TechRadar Reviews

iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max: two-minute review

Despite the high-end build quality, the 2-in-1 iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max is quite some way behind the competition in terms of mapping, vacuuming, auto bin emptying and mopping. And although its price has dropped from an initial $1,399 / £1,499 to a more reasonable $999.99 / £799, I still consider this bot too expensive for what it offers, especially when compared to the almost sci-fi level of tech that companies like Roborock, Eufy, Dreame and Narwal are fitting to their products.

Although it isn't equipped with an extendable side brush, the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max is very capable at vacuuming hard floors. However, it struggles on carpet, especially if there's a lot of pet hair on it. Its bin-emptying and mopping system, too, are very underwhelming.

In iRobot's defense, the company apparently has some of the best troubleshooting tech support in the business, but then the secret to any good tech is to not require any troubleshooting at all – technology like this should work efficiently, reliably and logically which, sadly, this bot isn't especially good at, at least when compared to the extremely high level of futuristic smarts from the majority of its nearest competitors.

iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max review: price & availability

• List price: $1,399 / £1,499 (regularly discounted to around $999.99 / £799)
• Launched: July 2024

The iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max was announced in July 2024 and went on sale in the US, UK and elsewhere shortly afterwards. It's available to buy direct from iRobot, or via third party retailers like Walmart or Amazon.

At time of writing, this model sits right at the top of the iRobot Roomba range in terms of price and specs. The official list price is $1,399 / £1,499 – firmly in the premium price bracket, and up there with the most expensive models on the market. However, by the time my UK review unit arrived, the price had dropped to £999. At time of submitting this review it's now it's £799 – a huge drop that suggests that iRobot looked closely at the Chinese competition from Dreame, Roborock, Eufy, Deebot and Narwal and felt they had no option but to bring the price crashing down. In the US the price-drop is less, but not insignificant: it's now $999.99.

That's still in the premium bracket, but lower down. And yet, I still think that even the current, discounted price is too big an ask given how far the vast majority of the competition is ahead of the game.

• Value for money score: 2.5 out of 5

iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max specs iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max review: design

• Low-profile bot and attractive dock
• Fixed mop that shifts to sit on top of the bot when not required
• Loud in operation

There's a fair bit to get into here, so I've split the design section into the robot design and the dock design.

Robot design

With its long history in both industrial and military-use robots, US-based iRobot has been at the forefront of robot vacuum design for over two decades. But like any industry that finds favor with the public on a massive scale, it wasn't too long before a flurry of copycats jumped on the bandwagon with a host of new innovations and improved software design, to the point that today iRobot finds itself competing with around 15 other companies, mostly from China, a world–leader in robotics.

Sadly, on evidence of the company's latest machine, the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max, it seems that the brand everyone went to as a first port of call has begun to lag behind the mainstream, with some reused technology and not many striking new innovations.

Let's start with the robot itself. It's fitted with a twin rubber roller system that should work wonders on carpet by beating deep into the pile to release as much dust and debris as possible.

Underneath, you'll find two rubbery brushrolls and a fixed side brush (Image credit: Future)

However, while the rollers seemed perfectly capable on hard floor, they struggled at collecting pet hair from carpet (more on that later). I'm also wondering whether there's a lack of suction power. iRobot is pretty much unique amongst robot vacuum brands in not releasing suction specs, arguing that it's not a good indicator of pickup power. All I have to go on is that the unit offers three suction levels – Quiet, Balanced and High – and that it offers double the 'Standard' pickup power of most of the rest of the iRobot range.

It's a shame iRobot didn't opt for an extendable spinning side brush because this new innovation is very good at stretching into corners where the robot's centrally located brush rollers cannot reach. It's also a shame that iRobot only ever made one robot vac that was D-shaped – the excellent Roomba s9+ – so that even its fixed side brush could reach into any right-angled corner. But then again almost all robot vac manufacturers other than Dyson and Eufy continue with a circular design for their robots, and I know not why.

On the plus side, I'm thrilled to see that this bot is capable of riding over loose hard floor rugs without ruffling them up too much or worse, getting stuck in the middle of a rug mountain.

This bot has a fixed mop pad rather than rotating one (Image credit: Future)

Where things fall away considerably is in the design of the Combo 10 Max's rear-mounted mopping system, at least by today's standards. When robot vacuum manufacturers originally discovered that they could include a wet pad on the rear to mop a floor while the front end did the vacuuming, they opted for a static wet pad that just dragged along behind as the robot moved around.

Then someone noticed that the wet pad was being dragged across any carpet that the robot needed to traverse en route to its next place of work. Roborock solved this conundrum by fitting a mechanism that raised the rear mop a few centimeters whenever the robot was on carpet. It was a revelatory innovation that others would soon adopt for their own products.

However, iRobot went even further with its earlier Combo j7+ model and instead of just raising the mop a few centimeters – which is plenty enough on all but the deepest of carpet pile – it developed a convoluted system that not only raised the mop but placed it on top of the rear of the machine.

Rather than simply raising the mop when not in use, this bot repositions it on top of the machine (Image credit: Future)

The very same system is in use on the Combo 10 Max. Which brings me to one of the biggest disappointments with this machine. You guessed, the nature of static mop itself. Anyone who has ever removed a floor stain using their hand and a wet cloth will know that a few tight circular swirls is more efficient than just swiping from one side to the other.

Consequently almost every other manufacturer has already dropped old-fashioned static mops like this for spinning towel-covered dual circular mop pads or, as in the case of Eufy, a cylindrical spinning towel. Moreover, some models like the Dreame L40 Ultra and Roborock Qrevo Curv even use extendable rear mops that pop out the side to run along skirting boards and around chair legs. By stark contrast – for a premium-spec model at least – the Combo 10 Max sticks to the old dyed-in-the-wool method of simply dragging a very thin and watery mop pad around behind it, albeit with some pressure applied by the weight of the robot itself.

While a static mop like this will sweep a floor clean of most light stains, it's no match for a pair of fast-spinning mops. Furthermore, the act of positioning the mop above the bot when it's not in use leaves unsightly splashes of water all over the top of the bot's shiny rear surface.

The retracting mop pad leaves the top of the robot wet (Image credit: Future)

When it comes to navigation around the home, almost all robot vacs these days use LiDAR, a radar-like laser-based range finder that maps an entire home in mere minutes. Like Dyson, iRobot has stuck to SLAM technology using its tried-and-tested RGB camera, LED headlight and sensor system, but this makes it painfully slow to map an entire floor plan.

However, one good thing with this bot is that its front-mounted RGB camera is pretty good at detecting obstacles. It will often pick up obstacles smaller than those detected by most other models, even those fitted with both LiDAR and a camera. Also, having no LiDAR on top of the machine means the bot can venture under low slung furniture and – if it feels like it – punch through sofa and bed valances, which is something LiDAR-based models cannot do.

A front-mounted RGB camera is used for object detection (Image credit: Future)

The Combo 10 Max is equipped with all the usual technology to detect obstacles like stairs, drop-offs, walls and, as mentioned above, most small items like shoes and cables. However, as you'll read in my performance chapter, this robovac's obstacle avoidance is no better than the excellent Dreame L40 Ultra, though I would say that it's still a cut above some of its competitors.

The Combo 10 Max is also armed with a feature called ‘Dirt Detective' and according to iRobot, it 'creates a cleaning plan based on how often each room is cleaned and how frequently dirt is detected in each room. Selecting Dirt Detective to start cleaning will enable your robot to automatically prioritize the dirtiest rooms and use the most optimal cleaning settings for each.' To be honest, this function is very difficult to analyze since there are no real signals to suggest when it's in operation. But I'll give iRobot the benefit of doubt in this regard.

The great thing about most robot vacs is that they're pretty quiet while they go about their daily chores. Invariably all you will hear is a low-pitched hum as it passes by. Conversely, this model's sound frequency is higher pitched and, while it measures at an average 62dB, the nature of its higher frequency whine can be annoying when it's in the same room.

Dock design

The Roomba Combo 10 Max's AutoWash Dock gets an immediate star for great aesthetics. In fact, iRobot has consistently provided some of the best looking docking stations since the launch of the J7+. Yes, at 44cm in height, 50cm in depth and 40cm in width, it's a pretty large thing to have in the lounge or hallway, but in its favor the ribbed matt black plastic surround is a lot better looking than most other docks I've seen and, of course, the color black is far less noticeable in a home situation.

Like most contemporary robot vacs, this model's dock charges the robot, empties its small bin and cleans its mop. Although iRobot doesn't state the size of the AutoWash Dock's dust bag, it seems to be about average (around 2.5 liters).

The bot empties dust into this dock dust bag (Image credit: Future)

Accordingly, it should hold enough debris in a non-pet household for over a month's worth of cleaning before you need to think about discarding it and fitting a new one (a spare bag is provided in the package). However, if you have shedding pets, you can expect to change dust bags much more frequently – possibly every two weeks.

Since this model also mops, it comes with two larger-than-average rectangular water tanks hidden behind a front door, one for clean water (2 liters) and the other for the dirty stuff (about 1.8 liters).

The dock contains two water tanks hidden behind a door (Image credit: Future)

However, both water tanks have horizontal lids and both tanks are positioned horizontally instead of vertically, which means that the weight of the water forces the back of the containers downward as you pull them out.

If, for instance, the simple clip on the dirty water tank isn't firmly in place and you pull it out without bracing for the weight, the whole contents could easily tip backwards as it leaves the plinth and pour the dirty contents all over the floor. Unlike other models, removing and carrying these tanks to the sink is most certainly a two-handed operation.

The tanks need to be held flat as they pull out horizontally (Image credit: Future)

The Combo Max 10s also performs a weird mop-cleaning routine whereby the robot moves in and out of its housing to run its mop over a ribbed rubber roller. That's in contrast to the way other systems work, where the cleaning mechanism moves back and forth across the mopping pad or, as is the case with most modern hybrids, a spinning system that scrubs the circular mops. This dock also uses a soft fan to dry the dock area after washing the pad but since the pad itself is positioned face down above the robot unit, the pad itself doesn't benefit from much drying at all.

• Design score: 3 out of 5

iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max review: performance

• Decent mopping
• Disappointing suction on carpet
• Dock suction is poor

Again, there's plenty to discuss here, so I've broken this section up into Navigation performance (below), Obstacle avoidance, Vacuum performance, Mopping performance and Dock performance.

Navigation performance

The iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max uses SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) navigation technology, which isn't terrible but also is nowhere near as efficient as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), specifically when it comes to fast and accurate navigation in all levels of light, even complete darkness.

For instance, it took about 30 minutes for the Combo 10 Max to map my open-plan floorspace comprising living room, dining area, kitchen, hallway and passage. A LiDAR-equipped model takes about eight minutes to map the same space.

This bot had real trouble mapping my home (Image credit: Future)

Also, the map it produced was nowhere near as defined as a LiDAR-equipped machine, which produces maps of such accuracy you can see exactly where to select a specific cleaning zone, like a small rug or highlighted section of flooring. LiDAR also allows you to see the robot work in real time and pinpoint its whereabouts using a phone app. Conversely, with this product you may find it tricky to accurately divide one room from another, because it's not particularly clear which bit of the map is which.

To give you some idea how confusing it is to decipher the iRobot map, I endured the following scenario. Firstly, I created a ‘kitchen vac & mop' routine under ‘Favorites' and it mopped the first few feet of kitchen floor, then retracted the mop and vacuumed the kitchen rug. So far so good. However it then completely forgot about the rest of the kitchen (amounting to 70% of the floor space) and went back to its dock to wash the mop. I thought it was just doing a mid-session clean but, no, that was it.

After mop cleaning, this bot left my floors too wet (Image credit: Future)

Round two. I set it off on the same task and this time it went straight to the kitchen rug to vacuum it. Then it started mopping the same section as before, only this time the amount of water left behind on the floor was unacceptably high due to the mop having just been washed. It then trundled back to the dock as before.

This confused me, so I checked the map which, at a glance looked okay until I examined it more closely and noticed that the bot had never fully mapped the kitchen during the dry mapping run it performed the moment I set it up. I expected it to at least learn about this unmapped space when it was in the kitchen vacuuming and perhaps think ‘oh, here's a new part of the floor plan I didn't see earlier. I'll go ahead and amend the map'.

In the end I resorted to resetting the whole system to get it back to the start and remapped the whole house again. Bizarrely, it mapped the entire home accurately the second time around, albeit with weirdly-shaped walls that still make it hard to work out what's what.

Obstacle avoidance

I then performed some obstacle avoidance tests and the results were varied but not too bad it must be said. For my first two obstacle tests I perhaps placed too many obstacles in the bot's path because it cut short both rug cleaning sessions and scuttled back home. Test three with reduced clutter proved more successful, though the Combo 10 Max did ride over the circular dog chew that has similarly flummoxed every other bot in previous tests. Sadly, it also failed to notice the wayward shoe lace. However, it did avoid the sock and the phone cable.

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(Image credit: Future)

Would I rely on it to avoid dog mess? Despite iRobot stating that, like many of its forebears including the j7+ and j9+, the Combo 10 Max will avoid dog waste, I would never trust it to avoid it 100%. But then again, I'd never trust any robot vac to avoid pet waste – it's already happened to me with a previous product and I'm not going down that horrendously smelly toothbrush road again. The moral is – if you have a puppy in the home that hasn't been housetrained yet, do not rely on any robot vac to avoid any messes it makes.

I should finally add that the Combo 10 Max also bumps into walls and furnishings as part of its daily routine and this inevitably adds so many scuffs and scratches to the sides of the unit that it may look 5 years old after just a few weeks of use. However, there is a setting that will reduce this pinball issue at the expense of not performing as thorough a cleaning job along edges and around table legs.

Vacuum performance

I expected much better carpet performance from this machine, especially as it's equipped with twin rubber brush rollers. During my basic rug and living room carpet test, the Combo 10 Max occasionally ruffled up some Labrador hair into long bundled strands that it left behind and, while the robot's small internal bin showed some evidence of hair collection, it turned out that it hadn't collected as much as I expected.

The Roomba Combo 10 Max occasionally left remnants of Labrador hair bundled on the carpet (Image credit: Future)

To check this, I sent the Roborock Qrevo Curv to the same sections of carpet and its bin contained even more hair than the Combo 10 Max – after it had already been there. If you have a lot of hairy pets, this might not be the best robovac for you (head to TechRadar's best robot vacuum for pet hair guide for bots that can handle pet hair).

This what the Roborock Qrevo Curv picked up after the Roomba Combo 10 Max had done a vacuuming cycle on this rug (Image credit: Future)

I then proceeded to embark on some proper pickup tests on both carpet and hard floor using TechRadar's menu of ingredients: raw oats, flour and biscuit crumbs. My Persian-style rug is only about 2.3 x 1.4m but the robot seemed to miss some sections entirely and the areas it did clean – including the specific test area – it didn't do very well. It literally made one speedy pass over the test patch and then started to erratically clean some but not all of the rest of the rug, leaving plenty of flour in its wake. It then went back to base.

The Roomba Combo 10 Max made one speedy pass over my purposeful spillage, then proceeded to head off elsewhere (Image credit: Future)

Worse, while doing this test, it also proceeded to smear more rolled strands of pet hair that had clearly been shed since a previous test. After returning, the dock's incredibly loud suction kicked into action to remove the contents of the bot's bin and you can read about the results of this in a chapter below.

My final test included the same ingredients on my kitchen's wooden floor and it collected the vast majority of detritus in the first pass and then went back and forth over the section several times. It also trundled back to base midway through the kitchen session to have its bin emptied and then headed back to finish the task. Good result.

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One especially annoying aspect with this system is the level of noise it creates. Firstly, the bot's side brush makes an irritating scuttling noise on hard floor and the high frequency whine of the vacuum section is audible from the other side of a room. By comparison, my Roborock Qrevo Curv is almost as quiet as a church mouse.

Mopping performance

Unlike much of the competition that has already moved over to plush spinning mop pads, the Combo Max 10 sticks to the old-fashioned method of dragging a thin, damp mop around behind it. Yes, the mop lifts completely off the floor and out of the way – but then the few centimeters that other models raise their mops is sufficient to prevent any damage to most carpet, bar, say, the deep pile variety. And anyway, some of the very latest bots with revolving mop heads now simply leave them in the dock if not being used.

The retractible mop pad in mopping mode (Image credit: Future)

To give it its dues, the Combo Max 10's mopping is actually pretty decent, despite the lack of any dirt agitating vibration tech like that fitted to some earlier Roborocks. In my kitchen test, it mopped efficiently enough and no worse than some cheaper models I've tested. I also noticed that it also made a few back-and-forth passes over the stain I created so its SmartScrub system feature seems to work okay. Was it as good as a pair of spinning toweling mops? No, but for light mopping duties it'll do.

Simultaneous vacuuming and mopping will leave the suction inlet clogged with damp dust and dirt (Image credit: Future)

However, if set to vac and mop at the same time, this bot will still vacuum over areas it has already mopped and this causes extra dampness around the suction intake which will start to look very messy after a few tasks. Many robot vacs do that, but at least some models now provide the option to vac then mop, rather than do both at the same time.

