mini) and used a laptop stand to prop it up and it was fine, but hardly a setup portable enough to bring to a cafe.

• Design: 4/5

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review: software

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

• The best tablet software for multitasking
• Now has more gaming-specific software

Samsung’s One UI software, running on top of Android 16, is packed with features that shine on a big tablet compared to a smaller smartphone display. I found multitasking to be a breeze, with up to three split-screen apps (one large, two small) running at the same time, and five pop-up windows can be layered on top of these. That’s a total of eight active apps all at once! Tiling and arranging windows are as easy as dragging them where you want them to go.

Like other Galaxy Tabs, apps and conversations can be opened via pop-up bubbles, and the S Pen enables pop-up notetaking when you just need a quick. I used it for work research and taking notes in Samsung Notes, and the process was easy and comfortable.

To test the multitasking, I joined a video call on one side while playing a game on the other, and also had a YouTube video in a floating window. The Tab S11 Ultra handled all applications well, with no crashes or slowing framerates.

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

While Samsung’s operating system is great, I couldn’t really think of too many Android apps that would truly maximize the large screen. I downloaded the drawing and painting app Krita, and the display accommodated the extensive menus and the canvas well to make it look like the app’s desktop version. I also downloaded the video editing app LumaFusion, and the tablet’s screen was able to display a longer timeline, although this really isn’t the best example for recommending an expensive tablet as I think most people would find an app like LumaFusion would be fine on a smaller screen too.

It’s evident that Samsung also made this tablet with DeX (desktop experience) in mind, where you can either use the mode on the device itself to emulate a laptop-like interface or with an external monitor plugged in. DeX looks like a hybrid of Windows and macOS, with both a persistent taskbar and a floating dock with app icons available at your disposal. My favorite feature is being able to snap windows to the side to take an entire half of the screen, or a corner to automatically resize into a quadrant.

DeX runs the tablet’s apps in windows, which can result in some weird ‘stretching’ when you maximize some apps that aren’t fully supported. One workaround I found is to forgo the apps altogether and just open their web version with the Samsung Internet browser (instead of Chrome) to load their desktop versions. This extra layer of friction takes points away from the Tab S11 Ultra as a true laptop replacement, and you may be better off getting the real thing.

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

One UI 8.5 now provides a real dual-screen mode on DeX while you plug in an external monitor, where the cursor can move through both screens, and windows can be dragged and dropped from one display to the other. Some apps now adapt depending on the screen, defaulting to desktop mode on the external monitor, then reverting to the touch-optimized version when the window is moved to the tablet.

As someone who finds that a single display just doesn’t cut it anymore for productivity, this mode made the Tab S11 Ultra a viable work machine during my testing.

When Samsung said this tablet was aimed at gaming enthusiasts, it sure meant it. One UI 8.5 introduced new gaming software in the Tab S11 Ultra, including per-game CPU and GPU tuning, native controller mapping and High-Performance mode. There’s also MediaTek HyperEngine to customize ray-tracing and variable rate shading, as well as some AI-powered features to let you skip game intros and automatically mute ads found in free-to-play games.

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

I tested several of these features and, while they didn’t improve my experience with the games I tried, I can see them being potentially beneficial for competitive multiplayer gamers.

Of course, there’s the full Galaxy AI suite, headlined by a dedicated button found on the Samsung keyboards to activate Gemini or Bixby. A few Galaxy AI features maximize the Tab S11 Ultra’s size, like Sketch to Image (which converts sketches to an AI-generated image), Note Assist (cleans up handwriting) and Math Solver (more room to show complex equations and graphs).

Like most of Samsung’s phones and tablets, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra has 7 years of support, which includes 7 generations of Android/One UI upgrades, security patches, hardware support and self-repair. Since tablets are usually replaced less frequently than a smartphone, long-term support like this is welcome indeed.

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review: performance

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

• Decent for Android, but nowhere near the iPad Pro
• I wish this had a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset instead

As I’ve already mentioned, Samsung has once again used a MediaTek chipset in the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, which puts it at a disadvantage over the iPad Pro with its desktop-class Apple M5 chip — which is more powerful than many Windows laptops. While the Dimensity 9400+ is a decent mobile processor and a meaningful upgrade over the Tab S10 Ultra’s Dimensity 9300+ (Samsung is claiming a 15-20% CPU boost), the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra doesn’t come close to the M5’s performance.

The MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ is designed for gaming and marketed to gamers, and while it wins some benchmarks on the graphics side, it falls short on processing performance compared to even Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon CPU being used in Samsung’s phones. Again, given its high asking price, it’s hard to justify the S11 Ultra for gamers only and I question why the South Korean tech giant didn’t use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset from the Galaxy S25 Ultra handset instead.

Geekbench rates last year’s S25 Ultra higher than the Tab S11 Ultra in three out out of four benchmarking tests, beating the tablet in single-core (2,847 vs 2,633), multi-core (9,408 vs 8,633) and even the GPU-focused Vulkan (23,871 vs 22,023). The only test the Tab Ultra wins is in OpenCL, which also measures GPU performance, with a score of 20,468 versus the S25 Ultra’s 17,871.