Dock performance

Perhaps one of the most surprising disappointments I've experienced with the Combo Max 10 is the poor level of the AutoWash Dock's suction when emptying the robot's bin. Aside from being much louder than the norm (around 83dB), it has had continuing trouble emptying a full bin's worth of pet hair.

Firstly, it made a racket with a sound of rushing air and no whoomph sound that all robots make when a clump of hair is sucked from the robot's bin into the cleaning station's dust bag. When I removed the robot's bin, I noticed a large semi-circular clump of pet hair sticking out. This can happen with some robot vacs, especially those with poor docking station suction. So I removed the protruding clump and the rest of the contents were eventually sucked into the AutoWash Dock's large dust bag. Or so I thought.

Hair blocked the onboard bin and prevented it from emptying properly (Image credit: Future)

When I checked the robot's bin again, I noticed a lot of large sand-like particles and a few small pieces of gravel. These should have also been sucked into the main dust bag like every other robot vac I've ever reviewed. This very same anomaly occurred after my carpet and hard floor tests using raw oats, flour and crushed biscuits.

I regularly found debris left in the onboard bin after the auto-empty process (Image credit: Future)

As my photos illustrate, the dock simply refused to suck the majority of oat flakes out of the robot's bin. And that's a major fail in my opinion. Put another way, I wouldn't recommend this vac if you live by the seaside or its cleaning station may struggle to remove all traces of beach sand from the bot's bin.

Regarding the dock's mop cleaning ability, I'm not convinced that a robot moving back and forth over a simple ribbed rubber roller is an efficient way to clean a mop. Yes it removes a lot of detritus and most signs of discolor but in no way can this system compete with the competition for cleanliness. Perhaps worse is the fact that, after having been washed, the mop itself is well and truly sodden, which means any subsequent mopping sessions will have it dragging around a soaking mop instead of a dampened one.

The mop cleaning process leaves mop pads (and subsequently, my floor) soaking wet (Image credit: Future)

Also, the amount of water the cleaned mop leaves on top of the robot is unacceptable for a product in this price band. Yes there is that drying cycle I mentioned earlier, but all that really does is dry the cleaning area in the dock and not the mop itself. And, as we all know, a damp mop usually leads to mustiness and mold, especially after a few days of non-use.

• Performance score: 3 out of 5

iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max review: app

• Decent home screen
• Basic customization
• Quite buggy

While there are some elements of the iRobot app that impress – like the instant home page access to pre-programmed favorite routines – I find it mostly confusing to use, clunky and full of bugs. For instance, I've received error messages whenever I tap on a Favorite routine while that particular routine is in operation. It should either allow you into that setting or remain inoperative. Instead you just get an unhelpful error message that says ‘please try again'.

The lack of LiDAR means the maps lack detail and accuracy (Image credit: iRobot / Future)

As alluded to above, I also find the floor plan map quite tricky to read because it's nowhere near as detailed as that of a LiDAR-based model. In fact, it's primitive and quite blocky. Take my dining room map, for instance. I have a large dog bed against the window but that area is represented by a slanted wall that makes no sense. This made it tricky to locate a precise area in front of the dog bed so I could create a specific zone-cleaning routine.

As you'd expect, the iRobot app provides options to create room dividers, room labels and – if you can work out the map – cleaning zones. It also lets you adjust various parameters like whether you want the dock to dry the mop pad (it doesn't totally dry it), set a child lock and locate the unit when it's lost by emitting a faint sound. You can also command this model using Alexa and Google.

• App score: 2.5 out of 5

Should you buy the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max? Buy it if...

You value aesthetics
This bot has one of the best-looking docks on the market.

You have more hard floor than carpet
The vacuuming is decent on hard floor, and the light mopping is fine too.

You find a really good deal
This robovac is very overpriced at full price, but if you find a good discount, it could be worth considering.

Don't buy it if...

You have pets in the home
The pet hair pickup on this model isn't great, and can easily clog the self-empty mechanism.

You want a no-fuss option
This robot can be hard to control, and the app has a few annoying quirks, too.

You want ultra-quiet operation
Both the robot and cleaning base are noisy in operation.View Deal

How I tested the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max

TechRadar has a set testing regime which I followed to a tee. Aside from having it set to perform some daily cleaning routines, I also tested the model's vacuuming ability using oats, crushed biscuits and floor on both hard floor and medium-pile carpet. I also tested its mopping function on engineered hard wood flooring and how well it navigated various obstacles. Finally, I made notes on the cleaning station's performance at bin emptying and mop cleaning, measured the noise levels of both the robot and its docking station and spent a lot of time getting to know the iRobot app.

Read more about how we test robot vacuum cleaners.

• First reviewed November 2024

DragonTouch Classic 15 Pro Digital Photo Frame two-minute review

Investing in one of the best digital photo frames is a great idea if you have lots of images you want to display, but you don't want the hassle of printing them out. With a digital frame, you can have the latest snaps on display; and such frames even make great gifts for relatives.

The Dragon Touch Classic 15 Pro is a decent mid-sized frame, and would suit being placed on a sideboard or similar, where you can hide the power cable away. While Dragon Touch’s marketing materials show it mounted on a wall, bear in mind that you will have to find a way to conceal the power cable, since there’s no battery-powered option available.

Looks-wise, the Classic 15 Pro is fairly simple and straightforward. There are certainly more attractive designs on the market; but it's inoffensive and unobtrusive, allowing your pictures to take centre stage.

The display is Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution. Photos are a little soft on close examination, but at the distance at which you’re likely to be looking at your images, they appear sharp enough. The frame is bright enough in most conditions, although you might find if positioned in a particularly bright room, then it loses some visibility.

With 32GB of memory built in and Wi-Fi connectivity, you can quickly and easily add (or remove) photos to the frame, while initial setup is super simple, too. If you’re looking for a gift for someone who isn’t particularly tech savvy, then the DragonTouch Classic should be relatively straightforward to use. If you don’t want to send photos via Wi-Fi, there’s a USB port, too.

A word of warning for non-US users, however. Although you can buy this in other territories, it arrives with a fixed plug adapter – as such, you’ll need to buy either a US-World adapter, or a power supply for your own country; just be sure to get the right size to fit the socket.

The DragonTouch Classic 15 Pro digital photo frame is ideal for showing off family photos (Image credit: Amy Davies) DragonTouch Classic15 Pro: Price and Release Date

• $99 / £80 (roughly)
• Available in the US; elsewhere via import
• Look out for deals

At the time of writing, you could pick up the Dragon Touch Classic 15 Pro for $89.99 at Amazon; but the usual price is $99.99. While the frame isn't officially available in the UK, you can import it very easily via Amazon or similar.

This makes it one of the cheapest digital photo frames you can buy, even with international shipping charges applied. In fact, it remains reasonably priced even after factoring in the purchase of an extra power cable.

That said, if you’re not in the US, I’d almost certainly advocate buying a frame that's more readily available in your home territory. Any problems will be more easily resolved; you'll get the correct power cable; and you won’t have to feel guilty about shipping goods across the world.

The frame is available to buy now.

Internal storage is generous, so you should have plenty of room for all your photos (Image credit: Amy Davies) DragonTouch Classic 15 Pro Digital Photo Frame review: specs

The DragonTouch Classic 15 Pro digital photo frame works well on a mantelpiece where you can hide the cable from view (Image credit: Amy Davies) Dragon Touch Classic 15 Pro Digital Photo Frame: Design

• Understated design
• Touchscreen interface that’s quick to setup
• Use an app to quickly transfer your shots

With its white border and matte-black frame, the Classic 15 Pro has an understated look; but that isn't necessarily a criticism, since it means it doesn’t distract from your photos. That said, there are some more interesting / stylish frames out there – for example, wood effect – if that’s more your style.

The DragonTouch frame is quite thick, but it can’t stand without support. Instead, a leg is provided that you can insert to prop up the frame. It does detach, though, so you can turn the frame on its side if you want to display images in portrait orientation. Note that if you leave the frame in landscape format, your portrait images will display in portrait, but only in the central part of the screen.

Note that the frame does offer the ability for mounting to the wall, if you wish. However, you'll need to find a way to hide the ugly black power cable that will likely run in full view down the wall. As such, in my view this frame is far better placed on a sideboard, mantelpiece or similar.

Setup is quick and simple. Once you’ve plugged in the DragonTouch Classic and switched it on, use the touchscreen interface to guide you through setup. Connect it to your Wi-Fi and you can use it with the free "VPhoto” (Android and iOS) app to transfer your photos across.

You can transfer up to 50 images at a time in one quick motion. And because uploading images is app-based, you can even get friends and family to install the same app and send their pictures across to the frame, too. In fact, as long as both the frame and the app is connected, you can send photos from anywhere in the world – so if you want to upload the latest snap of your kid to their grandparents' frame, for example, then you could do just that.

With 32GB of built-in storage, the DragonTouch Classic is likely to happily cater to most people's needs. However, if you do find yourself running short of space, the USB port on the rear of the frame means you can always add some more.

A power cable – a corded plug with a barrel connector – is supplied. The review sample arrived with a US plug, but I’m in the UK. As such, I could either buy a US to UK adapter, or buy a new adapter. However, picking up the right size may prove tricky: there are several available and the size of the unit included isn't listed in the manufacturer’s specifications.

I got around this issue by purchasing a plug from Amazon with multiple size adapters; the correct size in this instance is 2.5/0.7mm. However, it would have been better had the frame arrived with a USB power supply, as you could use it with any of your existing power supplies, or at least more easily find the right one to use with it. Note, too, that it's important to make sure you get the correct voltage / amp. This frame uses a 12V/1A power adapter, for example, whereas others in the Dragon Touch range use 5V / 2A or 12V / 3A adapters.

You can display the DragonTouch Classic 15 Pro digital photo frame in either horizontal or portrait orientation (Image credit: Amy Davies) Dragon Touch Classic 15 Pro Digital Photo Frame: Performance

• Full HD (1920 x 1080) display
• Images look a little soft
• In bright spaces, maximum brightness could be better

So now that you’ve set up the Dragon Touch Classic 15 Pro, how well does it display the images?

Well, the Full HD (1920 x 1080) display is likely good enough for most users. It looks a little soft if you get up quite close to the screen, but since it's likely to be sitting a short distance away on a sideboard or mantelpiece, images will look just fine.

Brightness could be a bit better, though. In low light and standard indoor surroundings, images display fine on the DragonTouch Classic frame; but if positioned near a window in bright daytime settings, the frame could would benefit from being a little brighter than it gets at its maximum brightness setting. In a very bright room, then, images can look a little dull. This is perhaps a relatively minor gripe, but it might be worth thinking about when considering the frame's positioning in your home.

The DragonTouch Classic can be set up to display photos in a slideshow, at different timed intervals and using different transitions, very easily. This gives you superb control over how exactly your pictures will be displayed – you could leave one photo up for hours at a time, or you could have the frame flipping through photos every couple of seconds. Having the flexibility is very handy.

A simple app lets you transfer images across to the frame – others can also send photos remotely (Image credit: Amy Davies) Should I buy the DragonTouch Classic 15 Pro Picture Frame? Buy it if…

You’re looking for a cheap and cheerful digital photo frame
At under $100, the DragonTouch Classic comes in at a great price. It isn't the brightest nor sharpest on the market, but it looks perfectly fine from normal viewing distances. Whether bought for yourself or as a gift, it’s a good compromise between price and quality.

You want a collaborative digital frame

Images can be shared with family and friends quickly and easily via an app.

You want a frame for a sideboard, where you can hide cables

Place the DragonTouch frame on a sideboard or table and you'll easily be able to hide the cable from view. The frame even comes with a stand allowing it to be positioned in both horizontal and portrait format – which is handy.

Don’t buy it if…

You want a frame to wall-mount or move around the home

While this frame can be mounted on a wall, you'll have to consider how best to conceal the power cable; not impossible, but it could prove tricky. In addition, there's no battery-powered option, so you also can’t use it as a “go anywhere” frame.

You’re not prepared to buy an additional power cable

If you’re in the US, the supplied power cable will be fine. But elsewhere, you’ll likely need to buy an additional unit – and you’ll need to make sure you get the correct size, which can be a bit of trial and error.

You want a super-sharp and bright display

If you're looking for the best display possible, then this isn’t it. And note that to get that, you'll likely need to spend far more money than the DragonTouch will set you back.

DragonTouch Classic 15 Pro Digital Photo Frame review: also consider

Aura Walden
The Aura Walden is a super-attractive premium option, offering a larger 15.6-inch screen and a gorgeous finish to its mount and frame. Its app is easy to use and offers free unlimited cloud storage – which definitely gives it the edge over subscription-based products. It does come in at a much higher price, though, and its lower pixel density does show off some pixelation at close range. Read our full Aura Walden review.

Aeezo Portrait 01
If you’re looking to spend even less than the DragonTouch Classic 15 Pro, the $69.99 / £55.99 Aeezo Portrait 01 is likely your best option. It utilizes the Frameo app to allow friends and family to share photos and videos, and offers internal storage or the option to add an SD card / USB stick to give you more space. Unfortunately, it isn't as solid a performer as some others: its 1280 x 800 pixel resolution is much lower and it’s much less bright at 227 nits. Read our full Pexar 11-inch review.

How I tested the Pexar 11-inch Digital Picture Frame

I tested the DragonTouch Classic 15 Pro Digital Photo frame over a period of three weeks. I uploaded many different photos to the frame using the VPhoto app, and asked others to do the same.

I uploaded many types of images, including shots in both portrait and landscape orientation, brightly coloured images and black-and-white vintage shots. I changed the position of the frame and also tried it in different places around my home (and even at a family event) to assess how it looked in different lighting conditions.

I'm a professional photographer and journalist of many years and have a good understanding of how images should look on a display. I tried to think of this from the perspective of somebody who is likely to be an amateur photographer at best, and is simply looking for a frame on which to show off family snaps, considering the price point.

• First reviewed: November 2024
• Read more about how we test

Review info

Platforms reviewed: Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
Available on: Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, PS5 (Spring 2025)
Release date: 6 December, 2024

As an adaptation of its source material, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is nothing short of a resounding success. It captures the overall look and tone of the film franchise perfectly, delivering a globe-trotting adventure that will delight even those with just a passing knowledge of it. It’s also just a sheer joy to play thanks to some incredibly well-realised locations that are brimming with enough secrets to occupy you for hours at a time.

I’ve had some reservations about the first-person combat system since the game was originally revealed, but I can confidently say that developer MachineGames has masterfully made the jump from bombastic shooters to a much scrappier melee system. Whacking legions of Nazis has never been more satisfying and the focus on improvisation practically generates memorable moments, especially if you’re not afraid to experiment with all the tools at your disposal.

There are some things that hold Indiana Jones and the Great Circle back, however, namely a noticeable lack of polish. Progress-blocking bugs are common, although these are thankfully never a huge concern due to an extremely effective auto-save system. There’s also the visuals that, while stunning on Xbox Series X, are simply not up to standard on the less powerful Xbox Series S. Patches are almost inevitably going to address this in the weeks and months to come, but it does dampen an otherwise strong launch.

Popcorn flick

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Set right after the events of the first film in the series, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle tells a self-contained story that, aside from a brief flashback segment and a sprinkling of references, stands on its own two feet. After a hulking man breaks into Marshall College to steal an ancient cat mummy from the university’s archaeology department, Indy is thrust into a race to uncover the secrets of the titular Great Circle, a series of connected ancient sites around the world, and protect it from Nazi archaeologist Emmerich Voss, who wants to harness its power for the expansion of the Third Reich.

The pair have a fantastic dynamic, with a believable and engaging rivalry that easily puts Voss up there with the most memorable villains from the films. A few hours in Indy is joined by Gina Lombardi, a journalist searching for her missing sister. She makes for a great companion, her initial misgivings gradually transforming into a genuine friendship as the plot progresses. The narrative is nothing groundbreaking by any means, but it’s all well-told and conveyed through absolutely stunning cutscenes.

Best bit

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Indy is an absolute snacker. Every map is filled with unique treats to collect, from exotic fruits to biscotti, which you can wolf down for a quick stamina boost. Stopping to stuff my face before a big encounter was a constant source of amusement.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle benefits from some of the best motion capture and animation work that I have ever experienced, surpassed only by the truly boundary-pushing cinematics of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Characters move almost eerily realistically, with sublime faces that make it easy to forget that you’re not seated at the movie theater. Of course, this would mean very little if the voice acting wasn’t also pitch-perfect.

Luckily, the ever-reliable Troy Baker delivers a masterful Indiana Jones and Alessandra Mastronardi seems just as at home dispensing witty retorts as anguished cries at emotional climaxes as Gina. Cutscenes are presented in a near-constant stream, neatly woven between moments of play, and can go on for minutes at a time, but it’s impossible to complain about their hands-off nature when they look and sound this good.

Thinking cap

(Image credit: Bethesda)

The plot guides you through a string of varied locations around the world, from a war-torn Shanghai to a frozen Nazi ship wrecked on top of a mountain in the Himalayas. Each is brilliantly recreated, filled with authentic 1930s details and countless objects to pick up and examine. The choice to accurately represent regional languages and accents is also a great one, really giving each area its own flavor and massively increasing immersion.

While most sections are rather linear, there are three huge open-world areas to sink your teeth into. The first is a stint in Vatican City, where Mussolini's Blackshirts are exploiting the weakness of an ailing Pope to hunt for ancient relics. This is, without hyperbole, one of the greatest environments I have ever explored in a video game.

I spent almost seven hours in it in my first playthrough, plowing through optional objectives and tracking down collectibles, and feel like I barely scratched the surface of what’s on offer. There’s something new to discover every few steps and it’s all interesting and well-designed, rather than just filler. Puzzles are abundant and, for me, perfectly balanced - requiring just the right amount of thought but never becoming frustrating on the moderate difficulty.

The same is true for the ones that you encounter in the story, though these also have an intelligently integrated hint system if you get stuck. Snap a photo of any story puzzle with Indy’s camera for a quick hint or, if you keep going, a detailed explanation of what you need to do. It’s not a system that I needed to use, but I’m glad it’s there for players who would prefer to focus on the action.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Unfortunately, the puzzles are also where I experienced a number of frustrating progress-blocking bugs. Sometimes items required to complete them would simply not spawn in, rendering progress impossible. There were also a number of occasions where Indy’s hands would become stuck - unable to interact with the world. One note made reference to a fireplace, so I climbed into it thinking there might be some kind of hidden door only to fall through the floor and die - I guess you could say I was almost right?

All of these problems were solved by reverting to my last autosave, which are mercifully very frequent, but did once require me to go back even further and agonisingly lose almost an hour of play.

Button masher

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Puzzles and exploration are only part of the picture, though, as combat is a key pillar of the experience too. There is a basic stealth system here, but I always opted to go in as loud as possible whenever the situation would permit it, an approach that I would thoroughly recommend. Thanks to meaty, satisfying punches and a lightning-fast dodge, the melee system leads to thrilling fights. You also have Indy’s trademark whip, which can be used in a number of ways depending on where you aim it.

A quick strike to the hands will disarm most foes, giving you the chance to sweep in and grab their weapon. Aiming for the leg while will see Indy yank it, perfect if you want to send an unsuspecting guard flying off a ledge. You can also pull enemies towards you, grabbing them for a violent beatdown. Almost any object you find can be used as a weapon and bashing Nazis with everything from feather dusters to frying pans is just as cathartic as it sounds.

Guns are also present, though always represent an engaging balance of risk and reward. They are much quicker than fists, but loud and prompt enemies to draw their own - putting you out of action in just a few hits. It’s a well-thought-out dichotomy that makes them ideal in a pinch but stops running and gunning from ever becoming a consistently viable approach. Factor in the numerous upgrades, which are presented as books hidden throughout stages, and you have a formula that has me eager to dive back in for more even after the credits rolled.

That said, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle can suffer from one inescapable shortcoming depending how you play it: its visuals on Xbox Series S. The game looks phenomenal on Xbox Series X, but is just not up to snuff on Microsoft’s weaker machine. Framerates are smooth, but the muddy textures, blurry resolution, low-detail models, and unpleasant lighting spoil most environments - even with the optional high resolution texture pack installed. It’s not impossible to enjoy like this by any means, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect more from a first-party game given the system’s huge user base.

I have my fingers crossed that some kind of visual overhaul is on the way, as this is really the only thing holding me back from much more unreserved, truly glowing recommendation. If you own an Xbox Series X, a powerful gaming PC, or are able to try the game through an Xbox Game Pass subscription, then there’s no reason not to dive in.

Should I play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle?

(Image credit: Bethesda) Play it if…

You want a great Indy Story
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle delivers a fantastic Indiana Jones experience worthy of the big screen. Top-notch voice acting and brilliant cutscenes make every step of the journey a cinematic joy.

You love exploration
Some of the open-world environments in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are among the best ever implemented, brimming with detail and no shortage of things to do. They’re easy to explore for hours at a time.

Don’t play it if…

You’re craving the most polished experience
The annoying bugs and disappointing visuals on Xbox Series S do make me think Indiana Jones and the Great Circle might be best enjoyed when it has a few meaty patches under its belt.

Accessibility

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has a good suite of accessibility options. The size of the UI can be increased for added visibility, or swapped between a few color presets.

There are are number of color filter modes, in addition to high contrast effects and customizable high contrast color options for key items, weapons, and more.

This is on top of multiple difficulty levels for both combat and puzzles or exploration.

How I reviewed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

I played Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for more than 20 hours on both an Xbox Series S 1TB and Xbox Series X.

During that time I completed the entire main story and spent a significant duration exploring each environment. I endeavored to find as much extra content as possible, mastering a number of side quests and optional activities, and plan to dive back in for even more.

On Xbox Series S, I played the game using a 1080p monitor while on Xbox Series X I relied on a 4K Sony TV. In both cases, I used a standard Xbox Wireless Controller. For audio, I brought out my trusty Astro A50 X on Xbox Series S and a SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 on Xbox Series X.

First reviewed December 2024.

Evie Ring: One minute review

The Evie smart ring hit the market with a splash in late 2023, promising to address the otherwise underrepresented women’s health tracking market with features like period tracking and symptom journaling, a pulse oximeter that’s been approved by US regulators, and an open-ring design that accounts for fluctuations in women’s finger sizes throughout the day.

So how does it measure up against the best smart rings? It’s unfortunate for Evie that 2024 has been the year of smart rings, because the goal posts have moved significantly with the release of the Samsung Galaxy Ring and Oura Ring 4. When I saw the Evie smart ring in January at CES 2024, it was a plucky upstart ready to shake up the space; just under a year later, it feels outdated. Parent company Movano actually discontinued the product for several months this year to address concerns in early customer feedback, too, it’s been a rocky start for the Evie Ring.

Such is the fate of many woman-first ventures, and in that respect, I can’t blame Movano for the flaws of the Evie Ring compared to its competition. However, it’s just bad luck and timing that many of its major health-tracking competitors have brought features like ovulation tracking and blood temperature sensing up to speed, even if none of those competitors opt for a woman-first design as Evie does.

Still, the Evie Ring is relatively affordable, especially given that there’s no additional subscription fee, and if you want a device more for general health and wellness purposes rather than activity tracking, it’ll cover most bases.

It’s worth highlighting that I tested the device in the UK, where the ring has yet to be released, and I was therefore using a TestFlight version of the app on iOS; however, the experiences I’ve described below are consistent with those of other reviewers and users who’ve tried Evie in the US. And, while Evie also announced the addition of further data insights as of September 2024, I can’t see any users or reviewers online talking about these, nor did they appear in my TestFlight app. As of writing, the Evie Ring works with both iOS devices and the recently-added Android OS 12 and above support.

Evie Ring: Price and availability

• $269, with UK pricing and release date TBC
• Released in Spring 2024

The Evie smart ring is fairly affordable at $269, and is available in sizes 5 to 12 in gold, silver, and rose gold. Before purchasing, you can order a ring-sizing kit – I’d recommend using this at the different points of your cycle to ensure that you don’t end up with a slightly gappy ring. While a UK release date of September 2024 had been mooted, at the time of writing we don’t know when it will officially launch in the UK.

Unlike some of its competition, the Evie Ring is entirely subscription-free, making it an attractive offer for those who can’t quite justify the Oura Ring 4’s monthly $5.99 subscription and higher price tag (starting at $349 / £349). It comes with a ring box-style charger, which charges via USB-C. However, it’s a far more limited experience compared to its competition.

• Value score: 4/5

Evie Ring: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Open design to allow for bloating
• Kitted with three notched sensors
• Up to one meter waterproofing

Arguably the standout feature in Evie's toolkit is its design – it’s an open band that can accommodate the micro-fluctuations in finger thickness that occur throughout a woman’s cycle (or even just throughout the day!). It’s a thoughtful inclusion that no other smart ring on the mass market has considered, and especially as I approach my period it’s a godsend.

This does come with a trade-off, in that the ring’s hardware has to be crammed into a smaller area. For my very slim fingers, it’s a little on the thick side, meaning that when I wear it on my index finger and I’m using my phone it can really dig in, and I’m quite aware at all times that I’m wearing it. However, that’s fairly standard across smart rings I’ve worn, and the open design massively improves comfort compared to those. I also find the gap means the ring gets caught in my hair a lot, which can be a little grating, but it’s dense enough that I haven’t noticed it catching and pulling on my clothes, at least.

(Image credit: Future)

My review unit was the gold colorway, which looks just gorgeous; most people didn’t even realize that it was a smart ring, and at least one person thought I’d been proposed to. However, its titanium PVD coating does scratch fairly easily; after just a week of wear, I noticed a small scratch on its surface. It’s a shame, as the ring is waterproof for up to one meter of submersion, meaning you can wear it while showering and doing the dishes, so it’s otherwise pretty hardy.

On the inside of the ring are three notches housing the sensors; a three-axis accelerometer, infrared as well as red and green LEDs used by the PPG sensors, and skin-temperature sensors. It also comes with a ring-box charging case which is a little more plasticky and cheap than I’d ideally like for an otherwise beautiful product.

• Design score: 4/5

Evie Ring: Features

(Image credit: Future / Movano Health)

• Blood oxygen and heart rate monitoring on-demand
• Menstrual tracking is limited
• Workout tracking very basic

The Evie Ring offers a fairly well-rounded feature set, offering vital metrics like heart rate and blood oxygen levels on-demand through its Spot Check feature, as well as constant heart rate monitoring throughout the day. While you sleep it also analyses time spent in different sleeping zones, and in addition to tracking your heart rate and blood oxygen levels it will measure your heart rate variation average, respiration rate average and skin temperature variation average; however, these are presented as static figures rather than graphs you can extrapolate from and explore.

In terms of activity tracking, the Evie Ring can track your steps and workouts. Auto-workout detection is planned for early next year, but for now you have to use the app to tell Evie that you’re about to work out for a set amount of time. However, you can’t specify what kind of workout you’re doing, meaning granular insights into how different forms of exercise affect your vitals aren’t possible. It logs your active minutes and estimated calories burned, informing its algorithms with your menstrual cycle data to give more accurate readings.

Otherwise, the standout feature is the app-based journal feature, which tracks your menstrual cycle and symptoms. In addition to noting your energy levels and mood on a scale of low to high, you can also note your general mood with one of 13 tags, albeit fairly arbitrary ones, as well as your menstrual flow level (from light to heavy), symptoms, vaginal discharge consistency, and any other stressors like alcohol, illness, injury, travel, or stress.

However, there’s lots that Evie doesn’t do, and a few areas where I feel it’s a little misleading; for instance, menstrual cycle tracking. While smart rings like the Samsung Galaxy Ring use skin temperature data to predict your cycles, Evie’s app seems to solely rely on your logging to predict your next period, much like many standardised menstrual tracking apps.

Most frustratingly, while the Evie can measure all of the data points mentioned above, it falls short in the analysis and presentation of the data across the board. Its biggest competitors offer all kinds of learnings off the back of the user’s health data; Evie doesn’t deliver helpful insights or analysis into trends. There’s also no way to log specific events at certain times of the day, and while the sleep stage graph is useful, there’s no suggestion on what it means or how to improve your sleep.

Plus, there’s no inclusion of features like an energy score, and for me this is a huge missed opportunity, given that menstrual symptoms can impact our sleep as well as our readiness for activity, and that some studies have shown hormone and iron levels can, too.

• Features score: 3/5

Evie Ring: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Battery performs as described, but it's short anyway
• Lack of meaningful data analysis
• Some metrics lack context

Performance is another mixed bag for the Evie Ring. On the one hand, it does broadly deliver on all the fronts promised by manufacturer Movano; however some of the specs and features aren’t quite on a par with its biggest competitors.

Once you’ve paired and set up your ring, you’ll choose three goals to work towards from five options: steps, workout sessions, mood & symptom tracking, sleep, and active minutes. I chose the latter three, as my main focus right now is general wellness and mental health as opposed to training and fitness.

On the home page of the app you’re greeted by an Apple Fitness-style ring, which is filled as you complete your daily goals. As someone who’s suffered the negative impacts of calorie counting I didn’t love that calories burned was a fixed category here, but broadly speaking I think Evie does very well at sensitively handling the journey towards wellness and celebrating wins. I particularly like the journaling element of the app, and I found it useful to go back and see if I’m regularly particularly anxious or low-energy in the days before my period.

(Image credit: Future / Movano Health)

There’s a slight delay in data synchronization between the ring and the app, which can be mitigated somewhat by keeping the app open at all times; however, there were a few instances where it didn’t generate my sleep data at all until later in the day. Evie also can’t tell when I’m taking a nap, only logging sleep between 9pm and 10:30am, and there’s no option to force-track sleep, which left my sleep count completely skewed a few times. Similarly, a few times I had disturbed sleep where I awoke for an hour before falling back asleep, and Evie didn’t log the further sleep session.

The data that does register in the app also isn’t always the most useful; sure, I get my nightly temperature variation while I sleep, but it’s an average rather than an hour-by-hour report, and you only get it as part of your sleep metrics. There’s little-to-no analysis provided, whether that’s trends or suggested improvements, which again diminishes the actual impact the ring has on your health and wellness. Still, at least the data does seem to be mostly accurate; I tested the Evie Ring against my Apple Watch Series 5, and both my BPM and sleep stages broadly lined up, though the Evie Ring routinely struggled to identify deep-sleep stages, implying that I got an average of 10% deep sleep per night versus the 20% my Apple Watch registered.

Its battery life is shorter than much of its competition too; Movano advertises this as 4+ days, but generally mine lasted just shy of that unless I had a fairly inactive week. There’s also no integration with other health or menstrual tracking apps, which is a huge missed opportunity given the lack of actionable health insights generated by Evie.

• Performance score: 3/5

Evie Ring: Scorecard Evie Ring: Should I buy?

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

You’re on a budget

The Evie smart ring is one of the most affordable smart rings available while still offering a decent feature and sensor set - and there’s no subscription cost.

You’re looking to ease in to smart ring tracking

At its relatively low price point and with its simple features, the Evie Ring is a great option for first-timers, and especially if your focus is basic menstrual tracking.

You primarily want to log symptoms

Evie is a very menstrual cycle tracking-first device, and while there’s room for improvement in the analysis and presentation of this data, few health trackers offer this level of focus.

Don't buy it if...

You want fitness-first tracking

While Evie does offer fitness tracking features, this device is primarily geared towards wellness and menstrual tracking.

You want in-depth insights

Evie doesn’t offer the granular data analysis and learnings offered by its competition.

You want the most accurate readings

Sleep tracking data favored light and REM sleep, and certain metrics offer limited tracking.

Also consider How I tested

I wore the Evie Ring for two months to assess its menstrual tracking features and carry out comprehensive testing. For instance, I drained the battery down completely multiple times and timed recharging, and slept with it on almost every night. In terms of exercise, I did cardio HIIT workouts at home and went on a few runs, and compared all available health metrics to an Apple Watch 5. I used all of the app features such as journaling and goal-setting.

This review first appeared in issue 358 of PC Pro.

Asustor’s Nimbustor 4 AS5404T is a four-drive NAS enclosure aimed at demanding home users or small offices. It’s a performance-focused NAS thanks to the fairly muscular Intel Celeron N5105 processor and 4GB of RAM. At the back you’ll find two 2.5GbE ports, along with two of the NAS’s three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 sockets – the other one is easily accessed at the front.

The NAS can mount up to four 3.5in or 2.5in SATA disks in various RAID configurations including RAID5, 6 and 10. Unusually, it also has four NVMe slots. You could configure the AS5404T with a four-SSD RAID5 volume, alongside a slower disk-based storage pool. Alternatively, you could use an SSD cache to accelerate disk performance, or compromise with one or two SSDs on cache duty and others serving as a fast volume.

This is a refreshing-looking NAS, especially if you love bright lights (Image credit: Future)

You can upgrade the enclosure’s installed RAM up to 16GB, though you’ll have to remove the 4GB it comes with. If you need to add storage, you can do so with up to three Asustor AS6004U expanders, allowing for a total 16 disks. Asustor says this NAS can hit maximum read and write speeds of 599MB/sec, but you’ll need to be using both network ports for that.

We’re not wild about this unit’s physical setup: there’s tool-less access for 3.5in disks, but the caddies release with a horrific snapping sound that had us checking to confirm we hadn’t broken the catches. The caddy clips are hard to remove, too. You’ll need a screwdriver to open the case and access the NVMe slots, but the SSDs themselves simply clip into place.