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

And that was evident in my testing. A resource-intensive game like Asphalt Legends ran very smoothly at max settings. However, its on-screen controls felt unwieldy and it’s better used with a third-party controller — so it’s good news that Samsung has improved external controller support with the S11 Ultra. The flip side to this is that you would have to lug around an additional item if you want to play while on the move.

With a tablet being able to dissipate heat better than a phone, I can only imagine how much better the Snapdragon 8 Elite could have performed in the same tests without the same thermal throttling it has to deal with in a smartphone chassis. Samsung could have also considered the laptop-class Snapdragon X processors found in the Samsung Galaxy Books if the company wanted to match the tablet up with the iPad Pro. Instead, the Tab S11 Ultra remains a mid-range tablet with a giant screen like the Tab S10 Ultra.

Even taking the M5 iPad Pro out of the equation, it’s hard to justify the S11 Ultra over a similarly priced laptop with better specs, like the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and an Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU ($1,249 / £1,150 / AU$2,199). Not to mention, the Lenovo includes a keyboard, while the Tab S11 Ultra needs the $349.99 / £329 / AU$599 Samsung Pro Keyboard to become a serious contender as a true laptop replacement.

• Performance: 3/5

Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review: battery

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

• More battery life than the Tab S10 Ultra despite the slimmer chassis

Battery life on the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra has improved a little from its predecessor, thanks to an extra 400mAh in the new pack and the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ being a more power-efficient chipset. I tested the battery by streaming a 1080p video with the screen at full brightness, and it took 11 hours for the Tab S11 Ultra battery to drain. In comparison, the Tab S10 Ultra lasted 9 hours in a similar test done by our Future Labs last year.

The 45W fast charging also topped up the battery just as quickly, with the Tab S11 Ultra reaching 20% in 15 minutes, 35% in 30 minutes, and full at just 1 hour and 45 minutes. The Tab S10 Ultra has the same 45W rating, while the M5 iPad Pro is officially rated at 40W, (though Apple claims it can support up to 60W fast charging with higher-wattage power adapters like a MacBook power brick).

• Battery: 4/5

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra?Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra report card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

You get a whole lot of screen for the money, and there’s an included stylus — but it’s too expensive for what you get

3 / 5

Display

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra has a big, beautiful display that’s excellent for drawing and playing games on.

5 / 5

Design

Thinner and lighter than its predecessor, it’s also water-resistant and durable, something that iPad is.

4 / 5

Software

Samsung makes the best tablet software, and it’s close enough to using a desktop for productivity work. It still can’t run pro-level apps like Final Cut, Logic Pro, Affinity Photo unlike iPad Pros

4 / 5

Performance

The MediaTek chip here is better than the predecessor, but disappointing compared to Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra phone and the current iPad Pro.

3 / 5

Battery

Battery life is better with an extra 2 hours over its predecessor, and the 45W fast charging can fill it back up relatively quickly.

4 / 5

Buy it if

You play a lot of Android games
If you play a lot of games on an Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra offers a fantastic big-screen experience and impressive performance with new gaming software.View Deal

You want a work tablet that’s easy to use
An Android tablet has an easier-to-master software setup than a Windows tablet, and work accounts are easy to load, just like you would on your phone.View Deal

You want to draw, play and have fun
The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is a big tablet for fun, like doodling, gaming and playing with AI. The IP68 rating makes it more durable, too.View Deal

Don't buy it if

You need a serious productivity tool
If you need real power and performance, you’re better off with an iPad Pro or iPad Air.View Deal

You can get a deal on the Tab S10 or S9 Ultra
This is almost the same tablet as the past few years, so if you find the Tab S10 Ultra or Tab S9 Ultra for much cheaper, just buy one of those instead.View Deal

​​You want a laptop replacement
The Tab S11 Ultra’s keyboards are expensive additions that can make the cost a lot higher than a similarly specced laptop.View Deal

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 UltraWhy you can trust TechRadar

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I used the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra for two weeks as a work tablet and my main device for watching content and gaming outside of office hours. I also brought it with me on a holiday to watch movies and play games while in transit. I loaded it with my work accounts and apps, including Slack and Google Meet. I also downloaded SimCity Build It, Age of Empires Mobile and Asphalt Legends — as well as streaming games via Steam Link — to test the gaming features. I paired the tablet with an 8BitDo controller via Bluetooth to complete my gaming setup for this review.

To test the tablet’s durability, I dunked it in my kitchen sink filled with water and rinsed it repeatedly. I did not get the Samsung keyboard with trackpad cover as a test unit, but I paired it with my Logitech MX Keys Mini keyboard and a Logitech MX Anywhere mouse to test it as a laptop replacement. The Tab S11 Ultra was also connected to my ZSUS portable USB-C monitor. I independently tested and benchmarked the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, using software like Geekbench and a battery test for video playback.

First reviewed May 2026