We configured the AS5404T with four 1TB hard disks in a RAID5 array and two 1TB WD Black SSDs configured as a separate RAID1 volume. Unusually among modern NAS servers, Asustor’s operating system defaults to the EXT4 file system, though Btrfs is an option. This NAS insists on synchronizing new RAID1 arrays, but at least with our SSDs the process completed within an hour.

Connected via a single 2.5GbE connection, the AS5404T got off to an impressive start.

The Nimbustor 4 provides blistering performance speeds (Image credit: Future)

It performed strongly through the ATTO disk benchmark, recording much quicker data rates than 1GbE competitors. With 16KB and 2MB file operations, it also showed a clean pair of heels to 2.5GbE rivals from QNAP. Things were far less impressive with the PCMark 10 Data Drive benchmark, however, on which the AS5404T was one of a few NAS enclosures we tested to record an inexplicably low score. We always confirm real-world data speeds with simple Windows file copies, however, and here the AS5404T was supreme, managing 85MB/sec when writing 11GB of files.

Performance was consistent when we tested its SSD storage, giving near-identical ATTO results with an SSD volume, and again when using SSD caching. Cached disk write speeds increased slightly in our file-copy test, although read speeds actually went down a little. We also recorded similar performances when we reinstalled this NAS with two Synology 4TB disks.

Asustor’s ADM operating system is certainly comprehensive (Image credit: Future)

Asustor’s ADM operating system is comprehensive and easy to use, though we did spot a couple of oddities in this test. Most significantly, the AS5404T couldn’t be browsed from either a Chromebook or our Windows 11 test PC unless we turned on SMB1, although its shares could be accessed without it – so long as we entered the drive path by name.

One of the Nimbustor’s strongest points is Asustor’s App Central, which at the time of writing offered an incredible 272 apps, spanning networking, surveillance, productivity and entertainment. If you’re chiefly interested in the latter, an HDMI port gives you a way to view multimedia content on an attached screen, but you can organize and serve photos or other media through the likes of Plex.

Don’t let this NAS server’s media talents put you off if you’re buying for business, however. With blistering performance even when configured with two disks, the AS5404T is a solid starting package for a small business with big plans. If your micro office goes macro, you can add more disks, accelerate it with SSDs, beef up the memory, and even connect another enclosure. It’s our Labs Winner.

We've also ranked the best small business servers.

This review first appeared in issue 358 of PC Pro.

As its name suggests, the Flashstor 6 is an all-flash NAS enclosure, with space for up to six NVMe SSDs. It’s aimed mostly at enthusiast use in the home, so comes with useful multimedia features such as HDMI and S/PDIF audio outputs. It’s well specified elsewhere, too, with a pair of 2.5GbE network ports, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports and two USB-A 2 ports. The supplied 4GB of memory is upgradable to 16GB.

It doesn’t have any hard disk slots, but you could add bulk storage with up to two Asustor AS6004U expansion units, each accepting up to four 3.5in SATA drives. If six SSDs isn’t enough, for £744 inc VAT (from Amazon) you could choose the 12-slot Flashstor 12, which is otherwise broadly the same.

Most NAS enclosures offer tool-free setup, but you’ll need a screwdriver to pop off the cover here, while each NVMe just clips in. The FS6706T supports the same range of RAID formats you’d expect from any six-bay device, though we tested it using two 1TB WD Black SSDs, arranged in a RAID1 array. Asustor’s ADM software defaults to the EXT4 file system, but you can choose Btrfs.

(Image credit: Future)

It will come as no surprise that the FS6706T performed strongly. We tested it with a single 2.5GbE connection, over which it comfortably outpaced any NAS limited by a 1GbE connection. That said, it didn’t eclipse disk-based 2.5GbE devices, with Asustor’s own Nimbustor 4 Gen2 proving slightly quicker. As with the Nimbustor 4, this NAS was inexplicably slow on the PCMark 10 Data Drive benchmark, but made up for it with quick real-world copy times in Windows 11. It’s worth pointing out that this device might have been even faster if we’d been able to test it with a six-drive RAID5 array.

While you could use this NAS as the hub for a small business, it’s far more likely to see use as a multimedia store and server for demanding home users and gamers. It’s well suited to this role, with Asustor’s App Central offering an amazing 273 apps, spanning everything including content, download and media management, along with productivity, surveillance and streaming.

This NAS has the horsepower to transcode video content without getting bogged down, so it’s even suitable for a household with a few power users. However, its lack of disk support makes it less flexible than the Nimbustor 4 Gen2, which accepts up to four disks and four NVMe SSDs, and proved just as fast in our tests. In most cases, we’d pay the extra £80 for that.

We also rated the best software for small businesses.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024): Two-minute review

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite has been our pick of the best Kindle for a very long time as it's managed to balance price and features quite well. The 12th generation Paperwhite maintains that same ethos to some degree, gaining a brand-new display that leverages the latest E Ink Carta 1300 screen tech.

This not only adds a touch more contrast, which makes the text on the screen darker and thus easier to read, but it also makes page turns a smidge quicker. Honestly, in real-world use, you won't find it all that different from the 11th-generation Kindle Paperwhite, but you will if you have them both side by side and look really carefully. So while I won't say it's a massive upgrade over the 2021 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, it's definitely worth upgrading if you're using an older Kindle.

I also appreciate the couple of millimeters more of display I get on the 2024 Paperwhite, which is now a 7-inch screen compared to the previous 6.8-inch, but again, it's not really that significant.

What is a little significant is the slight performance boost that Amazon has managed to inject into the 12th-gen Paperwhite. During my testing, I had no issues whatsoever – page turns were near instantaneous, I had absolutely no slowing down even after hours of reading, not a single instance of ghosting and, importantly, the battery life is truly impressive. After three weeks of use, I am yet to charge the Paperwhite for the first time.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

My biggest issue is the Paperwhite's design: the rear panel is so darn smooth, that I often feel like it's slipping through my fingers. That means I'm trying to grip it tighter, which means my thumbs are extended further over the display and the number of accidental touches I have are a little annoying. Admittedly a case will solve that problem, but that's an additional cost to tack onto what is already an expensive ereader.

So while it still builds a case for still being the best Kindle, I think the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2024) might represent better value for some users, offering more storage, some resistance to salt water and the option for wireless charging.

Amazon's penchant for hiking up the price of its Kindles with each new generation is disappointing. While I'm struggling to justify the cost of the base Amazon Kindle 2024, I suppose I can get behind the 12th-gen Paperwhite's price hike over its predecessor, but I'm not entirely convinced it represents good value anymore. This is compounded by the fact that, in some markets (like Australia), none of the 2024 Kindles support Audible playback.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: price & availability

• Announced October 2024; available to buy now
• Launch price of $159.99 (with ads) / £159.99 (with ads) / AU$299
• A Signature Edition is available for a higher price but double the storage

As I've said above, Amazon keeps increasing the price of its Kindles with each new release and that means at $159.99 / £159.99 / AU$299, the 12th-generation Paperwhite is the most expensive yet and, in my humble opinion, no longer very good value. And that's the price of the ad-supported version in the US and UK (Australia gets only the ad-free model). If you don't want ads on your lock screen, you're shelling out $179.99 / £159.99 in the US and UK respectively.

You could argue that this price is fine for a 7-inch ereader with 16GB of storage, but for a little more money – $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$359.95 to be precise – you can get a color ereader with a screen of the same size, double the storage, a more ergonomic design (with page-turn buttons) and, importantly, writing capabilities with the Kobo Libra Colour. I suppose I might even be inclined to pay $199.99 / £199.99 / AU$329 for the 2024 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition for the metallic colors, double the storage and wireless charging, as well as performance just as good as the standard Paperwhite.

If you don't want all that, you can save money by opting for the Kobo Clara BW ($129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95), which gets you the exact same display, just in 6 inches, and very similar specs as the Paperwhite.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: Specs

Amazon has stopped listing some specs for its ereaders, so I have no idea what CPU the Paperwhite is using or the battery capacity.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: Design & display

• Available in 3 colors in the US and UK, only one in Australia
• Sharp, crisp 7-inch display
• Very slim design with no grip

Hey, Amazon, what exactly has Australia done to not deserve the new colorways of the standard Paperwhite? I'm a little annoyed that I get only the black model Down Under (where I am based) and is the version I was sent for this review. It's not a huge complaint, but I do admit to a little FOMO. Other markets can get the Paperwhite in new Jade and Raspberry options.

Nothing else has really changed in terms of design, although the standard Paperwhite is now 7 inches (compared to the 11th generation's 6.8 inches). The body remains plastic which, incidentally, has some recycled materials in it – not as much as Kobo uses, though.

The plastic chassis does make the Paperwhite look cheaper than its price tag, but the real issue for me is the rear panel. It's so smooth that I can feel it slip through my fingers (literally) when the bus or train I'm on brakes suddenly. I love how slim it is, but that too exacerbates the lack of grip, making it far from ergonomic.

To compensate for its slipperiness, I found myself holding the device with my thumb on the screen itself as the side bezels are still very slim. As nice as that looks, it's not ideal for single-hand use and I kept suffering from accidental page turns from my finger on the screen. It's possible this won't affect all users, but it is an annoyance to me.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Given how easy it might be to drop the standard Paperwhite, I'm glad it retains its IPX8 waterproof rating, which means it can stay submerged in 2 meters of water for up to an hour. Just don't drop it in the sea as the salt water will corrode the USB-C port first and, if it seeps in, will start eating away at the motherboard too. The Signature Edition, on the other hand, will survive a quick dunk in the sea.

The rounded corners and edges will be familiar to any Kindle user, as will the be power button on the lower edge. This placement of the power button bothers one of my colleagues, but I don't have any issues with it. In fact, I love the little feedback it gives when pressed. Beside the power button, in the center of the bottom edge, is the USB-C port for charging.

The only embellishments on the device are the word 'Kindle' on the lower bezel and the Amazon logo on the rear panel. As with most black ereaders and tablets, the 2024 Paperwhite is a smudge magnet, but I suspect the two colorways will also suffer similarly. The black one, in fact, begins to look very scruffy within days of use – even just leaving it on a table, it will pick up dust and the texture of the plastic is such that it's hard to wipe away.

If that bothers you like it does me, I think a case becomes a must, and it will add a little extra grip too, but it is an additional cost to bear.

The rear plastic panel is very smooth and is a magnet for smudges and dust (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The shift to the 7-inch display has allowed Amazon to update the display to the latest E Ink Carta 1300 technology, which adds more contrast to the text on the screen. The resolution remains at 300ppi though, which is standard and plenty for such a device. The screen supports a dark mode, has 16 levels of grayscale and hits a maximum brightness of 94 nits.

Compared to the 2024 entry-level Kindle, the Paperwhite has a naturally warmer hue (much like paper) which, when combined with the amber LED lights, can make the display very yellow indeed. It might look odd to someone who's not used an ereader with adjustable light temperatures, but it helps the eyes from getting strained too much. If you're like me, who reads for four to five hours a day (mostly at night), you'll appreciate the yellower screen. The LEDs do a good job of evenly lighting the entire display – I found no shadows or areas of excessive brightness during my testing.

• Design & display score: 3.5 / 5

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: User interface

• Linux-based operating system
• 16GB of storage, but only 11.5GB available for use
• Easy-to-use UX, but home screen can feel cluttered

One theory I have for why the Kindles became so popular so quickly is their user-friendly interface. They've always been simple devices, with not a lot of extraneous options in Settings, and that ethos is still maintained today.

If you're already familiar with a Kindle, you won't find anything new on the 2024 Paperwhite. Even if you've never used a Kindle before, it won't take long to wrap your head around it, with setup being as simple as following the prompts on the screen. Once you've set up your Amazon account and logged in, there are only two tabs to explore – the Home screen and the Library.

I personally find the Kindle Home screen unnecessarily cluttered, constantly pushing me into the Kindle Store. If that doesn't bother you, it's a good starting point for finding your next read. However, keep in mind that once you start getting your content from the Kindle Store, you're stuck within Amazon's walled garden.

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(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

You can sideload books of course, but you will need to jump through some hoops as Amazon no longer allows you to plug in a Kindle to drag-and-drop files via a wired connection. You will need to use the Send To Kindle platform, which allows you to wirelessly add content to your Kindles via cloud sync. The good news is that if you ever change (or upgrade) your Kindle, even your sideloaded titles will remain synced to your Amazon account and you can just tap them individually in the Library app of your new Kindle to download them again.

There's no specific tab for Settings, but swipe downwards from the top of the screen and you'll be presented with a few options, including turning on dark mode, cloud sync, flight mode and, of course, accessing all the Settings options.

The different Settings are simple and quite literally bare bones, although please note that if you are in Australia or any other region where there's no Audible support on the 2024 Kindles, you won't even see Bluetooth as a connectivity option (which is available in the US and UK).

There's decent file support on the Kindle now, although, with MOBI now mostly dead, Amazon has had to relent and allow native EPUB support, which is the format most ebooks come in.

As part of the Amazon ecosystem, Goodreads is available on all Kindles and American users will be able to borrow library books too. The latter option is, however, not available anywhere else.

• User interface score: 4 / 5

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The warm light setting is good for long hours of reading (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 2

The warm light setting is good for long hours of reading (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: Performance

• Marginally faster than previous model
• Speed enhancement seems mostly software related
• Excellent battery life, even at higher brightness levels

Ereaders are such simple devices that there's really no benchmarking to run to determine performance. However, as someone who's tested several of the most recent ebook readers, it's fair to say I can judge by doing a comparison with the competition.

The 2024 standard Paperwhite wins in terms of screen responsiveness speed and overall performance over even the Onyx Boox Go series ereaders and the Kobo Clara BW too. The former, incidentally, has a more powerful processor than what Amazon has typically used for its Kindles (although the current CPU has not been revealed) and yet the Paperwhite surpasses the Boox Go 6 (which I have been testing alongside this).

Page turns are near instantaneous and not once did I have issues with ghosting (where a very light impression of the previous page remains on screen after a page turn). Reading graphic novels on its an absolute pleasure, especially since the Frame view also opens instantly when you double-tap.

Like the entry-level 2024 Kindle, I think the performance boost is purely software-based rather than being a new CPU. It could be both, too, but Amazon isn't revealing what chipset it's using under the hood here.

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Reading graphic novels on the 2024 Paperwhite is fantastic because... (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Image 2 of 2

..the Frame View feature expands each individual frame on the page (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

I'm using the massive operating system as the basis of my performance theory here. As with the base 2024 Kindle, the OS on the Paperwhite takes up 4.5GB of the total 16GB storage available on the device – if memory serves, that's 2GB more than on the 11th generation Paperwhite.

While I am miffed about the lower available storage on the Paperwhite (which reduces its per-dollar value), I'm glad for whatever boost Amazon has given the tablet. Typing via the on-screen keyboard when setting up my Wi-Fi network or any other touchscreen functionality was seamless and quick. And by 'quick' I mean it's as good as it's ever gotten on an e-paper screen – don't expect the same performance as your phone or multimedia tablet.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

What's probably the most impressive feat is the 2024 Paperwhite's battery life. I've had it for about three weeks now and I started using it immediately out of the box at 72%. Three weeks later it was just at 45%, and that's with about 2-3 hours of reading and the screen brightness level at 8 (warm light level of 4). Admittedly that's a low brightness setting that won't put too much pressure on the battery, but I only charged the Paperwhite once, just to see how quickly it topped up. At this rate, I could eke out at least 10 weeks of use between charges, more if I don't read as much as I usually do.

Amazon claims it will take the 12th-gen Paperwhite under 2.5 hours to go from empty to full when using a 9W power adaptor. That sounds about right to me – plugged into the USB-A port of my 65W charger (which offers up to 22.5W of power) and using a USB-A to C cable, it went from 32% to 50% in about 20 minutes. That might have been a touch faster if I was using a USB-C to C cable, but that was being used on another device at the time of testing. Still, that's not bad numbers at all.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar) Should I buy the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024)? Buy it if...

You're upgrading from an old Kindle
If you've been holding on to a very old Kindle that's on its last legs and it's time for an upgrade, the 2024 Paperwhite is a worthy option if you want to stick with Amazon.

You want the best in e-ink technology
The E Ink Carta 1300 on the 2024 Paperwhite is fantastic. Not only is it the best grayscale e-paper display yet, but Amazon has optimized it well and made it snappier than before.

You'd love a lightweight 7-inch ereader
For its size, the Paperwhite feels ridiculously light in the hand, despite being a couple of grams heavier than the previous model (hey, the added millimeters have to go somewhere!). I'm just not quite sold on its ergonomics.

Don't buy it if...

You're already using the 2021 Paperwhite (11th generation)
Yes, the screen is better, but other than that, there's not a whole lot that's different. The older model is still pretty good when it comes to performance and, in real-world use, the slightly faster screen response time of the 2024 edition won't feel very different.

Value for money matters to you
While its price tag can be justified to some extent, you can get much more value from something like the Kobo Libra Colour. And if you happen to live outside the US, the Kindle won't even let you borrow library books and, in some markets, there's no Audible support either.

You'd prefer a color ereader
If you read comics, manga or graphic novels more, then a color ereader might be the better investment. After all, they were meant to be viewed in color. The Frame View feature on a Kindle makes it even better for graphic novel readers, which makes a strong case for the Kindle Colorsoft.

Also consider

Kobo Clara BW
Sporting the same screen tech, just in a 6-inch size, the Kobo Clara BW is my pick of the best ereader in the mid-range price point. However, given how expensive the Kindles are getting, it makes a compelling case for being the best budget ereader.
Read my in-depth Kobo Clara BW review for more details

Kobo Libra Colour
In the 7-inch screen size class, the Kobo Libra Colour is the best ereader overall. It balances price and features remarkably well, plus it's a lot more ergonomic than the Paperwhite. It's also got stylus support if you wish to use the writing features, but you will need to buy that separately. Even then, I still think it represents better value for money than the Paperwhite.
Read my full Kobo Libra Colour review to find out more

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2024)
Admittedly it's more expensive than the standard Kindle, but the loss of 4.5GB to the OS on it makes me think there's better value in opting for the Signature Edition. Double the storage and the option of wireless charging justifies the higher price tag better, although I will admit the wireless charging is a little superfluous.
Read our full Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2024) review to learn more

How I tested the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024)

• Used daily for three weeks to read
• Borrowed titles from the Prime Reading service, plus downloaded existing books already available in my Amazon account
• Tested battery life at various brightness levels

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

As soon as I received the 2024 Paperwhite for this review, I logged into my Amazon account, which promptly gave me access to my existing library that was cloud-synced when I sideloaded titles onto an older device. All I had to do was tap on the ebooks I wanted on the Paperwhite (so none of the ones I'd already finished reading) and I was off.

Unfortunately, because I'm based in Australia, I have no Audible access on any of the new Kindles, so I cannot comment on how easy it would be to pair Bluetooth headphones, but I hope it's smooth and once paired, you should be able to listen to audiobooks if you have a subscription.

I read on the Paperwhite daily for the three-week period I set aside for testing, spending about 2-3 hours each day with it. I used the Paperwhite at various light settings to check how that affected the battery drain.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed December 2024]

Formovie Cinema Edge: one-minute review

The Formovie Cinema Edge is a follow-up on the well-regarded Formovie Theater, a projector that gained fame upon release for its Dolby Vision high dynamic range support – a rare feature among the best 4K projectors. Rather than being a shiny, new upgrade, the Cinema Edge is a pared-down model with a lower price. While it launched at around $2,199 (about £1,420 / AU$2,775), it has since settled at $1,799, making it a true budget ultra short throw (UST) projector offering.

The Formovie Cinema Edge's ALPD ((Advanced Laser Phosphor Display) laser light engine delivers a reasonably bright and sharp 4K image that looks great in the dark, and decent in well-lit environments. It has Google TV for streaming and a pair of 15-watt speakers, giving you a complete package, though both elements could perform better.

While it’s relatively cheap compared to other examples of the best ultra short throw projectors, the Formovie Cinema Edge has serious competition. I recently reviewed the Hisense PX3-Pro ($3,500), and the difference in image quality between the two is stark, with the dazzling brightness, color, and contrast of the PX3-Pro’s picture beating the Formovie Cinema Edge hands-down. The PX3-Pro is considerably more expensive, but even the older but still available Hisense PX2-Pro (around $2,000) has a better-looking picture.

Formovie Cinema Edge review: price and release date

• Release date: September 2024
• MSRP: $2,499
  

The Formovie Cinema Edge’s pricing is a bit all over the place. It launched at a $2,199 (about £1,650 / AU$3,250) pre-order price, though Formovie lists the retail price at $2499. Meanwhile, both Amazon and ProjectorScreen.com in the US now have the price listed at $1,799 – a steep decrease.

The Cinema Edge's laser light engine viewed from top (Image credit: Future) Formovie Cinema Edge review: Specs

Connections include 3 HDMI 2.1 ports (1 with eARC) (Image credit: Future) Formovie Cinema Edge review: design and features

• All-in-one design for a simple theater setup
• Front adjustable feet limit angle corrections
• Google TV cumbersome to navigate

The Formovie Cinema Edge is a compact UST projector standing just over 3.5 inches tall. Width is 17.95 inches and it’s a little over a foot deep. With a 0.22:1 throw ratio, it can sit extra close to the wall, with only a 33 cm distance needed to project a 120-inch picture.

The Formovie Cinema Edge sits on three feet with only the front two offering height adjustments. This means unless you’ve got a stand and wall that sit perfectly perpendicular (or at just over a 90-degree angle) to each other, you’ll need an adjustable console underneath the projector. The projector does support digital keystone adjustments, but these should be used only after making physical adjustments, as digital keystone processing increases latency and reduces picture resolution.

The Cinema Edge packs in the Google TV smart TV interface and 30-watt speakers, letting you quickly get up and running with all your cinema needs. That said, all-in-one packages can struggle to do everything well.

The processor running Google TV on the Formovie Cinema Edge is fairly weak. It stumbles when opening settings while content is playing, and that can be trouble if you’re trying to tweak picture settings while evaluating the impact of your adjustments on the picture. Navigating the operating system can prove a little tedious as well. Sluggishness is a common ailment for projectors running Android or Google TV, and the Cinema Edge falls prey to it.

It’s small fries, but if you’re hoping to take the Formovie Cinema Edge out of the box, set it down, and experience its magic right away, you’ll need to temper your expectations. The configuration, regardless of whether you’re going for the full Google TV streaming experience or just basic HDMI input setup, takes a long time.

Around the back, you’ll find enough HDMI 2.1 ports for a solid home theater setup, including support for eARC on one of them. Optical digital audio output is also available. A pair of USB ports are located on the back, providing power for a streaming stick or external storage for local media playback.

Like many laser projectors, the Formovie Cinema Edge has a feature that detects when someone gets too close to the laser output and automatically dims the display. It promptly activates, though oddly doesn’t go as black as on some others.

• Design and features score: 4/5

The Cinema Edge's picture quality shines in a dark viewing environment (Image credit: Future) Formovie Cinema Edge review: picture quality

• 1900 ISO lumens plenty for dim and dark environments
• Not as color-rich as RGB laser competitors
• Motion smoothing by default, but picture controls to compensate

The Formovie Cinema Edge readily projects a 100-inch picture with crisp 4K detail. It looks best in a very dim or dark room, though it’s also bright enough to watch some content during the daytime. RuPauls’ Drag Race, for instance, is typically bright, and it’s easy to watch even in a well-lit room, though sunlight can still be a bit much.

Contrast is also fairly strong. Alien was a joy to watch, with the intricate, H.R. Giger-designed mechanical details of the ship shining brightly while the nooks and crannies sank effectively into darkness.

Alas, the Formovie Cinema Edge is a simple ALPD projector that doesn’t deliver the same color richness of the Formovie Theater or Hisense’s PX3-Pro, both of which are specced to achieve around 100% of BT.2020 color gamut coverage. Watching Avatar 2, it was painfully apparent how much more drab the visuals were by comparison, with the many blue hues looking dull and the flora and fauna throughout failing to exude their characteristic vibrance. This isn’t to say the Formovie Cinema Edge looks bad, but there are better options on the market for picture quality.

I also noticed plenty of blown-out highlights in the earlier scenes after the Sully family joins the water tribe in Avatar 2. The Formovie Theater had some tone mapping issues in our hands-on testing, and it appears that’s the case again here. HDR is also limited to HDR10 and HLG on the Cinema Edge – there’s no Dolby Vision or HDR10+.

The Formovie Cinema Edge has a fairly aggressive motion smoothing feature (called MJC) enabled in most of its picture settings by default. It’s not the worst-looking implementation of motion smoothing I’ve seen, but it looks better set to Low or disabled outright. Either way, the projector can struggle a bit with motion. Fight sequences looked choppy at times with or without MJC enabled. At Low, it subtly smooths out camera motion, though action can still look a little overdone.

For what it’s worth, the Formovie Cinema Edge includes a veritable trove of picture settings to adjust. It does little to explain what any of them are, though, so it may be difficult to dial in things to your liking. Thankfully, the picture generally looks good without getting into the weeds.

The sound put out by the Formovie Cinema Edge’s modest built-in speakers isn’t explosive, but they deliver a half-decent volume level for a small living room. The soundstage isn’t very wide, and there’s no deep bass, but it’s fine for casual viewing. For a more serious movie-viewing setup, external speakers will be an obvious upgrade.

• Picture quality score: 3.5/5

The Cinema Edge comes with a basic remote control to operate its Google TV interface (Image credit: Future) Formovie Cinema Edge review: value

• Good value at the current reduced price
• Older UST projectors pose a competitive threat

The Formovie Cinema Edge has a suggested retail price of $2,499, but that has since been reduced to $1,799. This discounted price is essential to the value of the projector, as it goes up against the Hisense PX2-Pro, which is now cheaper thanks to the launch of the PX3-Pro. It also faces off against Formovie’s higher-end projector, the Formovie Theater, which has also fallen in price since its launch, now seeing discounts as low as $2,299.

• Value score: 3/5

(Image credit: Future) Should I buy the Formovie Cinema Edge?

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

You want a compact projector: The Formovie Cinema Edge is small and sits close to the wall, giving you a big picture without taking up much space.

You want advanced picture customization: If you know just how you like images to look and don’t mind fiddling with settings, the Formovie Cinema Edge has plenty for you to dig through to adjust the picture to your liking.

Don’t buy it if… 

You want comprehensive HDR support: The Cinema Edge doesn't have extended color gamut coverage and it lacks HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR support.

You want the best all-in-one projector: While the Cinema Edge has a good picture, decent speakers, and okay streaming capabilities, demanding viewers may end up wanting an external streamer and speakers, which will add to the price.

Also consider...

Hisense PX2-Pro
The Hisense PX2-Pro has better picture quality and features but costs at least $200 more. It also uses the Google TV smart interface for streaming. It's a less compact option than the Formovie, and its built-in speakers don't offer any better sound quality.

Here's our full Hisense PX2-Pro review

Epson LS650
The Epson LS650 uses a 3LCD laser light source to beam a bright 3,600 lumens image, though its color isn't any better than the Formovie and the built-in Android TV system is worse than Formovie's Google TV platform. Both projectors are currently priced at the same level.

Here's our full Epson LS650 review

Hisense PX3-Pro
The Hisense PX3-Pro is our choice as the best ultra short throw projector for most people. It has a brighter, more color-rich picture than the Formovie and more comprehensive HDR support. At just over $3,000, it’s somewhat on the pricey side, though it’s much less so than other UST projectors from Samsung and LG.

Here's our full Hisense PX3-Pro review.

(Image credit: Future) How I tested the Formovie Cinema Edge

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

I tested the Formovie Cinema Edge at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with both SDR and 4K HDR streamed content.

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

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

First reviewed: December, 2024

• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024): Two-minute review

The Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) is a big step up in every way. It’s a big step up from the basic Kindle Paperwhite, though the existence of the Kindle Colorsoft begs the question of whether we could see a color Kindle Scribe in the hopefully near future. This Scribe is a big upgrade from the last Kindle Scribe (2022), with new AI features that – shock of all shocks – are incredibly useful. It also gets an unfortunate price increase, but there’s no doubt the improved features warrant a higher price.

The funny thing about the Kindle Scribe is that it could just be a large-screen e-reader and I’d be happy with it… although for a hundred dollars or pounds less, maybe. Adding the pen and writing capabilities felt like an afterthought with the last Scribe, but it’s clear that Amazon has put considerable thought and effort into improving the experience this time around.

The new AI features are so good that I actually asked Amazon why it didn’t just hide the fact that it’s AI. I’d almost prefer not knowing that AI is recognizing my handwriting better than any other device I’ve used, or creating useful summaries of my notes and notebooks. If Amazon just told me this was something the Kindle Scribe could do, for that alone I would have been thankful.

Kindle Scribe (2024), left next to the reMarkable 2 (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Instead, there’s an AI button, with the familiar stars that brands have started using to denote AI features. The Kindle Scribe can’t handle the AI chores itself, so there’s a slight delay as it sends my scribbles to the cloud. It’s worth the short wait, because the AI can interpret my worst chicken scratch, even when I forget letters or misspell words or use obscure proper nouns. It’s kind of remarkable what this writing tablet can do. And talking of remarkable…

It still feels like the Scribe could offer more writing tools, especially compared to the likes of the reMarkable 2 or an Onyx Boox Go 10.3 tablet running Android. It could use more pen styles and pen options; and you can never offer enough background templates to write on.

Amazon is addressing demand for the latter in a unique way: by offering templates as books in the Kindle book store. Since the Kindle Scribe launched the store has included a ‘write-on’ books section, and Amazon has been steadily offering its own titles for $0.99 or for free, depending on your membership. You can find daily planners, gratitude journals, and even score sheets for family game night; all created by Amazon, and all compatible with the writing tools on the Kindle Scribe.

What about writing in other books? That was a big problem with the last Kindle Scribe, and Amazon is edging closer to a solution. You can’t free-write in any book you like, but you can place a small ‘canvas’ for text and drawing anywhere on the page. Your Kindle will remember where you put each canvas, and then you can write next to the text. The text moves out of the way, and you can take notes on what you’re reading. It’s not perfect, but it’s much closer to what I want from a Kindle with a pen.

Writing on a book using the canvas tool (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Kindle Scribe (2024) has a deceptively simple new design that looks more stately and professional than before, but Amazon has pulled off an amazing trick. All of the old accessories work with the new Scribe. The same folios and cases work with both the Kindle Scribe (2024) and Scribe (2022), as well as the pen. My new Scribe stuck firmly to the magnetic folio I got with my old Scribe.

What a delight! It’s much more common to see writing tablet makers ditch the last generation and make you buy all new stuff. Kudos to Amazon for doubling the size of its ecosystem with two devices that fit every accessory, instead of cutting it in half.

The price increase hurts, there’s no doubt, and if you only wanted the Kindle Scribe as a large-screen e-reader, I’d suggest buying the older Scribe (2022) instead, especially if you can get a deal. The screen is just as sharp, and it’s excellent for reading.

If you want to write on your tablet, the new Kindle Scribe (2024) is much better than before, and for many reasons – its handwriting recognition, note-summary features, and the growing library of write-on books – the Amazon Kindle Scribe is the best writing tablet you can buy.

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review: price and availability

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• $399.99 / £379.99 / AU$649 for 16GB with Premium Pen
• $449.99 / $429.99 / AU$729 for 64GB and Metallic Jade color

Get the Metallic Jade color, it’s gorgeous. Sorry, let me start from the beginning. The Kindle Scribe starts at 16GB of storage with a boring Tungsten grey color that isn’t so bad, but it isn’t green. You can get the Kindle Scribe with 32GB or 64GB of storage, and then there’s the aforementioned beautiful Metallic Jade color that is really a standout hue, but it’s only available on the most expensive model with 64GB of storage, and besides more storage capacity there are no other benefits to getting that model.

The new Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) is also more expensive than the old Kindle Scribe no matter which storage option you choose. Why does that matter? Because it’s gone from being slightly less expensive than an Apple iPad 10.9 to slightly more expensive than an iPad (in the US and Australia, at least). That feels like a move that needs to be justified by a much better device.

It’s not just a little better; it’s a lot better. It’s a whole new level of better. It’s enough to justify a price increase, I think, because this is no longer a big e-reader with some doodling features tucked away. This is a full-fledged writing tablet, and it does some things better than any other writing tablet I’ve seen.

So what has Amazon improved? Is it thinner and lighter? Nope. Bigger screen? By a decimal point. Oh, it must be in color now, I heard there was a color Kindle. Sorry, maybe next time!

If I ask nicely can I please haz color Kindle Scribe? (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I’m going to give you three guesses as to which big feature Amazon added to the Kindle Scribe… yep, right first time, it’s AI. Except… it’s good?! It’s really good. It’s so good, I almost wish Amazon hadn’t told me the Kindle Scribe uses AI. I didn’t need to know! I could just think my new Scribe got much better at handwriting recognition on its own, by learning. Okay, that’s actually what AI is.

Does it compete with the reMarkable 2? I’ll get to that later, but the reMarkable 2 is similarly priced at $399 / £399 / AU$679, which is probably not a coincidence. The Amazon Kindle Scribe doesn’t give you the religious writing experience and Zen organization of the reMarkable, but that’s probably a good thing for most Kindle buyers.

Anyway, for $50 / £50 / AU$80 more than the base model Kindle Scribe you can have 64GB of storage instead of 16GB, and you can also have the Metallic Jade color, the color of my review sample. It’s stellar. The white border around the page gives the Scribe a more professional and polished look, and the Jade color really sparkles.

Thankfully, every model gets the so-called Premium Pen, which gives you a rubbery eraser tip. The old model had a cheap pen and you had to buy this upgrade, so that’s another justification for the price increase.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review: Specs

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Nearly identical size and shape to the last model, and that’s great
• Screen is more sharp than competing writing tablets

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review: display

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• E Ink display retains sharpness at larger size
• Brighter than the competition by far

The Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) uses an E Ink display that's very similar to the Kindle Paperwhite's, with the same 300ppi pixel density, making it incredibly sharp for reading printed text. To compare, Apple’s latest iPad Pro 11-inch uses Apple’s most advanced display ever, and it’s only 264ppi.

What’s even more remark… noteworthy is that none of the other writing tablet competitors come close, likely because they aren’t as focused on reading as they are on writing. The reMarkable 2 uses a display with only 226ppi.

A Kindle Scribe (2022) next to the Kobo Elipsa 2E (Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)

The Kindle Scribe is also the brightest writing tablet you’ll find. The Scribe is brighter than the Kobo Elipsa 2E, another E Ink tablet that's the same size, and it’s much brighter than the new reMarkable Paper Pro, which uses minimal lighting to be visible in darkness. The Kindle Scribe can get bright, and the light can also get warm if you want to read at night and avoid blue light.

• Display score: 5 / 5

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review: design

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Looks bigger than before, even though it’s not
• More refined without changing much

The Kindle Scribe is a refined, premium Kindle, which is a relief, considering the higher price. Amazon’s smaller e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite, is plastic, which makes it lightweight, durable, and an inexpensive way to take hundreds of books on a month-long vacation. It also feels kind of cheap. The Kindle Scribe, on the other hand, is a super-slim slip of metal with a premium finish and dainty feet at the back corners. I wish more Kindle devices were like this.

The last Kindle Scribe was a lot like this, just a bit more boring. It came in a dark grey, which looked professional in metal, but it lacked character. The new Kindle Scribe has a white border around the E Ink that makes the display feel more like paper, and the whole device looks more like an electronic notebook than it did before.

The power button and USB-C port are both on the side of the device, which is hard to remember but it never got in the way, like the bottom-facing power button on the Kindle Paperwhite.

A reMarkable 2 from the side... yes, it's very thin (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The Kindle Scribe is very thin. It’s only 5.7mm thick, compared to the iPad 10.9 at 7mm or the positively chunky Kobo Elipsa 2E, which is a 7.5mm porker. Of course, the reMarkable 2 stands out like a supermodel at only 4.7mm, but the reMarkable has absolutely no lighting on board. You can’t use it in the dark. It needs to eat something, the room is growing dim.

The Kindle Scribe (2024), left, next to the Kindle Scribe (2022) (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

One of the most remarka… astonishing discoveries I made during my review period concerned the folio case. I forgot to request one from Amazon, but I discovered that the old cases are now listed as compatible with both the Kindle Scribe (2022) and Scribe (2024). What?! A tablet maker releasing a new tablet that fits in the old cases? My older leather magnet cover folio worked perfectly. All the little feet lined up.

This is almost unheard of in the world of consumer electronics, and Amazon should be commended for it. I know a few reMarkable Paper Pro owners who are fuming that they have to buy a whole new Type Folio and cover for their new tablets.

• Design score: 5 / 5

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review: software

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• It’s got AI... wait, hear me out, it’s actually pretty great
• Like the rest of this Kindle, the AI doesn’t try to do too much

The Kindle Scribe is essentially a gigantic book with a pen attached, so there are very specific things I want it to do, and it doesn’t need to do much else. I want to read, write, and take notes. Everything else is a bonus, or a feature that helps me with my reading, writing, and thinking.

The last Kindle Scribe was missing one key feature, and Amazon has found an elegant solution that I appreciate. I wanted to write in my books, but that’s actually a really tough request, as there are legal rights issues that make writing in an e-book a tricky issue. I’ve seen two solutions to this problem, and I like Amazon’s best.

The Kobo e-readers with a pen will let you write in a book, directly in the book itself. The Kobo remembers your notation and where you put it. The problem is, the book is electronic. It changes depending on how you size the text, or other factors. When you change your e-book on a Kobo, it gives you a little indicator that a note exists around that location in the book. Then you have the e-reader return the page to the way it was, handwritten note and all. Ta-da! You’ve written in an e-book!

With the Kindle Scribe (2024), Amazon has created a new 'canvas' tool concept. When you're reading a book, you can use the pen and start writing anywhere. The Kindle Scribe draws a small box on the page, and all of your writing is contained within this. The size of the box is determined by what you write, and there's also a tool that lets you create a large box first, and then write in it.

When you resize text, the box stays near the point in the book where you added it. You can’t underline individual words this way, or circle specific turns of phrase, but I still like it. I think it’s a good compromise that acknowledges that the medium is electronic. If I want to write on a page with a pen, I have paper books for that, but we need a new idea that is extensible and flexible, and this is a good start.

And that’s it! Amazon has fixed my biggest complaint about the Kindle Scribe (2022). So, we can all go home now, right? Wait… what is that button at the top of the device? It looks like the stars that companies use to denote AI features. Is that AI on my Kindle? What? And why?

Asking the AI to read my handwriting (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Calm down, me. Amazon has thankfully used a very light touch in adding AI to the Kindle Scribe, and as I said earlier, you wouldn’t even know it was using AI if Amazon didn’t tell you. The Kindle Scribe basically has only two AI tricks.

The first is handwriting recognition. Amazon is calling this writing refinement, but that’s inaccurate. It’s just handwriting recognition that works exceptionally well, better than I’ve ever seen on a writing tablet before. Then, it gives you a typed version of whatever you wrote, along with some clever fonts that look a bit like bubbly handwriting.

The other AI tool is note summaries. Once the software has recognized what you’ve written, it uses AI to create a summary, and these two tools together provide an excellent one-two boost for taking notes during meetings and classes, and then maybe sharing or reviewing your notes later.

And that’s it on the AI front. The Kindle Scribe (2024) is not using generative AI to draw for me, and it’s not telling me what to write. Amazon is only using AI to make one existing tool better, with handwriting recognition, and to add more utility to my note-taking with summaries. I hope it stops there.

You can make this summary the first page or the last page (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

It does leave me with a burning question though, and it was one I caught Amazon off-guard with. The Kindle Scribe can’t run large language models on the device (at the edge of your network as Qualcomm likes to say), it offloads every request to the cloud.

How much power does it all consume? How much power does it take to respond to my request, and how much power was consumed in training the models used to help improve my handwriting?

Amazon didn’t have an answer, because AI is not part of its sustainability commitment, but this is a question I’m going to be asking any device maker that uses generative AI to improve features. Is the cost of AI really worth the improvements? It’s unclear, but I worry that it is not.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review: performance

Waiting for the AI to do its thing in the cloud (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Reading features are just as good as ever
• Writing tools can be buggy, and AI is slow, but worthwhile

The Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) is almost two tablets in one, a dedicated reading tablet on one hand and a writing and journaling tablet on the other, except the two meet in the middle more than ever before. This is still a tablet that leans towards books, but the new writing tools make it incredibly useful for notes as well.

Still, the closer you stay to reading books, the more satisfying you’ll find the Kindle Scribe's performance. Reading is just as fast as on the latest Kindle Paperwhite, which got a performance boost that makes menus and page-turns more swift.

Taking notes and basic writing works as expected, and the Kindle Scribe falls somewhere between the reMarkable 2 and the Kobo Elipsa in replicating the feel of writing on paper. It feels good with the Scribe, especially erasing with the new rubber-tipped pen. It's a nice touch.

I found that writing in books was mostly a good experience, but there are still some kinks. When I put my pen to the page to write a note the canvas tool drew a box for me with no trouble. However, when I selected the canvas tool to draw my box first I often ended up wiping out whole pages of text with a big canvas. Maybe a software update could fix this.

There are only four pens on the Kindle Scribe, with five thicknesses each (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Once you start using the AI tools, prepare for a delay. A long delay. The Kindle Scribe has to communicate with Amazon’s cloud for every request and response, and this isn’t a smartphone, with devoted networking equipment of every flavor. It can take many seconds to get a response from Amazon’s brain in the sky.

Is it worth the wait? If you were expecting an AI on board that would translate your scribblings into calligraphy, then you’ll be disappointed. If you don’t mind waiting a couple of beats after a long meeting while the computer makes your notes look pretty, it’s no trouble at all.

During my review period it took the Kindle Scribe up to 40 seconds to read a full page of my terrible handwriting and return a typed version, but it's arguably worth the wait. The Kindle’s version was so good that if it missed a word I was unable to go back and read my own handwriting well enough to figure out what I'd actually written. The Scribe with Amazon AI could read my own handwriting better than I could.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review: battery

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Lasts as long as a Kindle Paperwhite for basic reading only
• Writing drains the battery, but talking to the cloud is worse

If you never use the Kindle Scribe (2024), it could last forever. The more you do with it – and Amazon has given us a lot more to do with it – the faster the battery will drain. This sounds obvious, but the new features Amazon has added are going to make a big difference if you use them often.

Amazon offers lofty battery claims for the Kindle Scribe (2024) that sound just like those it makes for the Kindle Paperwhite: 12 weeks of reading (asterisk). Or three weeks of writing (asterisk). I’m not sure who could write for three weeks straight.

The catch, of course, is that you get those 12 weeks of battery life only if you read for just 30 minutes every day with the screen brightness set to 13 (the max is 24). You can write for 30 minutes a day for three weeks. That’s great! But what about the AI?

Amazon’s battery estimate accounts for the Wi-Fi being turned off, and using the AI features requires Wi-Fi. I’m not sure how much power the Kindle Scribe uses in between, but using AI features will drain the battery faster. I’ve only had my Kindle Scribe for a week and I’ve used the AI features a handful of times. It hasn’t made a huge difference yet, but I wasn’t really expecting three weeks of writing.

Unfortunately, the Kindle Scribe (2024) also charges very slowly. If you plug the USB-C port into a wall charger with 9W of power or more, it will charge fully in 2.5 hours. I didn’t try to charge it using my laptop’s USB-C ports, but Amazon says that process will take nine hours to fully charge the Kindle Scribe.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024)? Buy it if...

You want a Kindle that you can write on
At its heart, the Kindle Scribe offers a simple, elegant proposition. You love the Kindle, now you can write in one

You want a writing tablet but your handwriting is terrible
Did you think computers would never be able to read your unique handicraft? I’ll bet this one can

You’ve were waiting for the last Kindle Scribe to get better
Putting AI aside, Amazon fixed the biggest issues I had with the past Kindle Scribe. This one is great, no major complaints

Don't buy it if...

You are devoted to the feel of a fine pen on luxury paper
This isn’t a reMarkable tablet. If writing is a religious experience for you, that’s the one

You want apps to help organize your writing
The Kindle Scribe is good as electronic paper, but if you want apps, you need an iPad or Onyx Boox tablet. Instead, you get write-on books from the Kindle store

You have a problem with AI
The environmental impact of using cloud-based AI and major LLMs is still unclear, and it’s best to proceed with caution and diligence if we’re concerned about the environmental impact

Also consider

reMarkable 2
The reMarkable 2 and reMarkable Paper Pro are writing tablets for restraint. They have very few features beyond excellent writing tools, and reMarkable prides itself on saying no to extraneous additions, like a clock.
Read our in-depth reMarkable 2 review

Kobo Elipsa 2E
The Kobo Elipsa 2E gives you more writing tools, but its pen needs to be charged, its screen doesn’t feel as nice, and its E Ink display isn’t as sharp for reading. Still, if your books aren’t all from Amazon, it’s worth a look.
Read our in-depth Kobo Elipsa 2E review

How I tested the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Testing period - one week
• Subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, Comixology Unlimited, Libby through OverDrive
• Tested books, meeting notes, AI recognition, comics, audiobooks

I used the Kindle Colorsoft one week before I published my review. During that time, I read The Princess Bride by William Goldman, I listened to parts of The Return of the King from Audible, and I took extensive notes during work meetings, which I do not usually do but I’m testing a writing tablet so I was extra.

I read Attack on Titan in black and white on the Kindle. I read during the day and before bed, adjusting the color temperature to the time of day. I read in bed, on the couch, on the train, but not in the bathtub, because this Kindle is not water resistant like the smaller e-reader Kindle devices.

I tested the AI features by having the Kindle Scribe refine and then summarize meeting notes from work meetings. I wrote a few brief stories and had the Kindle Scribe refine those from my terrible handwriting. I had my teenage son write a few words on the Kindle Scribe in his own handwriting and had the AI refine his writing as well.

I wrote on books purchased from the Kindle Store using the new Canvas tool. I read and downloaded books from Amazon Kindle as well as books I got from my local library using Libby and the OverDrive book system.

I tested the web browsing features by visiting TechRadar and reading articles at our own site. It wasn’t a great experience. I connected Bluetooth headphones, Pixel Buds Pro, and listened to Audible audiobooks. I used the Kindle Scribe without a case for the entirety of my review, but discovered it fit perfectly in my older Kindle Scribe (2022) case just in time to take photos at the end.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed December 2024]

House of Marley Revolution: two-minute review

A good starter deck should be easy to use and sound decent without breaking the bank. The House of Marley Revolution does both, with an added dose of sustainable style that makes it one of the best-value Bluetooth turntables we’ve tested.

Made with eco-friendly components, the Revolution sets itself apart from your average budget turntable's plastic build. There’s a reassuring weight to its construction, while the materials lend it a quality feel which belies the cost. The base is wrapped in fabric woven from recycled resources, while the distinctive bamboo plinth makes a statement wherever you place it.

Pre-calibrated out of the box, setting up the Revolution is as simple as dropping the felt mat on the platter and attaching the counterweight to the tone arm. You can wire up for easy analog audio or push the Bluetooth button for wireless pairing. Then you’re good to go. It’s all incredibly straightforward. This plug-and-play approach won’t appeal to hi-fi enthusiasts, but it makes for a hassle-free vinyl experience that’s ideal for first-time listeners.

The same goes for the audio output: this isn’t the kind of deck that needs to be paired with high-end hi-fi separates. If you’ve got a picky ear, there’s plenty to be picked at. Mids can be muddy, for example, and we detected some distortion in the treble at times. Then again, hooked up to House of Marley’s Uplift Bookshelf Speakers (sold separately – although you'll find tempting bundle deals), the sound was more than dynamic enough for everyday listening, with a surprising fullness to the low end in particular.

It won’t trouble the best turntables for audio quality. But if you want an entry-level Bluetooth deck that looks good, sounds decent and is foolproof to operate, we think the Revolution offers fantastic value.

House of Marley Revolution: price & release date

(Image credit: Future / Chris Rowlands)

• Launched in September 2024
• Available now for $169.99 / £149.99 / A$199

The House of Marley Revolution turntable was released in September 2024. It joins the Stir It Up and Stir It Up Lux decks in the sustainable brand’s turntable line-up. Priced at $169.99 / £149.99 / A$199, it sits very much in entry-level category.

The Revolution turntable can also be bought bundled together with House of Marley’s wired Uplift Bookshelf Speakers ($179.99 / £199.99 / A$349) or a Get Together Duo wireless stereo pair (£249.99) in the UK.

Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT review: Specs House of Marley Revolution: design

(Image credit: Future / Chris Rowlands)

• Plinth made from renewable bamboo
• Dust cover made from post-consumer plastic
• Unit wrapped in sustainable Rewind fabric

House of Marley has made its name with audio gear crafted from sustainable materials – and the Revolution is no exception. This is a turntable that does its bit for the planet. The built-in dust cover is made from post-consumer plastic, while that unmissable plinth uses renewable bamboo. The body of the unit is clad in Rewind fabric, which is woven from reclaimed cotton and hemp, with recycled rPET.

More than a fad, these materials make the Revolution a genuinely distinctive turntable, especially compared with the generic plastic build of many budget decks. The grain pattern on the plinth might not appeal to minimalists, but it gives the Revolution an organic look seldom seen in modern audio products. Similarly, the fabric wrap lends the base a nicely tactile finish, albeit one that might attract dust over time.

There are still clues that this is an entry-level turntable: the section at the base of the tonearm is plastic and there’s more flex there than you’d get from a deck at twice the price. But on the whole, the Revolution doesn’t feel cheap. It helps that there’s a good weight to the unit. It’s also obvious that House of Marley’s design team has paid plenty of attention to detail, right down to the subtle red, yellow and green stripes found on the headshell.

• Design score: 4.5/5

House of Marley Revolution: features and setup

(Image credit: Future / Chris Rowlands)

• Plug-and-play setup with arm counterbalance
• Wired or wireless speaker connectivity
• Pre-calibrated tracking force and anti-skate

As you’d expect from a starter deck, the Revolution is a cinch to set up. The only assembly that’s really required is to slide the counterbalance onto the tone arm and screw it in place. Otherwise, the Revolution is the definition of a plug-and-play turntable. Tracking force and anti-skate come pre-calibrated out of the box, so all you need to do is connect a set of speakers and you’re away.

You can wire in a pair of separates for a full analog setup, using either the RCA line out or passive speaker jacks on the rear. Alternatively, the Revolution’s Bluetooth support lets you output audio wirelessly. House of Marley offers the Revolution as a bundle with its Uplift (wired) or Get Together (wireless) bookshelf speakers, but it works just as well with your existing audio kit. Put a Bluetooth speaker into pairing mode, press the Bluetooth button on the turntable and – in our experience – it will find and pair within 10 seconds.

Controls are kept to a bare minimum, with the power knob doubling up as a volume control, in addition to a three-speed playback setting and tonearm lift lever. There’s also a switch to toggle Bluetooth in and out. With Bluetooth set as an input, you can pair it with a source device, allowing you to stream music via the turntable to your wired hi-fi speakers – a useful feature if you don’t have another way to connect your separates to a streaming service.

• Features and setup score: 4/5

House of Marley Revolution: audio performance

(Image credit: Future / Chris Rowlands)

• Replaceable Audio-Technica AT3600L stylus
• Stream to and from Bluetooth devices
• Quality is fine for everyday listening

Lift the tonearm over a record and the platter will start spinning automatically. Lower it and you’ll be rewarded with audio that’s surprisingly rich for a budget deck. Your choice of speakers will naturally have an impact on the sound signature, but output quality from the Revolution is perfectly serviceable for everyday listening.

Wired up to House of Marley’s Uplift Bookshelf Speakers, there was a nice dynamism to the playback. Albums of all genres sounded lively, from Radiohead’s OK Computer to Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. There’s a surprising amount of weight to the low end as well, which means your records are never at risk of sounding flat. Playing Barry Can’t Swim’s When Will We Land? on a Friday afternoon certainly got the house moving.

That bass actually proved too much when paired with the JBL Authentics 200 over Bluetooth. It could be that House of Marley has tuned the output to suit its own speakers, but the lower frequencies were too punchy to enjoy in that particular setup, crowding out the upper range. That isn’t the case when the Revolution is connected to the Uplift speakers, which deliver a relatively balanced listen for the money.

All of this is caveated by the fact that the Revolution is by no means a hi-fi-quality turntable. Audiophiles will find plenty to sniff at. The mids are easily muddied, for example, especially on complex tracks. Listening to AM by the Arctic Monkeys, detail was quickly lost on heavier numbers. Treble can also be quite harsh at times and we picked up a fair bit of distortion at the top end.

This isn't a deck capable of doing justice to high-end stereo speakers, but nor is it priced like one. More expensive turntables will give you a fuller and more dynamic listen, but if you want an affordable first deck to spin records on a daily basis, you can do worse than the Revolution.

Interestingly, we picked up that the Revolution ran ever so slightly slow compared with digital tracks, although not enough that you’d notice unless you were timing for it.

• Audio performance score: 3.5/5

House of Marley Revolution: value

(Image credit: Future / Chris Rowlands)

• Distinctive design and decent build at a fair price
• Sounds quality is reasonable for the cost

If you’re looking for a straightforward turntable at a palatable price, we think the House of Marley Revolution gets close to the value sweet spot. There are some cheaper Bluetooth turntables out there, but none with the same style and build quality as the Revolution.

It’s not a perfect product by any means. This isn’t one for serious audiophiles, but it ticks all the right boxes for a reasonably priced starter deck. You get a solid construction, simple setup and distinctive design, plus the flexibility of wired or wireless connectivity.

There are plenty of turntables that sound better and the Revolution’s audio shortcomings would be laid bare if paired with some of the best stereo speakers. But team it up with a matching set from House of Marley and you’ve got a reliable setup for spinning records on a daily basis, with audio quality that’s rich enough for easy listening.

• Value score: 4/5

Should you buy the House of Marley Revolution? Buy it if...

You want a distinctive turntable
A bamboo plinth and Rewind fabric body wrap help the Revolution to cut a dash on any sideboard, while a recycled plastic dust cover adds to its unique eco credentials.

You need something simple to use
A plug-and-play turntable that’s pre-calibrated out of the box, the Revolution makes it easy to get your records on. Setup is straightforward and Bluetooth connectivity is seamless.

You’d like the option of wired or wireless
Giving you useful flexibility, the Revolution lets you enjoy playback via wires or Bluetooth. Hook it up to House of Marley’s Uplift or Get Together speakers, or use your own.

Don't buy it if...

You want the very best sound quality
The Revolution represents excellent value, with surprisingly dynamic sound for the price. That said, muddy mids and a dash of treble distortion mean quality isn’t perfect for hi-fi enthusiasts.

You want a flexible setup
Designed with simplicity in mind, the Revolution keeps things streamlined. You can’t adjust the tracking force or anti-skate, and while the stylus is replaceable, you can’t upgrade the cartridge.

You want perfect playback
During our tests, the Revolution ran a touch slow at times. Not enough to notice unless you’re listening very closely, but still an imperfection which could distract the keenest ears.

Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT: Also consider

Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT
Our favorite budget Bluetooth turntable will set you back a fair bit more than the Revolution and you’ll have to live with a plastic chassis. That said, it also benefits from fully automatic operation, as well as superior sound quality.
Read our Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT review here.

Pro-Ject Debut Carbon
If you have ambitions of becoming a vinyl enthusiast, we recommend the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon for your first deck. It costs more, but your reward is a gorgeous aluminium build and solid hi-fi credentials, including fantastic sound quality.
Read our Pro-Ject Debut Carbon review here.

How I tested the House of Marley Revolution

(Image credit: Future / Chris Rowlands)

• Tested for three weeks
• Used as my primary turntable in living room
• Tested using House of Marley’s Uplift Bookshelf Speakers

I installed the House of Marley Revolution in my living room for the best part of a month. It was used on a daily basis to spin records of all genres. I paired it with House of Marley’s wired Uplift Bookshelf Speakers, as well as testing its wireless capabilities by connecting it to my JBL Authentics 200 via Bluetooth. I listened keenly to tracks that I know well, to get a feel for how the Revolution handled specific details, as well as its overall character.

First reviewed: December 2024

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Open-world gacha game, Infinity Nikki, is the fifth entry in the Nikki series. The franchise, developed by Papergames / Infold Games, was previously available on mobile devices only. In fact, the series had completely flown under my radar until late September when I got the chance to play the Infinity Nikki demo at the Tokyo Game Show.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PC
Available on: PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, Android
Release date: December 5, 2024

What intrigued me back then was the notion that this free-to-play game would allow me to progress at a leisurely pace and have a stress-free time, without worrying too much about leveling characters and gear just to take on tough bosses. This concept is almost antithetical to what I’ve experienced in titles like Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, Wuthering Waves, and others, where “pulling for meta characters” and “min-maxing stats” are tantamount to improving your chances at completing late-game content.

Fortunately, Infinity Nikki managed to exceed my expectations, thanks to its gorgeous visuals and exploration beats, some of which reminded me of other successful titles. However, it does suffer from a few pitfalls, most notably those related to the series’ use of mobile game-focused ideas.

Welcome to Miraland

(Image credit: Infold Games)

Infinity Nikki’s campaign begins as the titular character, along with her cat companion Momo, are sent to a magical realm known as Miraland. This leads to an isekai-style romp that takes them to nearly half a dozen explorable regions in search of the fabled Miracle Outfits.

These zones of Miraland include the city of Florawish, where I learned more about the setting, as well as the green fields of Breezy Meadows. Later, I marveled at the sights of the Abandoned District, a region consisting of multiple towering islands that are only reachable by gliding across tornado-filled seas.

Likewise, there’s the Wishing Woods, a forest that’s dotted with several twisting pathways, tall treetops, and thorny vines. Regions also have their own uniquely themed dungeons, such as a power plant in the sewers and a runaway train with scarecrow-esque ghosts.

Infinity Nikki’s themes and cartoony designs tend to be bright, vibrant, and vivid, as though the whole experience is meant to be a joyful celebration. Even the theme song performed by Jessie J, 'Together Till Infinity,' which plays whenever I launch the game, is so upbeat that I can’t help but tap my feet to the tune. But what makes the world truly come to life is the use of various environmental features to aid in traversing these aforementioned regions.

For instance, there are giant birds and paper cranes that give you a good vantage point of your surroundings. Do you want to reach a distant island? You can do that by passing through floating rings that are suspended in mid-air. Need to get to the top of a mountain? There might be a seal that could toss you over yonder. And, yes, there’s also a bike that you can ride across hills and fields.

However, the main downside is that comical and silly themes also cause Infinity Nikki's narrative arc to falter. Although some story beats have a more serious tone – such as Florawish villagers falling into a coma or hopeful wishes being stolen – some ideas just weren’t compelling and several supporting characters were plainly unremarkable.

Runway modeling and runaway spending

(Image credit: Infold Games)

The Nikki series is known for its dress-up mechanics and Infinity Nikki is no exception, given that there are several outfits that grant unique abilities. Early on, I obtained attires that allowed Nikki to glide in mid-air, pet animals, catch bugs, fish in rivers, and even fix electrical panels. Later in the game, I actually made a dress that caused Nikki to shrink so I could control Momo instead.

These ability dresses, as well as many others that I found during my travels, can be used in Styling Contests and the Mira Crown. In these activities, I was graded based on Nikki’s clothing score or whim, denoted by attributes like ‘Sweet’, ‘Cool’, ‘Elegant’, and bonus points from cosmetic frills. All of these make for a very engaging gameplay loop that involves finding new outfits and then upgrading them to increase their stats, so you can defeat faction leaders and grab additional rewards.

The above concepts are complemented by a handy wardrobe menu where I mixed and matched clothing parts, hairstyles, and makeup. From dazzling ball gowns, fluffy jackets, shimmering tiaras, and high-heeled stilettos, to colorful blushes, peculiar accessories, floating neon effects, and alternative designs, there are a thousand ways to showcase your sense of fashion. Moreover, the game has an amazing Photo Mode feature that has numerous poses and effects, all to shine a spotlight on your style as you progress.

However, the most glaring issue here is actually tied to the gacha system itself. While cash purchases are disabled in the Infinity Nikki build that I played, I was still able to check out the in-game store and banner. The most telling fixture is that full outfit sets from gacha banners consist of nine or more parts, making it extremely unlikely to get a full set within your first few ‘pulls’ (i.e. gacha attempts). In my case, I spent diamonds, a standard in-game currency, on 100 pulls, and I still wasn’t able to get a complete 5-star set.

It goes without saying that players who are after all the item pieces might feel compelled to spend more money. While the ‘pity system’ helps guarantee a 5-star reward every 20 pulls, I feel that this would exacerbate the problem further.

Countless collectibles and content for the constantly curious

(Image credit: Infold Games)

Another facet that bolsters Infinity Nikki’s quirks and charms is the countless collectibles and side content to discover in Miraland. There are collectibles known as Whimstars which are used to unlock outfits and perks in the Heart of Infinity, a skill tree with dozens of interconnected nodes.

Obtaining Whimstars tends to be an effortful and enjoyable endeavor. Some require running around to pick up fragments or looking for a star-shaped graffiti that’s hidden in the environment, while others are embedded in magical creatures that you should pet or catch. There are also those that are found in mini-domains with puzzles, akin to shrines in The Legend of Zelda games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Aside from Whimstars, there are orbs known as Dews of Inspiration, which are vastly more numerous. These are given to a friendly dragon named Kilo the Cadenceborn, who then provides you with extra attires. Additionally, there are side quests where you look for the correct Photo Mode locations, missing perfumes, and historical sites, as well as countless treasure chests to unlock.

In the same vein, there are ways to quickly farm for resources, including Realm Challenges that grant bling currency (i.e. gold) and a “Dig Pear Pal” panel where you passively earn items after enough hours have elapsed. All in all, even if you’re not focusing on the main quest, Infinity Nikki still provides many tasks that enrich the sense of discovery.

Combat conundrums and timegating troubles

(Image credit: Infold Games)

One feature of Infinity Nikki that’s sure to be contentious is its combat system, or rather the very simplistic and lackluster way in which it’s presented. After all, this is meant to be a cozy game, right? Sadly, Nikki’s main offensive move is just an extremely basic projectile attack that travels in a straight line, and most enemies can be defeated in a single hit. Coincidentally, certain foes, including bosses, have relatively simple, repetitive, and easily telegraphed attack patterns. Combat is unchallenging to a fault that it’s something I tuned out most of the time while exploring.

Still, combat woes don’t hold a candle to the most egregious of all of Infinity Nikki’s flaws: its mobile game-style approach to timegating. To clarify, there’s already content that causes you to use up energy. But there are also portions of the campaign where you need to increase your Stylist Rank just to receive the next main quest objective. The Stylist Rank requires not just the overall tally of your progress, such as Whimstars collected, total number of outfits acquired, and so on, but also Daily Wishes.

(Image credit: Infold Games)

A few hours into Infinity Nikki’s campaign, I chanced upon a flying paper crane that gave me a breathtaking view of the town of Florawish. This and other magical modes of transport made exploration more rewarding.

Daily Wishes, as the term implies, come from the daily tasks you complete. Here’s the kicker: these cap at 500 points each day, but some of the overall requirements are not divisible by 500 (i.e. 1,100, 1,600, 2,100 points, and so on). A good example was when I encountered a progress-blocking bug as part of a quest. It took a while for that bug to get fixed and, once I had completed the quest, I was really eager to see what was next in store. Only then did I realize that I lacked points from dailies, so I had no choice but to wait for the next reset.

Timegating also extends to Insights, which are gathering and combat-specific tallies. As you pet animals, catch fish/bugs, take out enemies, and gather resources, you earn Insight points for upgradable perks. However, once you’ve done too many of these actions in a single day, you no longer earn the actual points.

Initially, I thought that these systems were put in place to combat gaming addiction. However, as the days passed, I began to think that these create an adverse effect where players feel more invested since they have no choice but to log in repeatedly. As such, even if Infinity Nikki does have brilliant ideas that kept me entertained, it still suffers from the same pitfalls that characterize forced time investment in mobile and live service games.

(Image credit: Infold Games) Should you play Infinity Nikki? Play it if...

You enjoy open-world games
Miraland is home to all sorts of wonderful and whimsical creatures, and there are many collectibles to discover in various regions.View Deal

You prefer casual-friendly and comfortable gameplay
From petting cute animals to playing dress-up to receive rewards, the activities in Infinity Nikki tend to be relaxing and stress-free.View Deal

Don't play it if...

You’re looking for challenging combat
The combat system in the game is rather dull and uninspired. Don’t expect a challenge from most enemies and bosses.View Deal

You dislike timegating mechanics
At certain points, you’ll have no choice but to wait for the next daily reset just to finish some tasks, all to increase your rank and receive the next quest objective.View Deal

Accessibility

Infinity Nikki doesn’t have much in the way of accessibility features. At best, there are player view assists that cause the camera to pan automatically whenever your character is moving, falling through the air, or fighting enemies. There’s also an Enable Jump Guide Line option that creates a shining glyph below your character so you know where you’d land. Lastly, there’s an option to respawn Nikki in case she gets stuck in the environment.

(Image credit: Infold Games) How I reviewed Infinity Nikki

I played Infinity Nikki on a TCL P755 TV at 4K resolution and mostly high settings. My gaming PC has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, Intel Core i9-10900K CPU, and 32GB of RAM. I used a Razer Viper Mini mouse and a locally-made keyboard, as well as a Logitech F710 wireless controller.

My progress as of the time of this writing is around 40 hours across six days, and I was able to reach the main story chapter that takes place in the Whispering Woods. On days when I encountered progress-blocking bugs and gameplay mechanics, I opted to tackle side quests and look for collectibles just to get a good grasp of open-world exploration features.

First reviewed November/December 2024.

This review first appeared in issue 358 of PC Pro.

Hot on the heels of the Lenovo ThinkVision 27 3D I reviewed last month comes Acer’s spin on the same concept. Both are 27in 4K monitors that can jump between 2D and 3D modes, allowing developers to view creations on demand. No need for special glasses or VR goggles; just render and go.

It’s a marriage of hardware and software, and I’ll tackle the hardware first. One pivotal inclusion is a pair of eye-tracking cameras; here, they sit in the top bezel rather than the bottom (Lenovo’s choice), and they work equally well. The second hardware component is a 3D lens that sits above the panel and projects pixels to the left and right eyes as needed. A 3D engine built into the monitor’s electronics takes control of what’s beamed where.

While Lenovo includes a fine pair of speakers in the ThinkVision, they’re nothing compared to the duo beneath the main body of the SpatialLabs 27 View Pro. These provide superb stereo separation in normal use, but their skills come to the fore when you activate Acer’s aptly named Immerse Audio app. This plants you straight into the action, with the only missing direction being from behind you.

The SpatialLabs 27 View Pro is a fine monitor for 2D as well as 3D work (Image credit: Future)

The 3D experience

Acer supplies an app called SpatialLabs Experience Center Professional with this monitor, and it’s your direct route to activating 3D effects. The main menu offers you three options: SpatialLabs Go, SpatialLabs Model Viewer and SpatialLabs Player.

SpatialLabs Player is the simplest, as its role is simply to let you turn side-by-side videos into stereoscopic 3D. A YouTube search will bring up a bunch of example videos that have been shot at two angles – one for the left eye, one for the right – and you’ll be impressed by the effects, if not the plotlines. Most of the best videos are ads.

With few movies created in 3D, SpatialLabs Go is there to turn 2D content into 3D in real-time.

It’s designed to work across all apps, so long as they’re in full-screen view, and weirdly that includes Teams, Google Meet and Facebook. But the obvious examples are photos and videos.

I rarely found the effect compelling, but it works best when the engine can clearly detect what’s up close and what’s in the background. Bokeh effects are great, for example, while your shots of the Grand Canyon will look flat even if you head into the settings to maximize the 3D effect.

Developers can design 3D games on the monitor but they can’t play them (Image credit: Future)

Super models

In reality, nobody is going to buy this monitor unless they create or view 3D models for professional reasons. Acer, like Lenovo, imagines that its core audience will be architects, 3D developers and CAD designers, which is why it has created plugins for a wide range of 3D software. At the time of writing, this list consists of 3ds Max, Fusion 360, Blender, Inventor, Cura, Revit, SketchUp, Navisworks, ArchiCad, Rhino 3D, Solidworks, form Z, Zbrush, CDB and Bentley iTwin. You can also export scenes from any 3D software that includes an Unreal Datasmith exporter plugin.

You can view pre-made models directly using the SpatialLabs Model Viewer, which is effectively an integration with Sketchfab. Open Model Viewer and you can view a bunch of pre-selected models and maneuver them as if they were sitting in front of you. You can also play around with lighting and backgrounds to add to the realism.

There’s especially good news for Maya users, who can use PiStage to transform their model into 3D while still being able to edit the original file in Maya. So you could work on two screens: one for editing, one for viewing. You’ll need a heavyweight workstation to cope with this, though, while all the other tasks only need a moderately powerful system. For example, my ageing Surface Book with an Nvidia GTX 1650 coped fine, I just needed to wait a few seconds for processing the image.

If you want to know more, there’s an excellent Q&A about the SpatialLabs 27 View Pro online at tinyurl.com/358acerfaq, while the user guide, currently stretching to 56 pages, is at tinyurl.com/358acerguide.

Acer has created plugins for a wide range of 3D software (Image credit: Future)

What, no games?

You’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned games yet. Ironically, developers can design 3D games on the SpatialLabs 27 View Pro but they can’t play them. That’s because Acer wants gamers to buy the Predator SpatialLabs View 27, which includes Acer’s TrueGame software: this allows you to launch supported games to run in 3D. The Predator is due out later this year at an estimated price of £2,199.

I most recently tried TrueGame on Acer’s Predator Helios 3D laptop, and although there are some misses it still blows my mind months after I first saw 3D games in action with my own eyes. You can view the list of currently supported games at tinyurl.com/358truegame.

There is some good gaming news. Thanks to SpatialLabs Go, you can play games that create a side by side view themselves. One example of that is Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and when I hooked up the Chillblast The Karve it created a smooth, solid 3D landscape. It looks great, but whether playing games in 3D is worth the hoop jumping and GPU demands is another question entirely.

Flat switch

Naturally, this is a nice 4K monitor in its own right. With a gamut that stretches across 89% of the DCI-P3 color space in its default mode and with an average Delta E of 0.56, it performed well in our technical tests. It hit 501cd/m2 at its peak, far above Acer’s stated maximum of 400cd/m2, and a peak 160Hz refresh rate is not only great for games but also gives Windows a solidity when you move apps around.

Text looks sharp thanks to that 4K resolution, and if you switch the color temperature to Normal then whites look Persil white, too. As with the Lenovo, the 3D lens overlay shows itself as minuscule grey dots on pure white backgrounds, but I soon stopped noticing this. And I never failed to appreciate the levels of detail in photos or 4K videos.

I’m less impressed by Acer’s on-screen display, which is far less sophisticated than Lenovo’s offering (which also works over USB to avoid fiddling with physical buttons). It relies on a joystick and three separate buttons tucked round the back, but it’s easy to hit the wrong one. There are plenty of options, including presets for sRGB and DCI-P3 that lock you down to those color spaces.

The display comes with a hood to reduce ambient light (Image credit: Future)

Connectivity options

If you’re looking for a cable-free environment, again choose Lenovo. On the ThinkVision, a single USB-C cable is all you need to activate the 3D mode, and it can deliver 100W of power to your laptop, too. That’s a great technical and design achievement because the 3D engine inside the monitor produces heat, and heat affects colour accuracy; the simpler choice is to use an external power brick to remove a heat source, and that’s exactly what Acer chose to do. This means the View Pro’s USB-C connector doesn’t deliver any wattage to a connected laptop.

But many designers rely on a desktop workstation, and they can benefit from 3D effects over the HDMI or DisplayPort so long as they also connect the supplied USB-A to USB-C cable (the Lenovo screen works in exactly the same way, contrary to my original review, but with the benefit of an extra HDMI port). Doing so also gives you access to two USB-A ports on the rear, but these aren’t easy to reach.

You can use the VESA mount – great for medical settings – but most people will stick to the supplied flexible stand. This provides a decent 33° of backwards tilt, 45° of swivel on either side and 150mm of height adjustment. There’s no portrait mode as found on the ThinkVision, nor is it as good looking or well built as its rival, but there’s one final extra in Acer’s favour: it comes with a hood, which reduces ambient light.

Do we have a winner?

Acer has got much right with the SpatialLabs 27 View Pro, even if there are few areas where I can declare it the outright winner compared to Lenovo’s effort. One distinct plus is its speakers, while its integration with 3D creation software is significantly ahead of what Lenovo offers. I don’t like the fact that TrueGame isn’t bundled. Are game creators meant to buy one SpatialLabs 3D screen to design on and another to play on? Isn’t it simply mean not to bundle the software when you’re charging people this much for a monitor? I would have also liked the reassurance of a three-year warranty rather than the typical one year, not to mention a powered USB-C port.

As with its rival, we don’t yet have a confirmed release date or price. Acer estimates the former as late summer/ Q3 and the latter as £2,599. This beats Lenovo’s price by £101, which is welcome, but your final decision may well depend on exactly what 3D software you use.

We've also ranked the best dual-screen monitors.

This review first appeared in issue 359 of PC Pro.

Ruijie Networks isn’t very well known in the UK; this network infrastructure provider has traditionally focused on the enterprise and carrier markets. Its Reyee sub-brand aims to radically change this perception as it presents SMBs with a huge range of affordable networking switches and products.

The Reyee portfolio comprises modular and fixed-port switches, routers, firewalls and wireless APs, and a key feature is they can all be managed from Ruijie’s free cloud portal. UK supplier Broadbandbuyer takes this a stage further, as it offers a complete cloud provisioning service so you just plug them in and go.

On review is the RG-RAP2260(E) AX3200 Wi-Fi 6 access point (AP), which claims top speeds of 2,402Mbits/sec on its 5GHz radio and 800Mbits/sec on the 2.4GHz band. It doesn’t support the high-speed 160MHz channels but offers a 2.5GbE multi-gig LAN port, which requires a PoE+ power source, and its second gigabit LAN port can be used to network other wired devices.

To give us the full Ruijie cloud experience, Broadbandbuyer also supplied an RG-EG105G-P V2 five-port router and RG-ES206GS-P four-port gigabit PoE+ switch. Provisioning starts before you even see the products: we filled in a secure online questionnaire about our networking requirements, confirmed the product order numbers and received a link to our personal portal, which was prepared with a project ready and waiting.

The products duly arrived and, after connecting them together, they appeared online in our portal’s project workspace. The router was already configured with DHCP services on the LAN as per our request, and the AP started broadcasting our previously configured SSIDs.

To ensure there were no bottlenecks in our real-world speed tests, we temporarily hooked the AP up to the lab’s Zyxel XS1930-12HP 10GbE multi-gigabit PoE++ switch and used a Dell Windows 11 workstation with a TP-Link Archer TBE550 Wi-Fi 7 PCI-E adapter. Performance was good, with large file copies between the client and a 10GbE-connected Windows server returning average close-range speeds of 117MB/sec, dropping to 87MB/sec with the AP placed ten metres away in an adjoining room.

The Ruijie Cloud portal is easy to use and, unlike Netgear’s Insight and Zyxel’s Nebula services, it doesn’t require any subscriptions or extra licence packs. Its home page lists all projects – essentially your sites – and selecting one takes you to a dashboard where the Workspace view shows all associated devices and topologies, with quick action icons for creating SSIDs.

Ruijie Reyee delivers top class cloud management (Image credit: Future)

Projects are clearly designed to handle large sites as they support up to 32 SSIDs. Each one can use one or both radios, enforce WPA2 or the stronger WPA3 encryption, apply client isolation so wireless users can’t see each other and set client and SSID upload and download rate limits.

For guest wireless networks, you can present custom captive portals with your own logos, background images and messages. A variety of authentication methods can be applied and if you opt for one-click logins, you can set limits on when and how often a guest can log in.

Monitoring services are outstanding, with the client view identifying devices and categorizing them as PCs, tablets, smartphones, IoT, cameras and more. The Smart Config feature helps create wired and wireless VLANs and apply access controls, while the AI Diagnostics service scans the network, highlights faults and provides root cause analysis.

Network HawkEye provides detailed Wi-Fi experience, load and channel health graphs and more for gateway and WAN status. The Data-Board delivers graphical network reports showing areas such as client summaries, traffic rates, AP loads and captive portal usage, and automated firmware upgrade services are also provided.

Ruijie Reyee clearly has an eye on value as the competitively priced RG-RAP2260(E) delivers plenty of business-class features and an impressive performance. The Ruijie Cloud adds extra appeal as this totally free service offers an incredible range of remote network management and monitoring tools, while Broadbandbuyer’s provisioning service does all the heavy lifting for you.

We also rated the best secure routers.

This review first appeared in issue 359 of PC Pro.

Buy a ThinkPad and you know you’re buying a trustworthy and reliable machine for day-to-day work – and make no mistake, this is an all-out business laptop. This is the first-generation ThinkPad E16, available with AMD or Intel chips, and is currently something of a bargain as Lenovo is slowly bringing Gen 2 models to the market.

Lenovo’s E series of ThinkPads are designed for affordability, but despite this it looks and feels like almost every ThinkPad you can imagine. It comes, as usual, with a completely matt black style that isn’t for everyone but does make an immediate statement of corporate intent. The chassis is aluminum aside from the plastic bottom, and it feels reassuringly solid. It comes with one year of Lenovo’s Premier Support cover, complete with next-business-day repair.

At 1.8kg this chunky laptop isn’t designed for life on the move (Image credit: Future)

You can expect speedy performance, too. Our review sample included the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, which it no longer ships with, so the price above includes the closest offering: a 7430U. This has a lower peak frequency, 4.3GHz to 4.5GHz, but with the same six cores and 12 threads you can expect similar speeds as in our tests. Those who need more should spend an extra £80 on the Ryzen 7 7730U, as this gives you eight cores and 16 threads.

Our tested system included 16GB of RAM, but the price includes 24GB: 16GB soldered, 8GB via a SODIMM. If you need even more, you can choose the 72GB model (40GB/32GB) as that only costs an extra £35 at the time of configuration. Less impressive are AMD’s integrated AMD Radeon graphics, especially compared to the discrete graphics seen elsewhere.

In terms of results in our tests, “solid” is the word. The Ryzen 5 and AMD graphics pairing doesn’t match up well to Intel’s 12th or 13th Gen processors and Intel Iris Xe graphics, as a glance at the graphs on p94 makes clear. Still, it won’t slow you down in office tasks, and that’s reflected in its fourth place in the PCMark Essentials benchmark and second position in the Productivity test. It’s content creation – or any task that requires heavy work across multiple cores – where this laptop falls down.

Notably, any tests that focused on the graphics chip also dragged it down the table. When it comes to gaming, think light. The E16 came second from last in 3DMark’s Time Spy DirectX 12 benchmark, and couldn’t even hit double digits for frames with low settings in the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark. Its battery-life tests were slightly better, typically lasting around seven hours, but at 1.8kg this chunky laptop isn’t designed for life on the move.

Slap it on a desk, though, and the ThinkPad E16 is the epitome of strong, function-focused design. A square lid covers an expansive keyboard, complete with number pad and minimal key shrinkage – there are even separate arrow and PgUp/PgDn keys. The keys don’t have the cushioning of more expensive ThinkPads, with a relatively snappy 1.5mm travel, but they’re clearly designed for heavy use over the lifetime of the laptop and feel solid. As ever, Lenovo’s TrackPoint cursor controller sits above the touchpad, and thanks to a pair of buttons it’s fairly intuitive even for new users.

A number pad adds to the laptop’s functionality (Image credit: Future)

The ThinkPad’s webcam is clear if a little lacking in saturation, and its speakers are what you’d expect from a business laptop: fine for video calls, but they miss some low-end so headphones or external speakers are the best bet for anyone wanting to enjoy music or films with deeper audio. The microphone records clear audio, with our recorded test delivered back to us in a voice that was wholly familiar, without distortion or a skewed pitch.

One area where the budget shows itself is the screen. sRGB coverage was joint lowest at 54%, while its average Delta E of 4.79 again pushed it close to the bottom of the table. This is not a laptop for photographers. However, its anti-glare covering ensures it’s always visible, especially when paired with a peak brightness of 348cd/m2 and solid 1,159:1 contrast ratio. You might notice slightly fuzziness on text, with a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution across a 16in display equating to 141ppi, but at least there’s plenty of room; viewing two windows side by side is bearable.

Ultimately, a business-focused laptop is best for business-focused tasks. That rings true for this ThinkPad, which is comfortable dealing with apps, office work and most multitasking outside of content creation. If you want to break out of pure office gridlines, this isn’t the laptop to opt for, but if you’re looking for a largely desk-based workhorse backed with a great warranty then it’s a strong choice

We've also ranked the best content marketing tools.

ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger review

The ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger is available at a list price of $24.99 / £22.49 / AU$37.49 on the official ESR website, but at the time of writing it has a lower list price at Amazon, so it's worth checking in there in case there's a saving to be made.

This ESR charger is a similar price to the Anker MagGo Wireless Charger Pad, which was more comfortable to hold when attached to the back of my phone but lacked the reinforced cable that the ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger possesses.

Due to its light weight, the ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger naturally moves about on surfaces if knocked or the cable is pulled. However, its flat base provides a bit more stability than the curved base of the Anker MagGo Wireless Charger Pad. The downside of this flatter design with sharper edges, in contrast to the Anker MagGo Wireless Charger Pad, is that it isn't as comfortable to hold as the curved shape of the Anker charger. Despite this, it was still easy to handle, even with my smaller-than-average hands, and makes a nice alternative to a bulky power bank.

However, the ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger has the advantage over many of the best wireless chargers when it comes to cable integrity. It features a reassuring length of reinforcing cable cover where it meets the charging pad and braided nylon around the wiring. I'm not really a fan of integrated cables: I prefer one that I can remove to make a charger easier to pack away, but at least the robust-looking cable gives me some confidence that it isn't going to get easily damaged in my overnight bag. The magnet strength was also reassuring, passing the dangle test with ease when I hung the pad by the wire with an iPhone 13 Pro attached.

It took the ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger two hours and eight minutes to fully charge an iPhone 13 Pro, which is near enough the same amount of time it took for the Anker MagGo Wireless Charger Pad to do the same.

In summary, this isn't the charging pad I'd choose if my priority was comfort as I continue to use my phone. However, if I planned to take it between locations regularly, the ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger would be my top choice due to the reinforced cable design. The charging time was good for the price, and a teeny bit quicker than the comparable Anker charging pad, so aside from the not-so-comfortable design, the ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger would definitely be my pick of the two.

If you're not certain that a wireless charging pad is the best format for your needs, we have a range of other options to check out in our guides of the best wireless chargers and best iPhone chargers.

(Image credit: Future) ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger review: Price & specs

(Image credit: Future) Should I buy the ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger? Buy it if…

You want to save space
One positive of wireless charging pads over a charging station is that it won't take up room on your desk or nightstand, and can easily be picked up and placed whenever you need to use your phone.

You need reinforcement
One downside to integrated power cables is that they can take a battering when placed in bags or drawers, causing the cable to deteriorate over time. But with the robust sleeve and braided cable on this ESR charger, it's likely to deal with a lot more stress than an unreinforced alternative.

Don't buy it if…

You don't want cables to get in the way
If this isn't going to be your main charger and you're just looking for something easy to hold so you can use your phone as it's charging, a wireless power bank may prove a more convenient option.

You want your phone to stay put
This charging pad doesn't possess the weight or anti-slip elements it needs to hold its own on a busy desk. If you want your phone to stay in one place then a wireless charging stand might be a better choice.

ESR Qi2 Mini Wireless Charger review: Also consider

Anker MagGo Wireless Charger Pad
If you regularly use your phone while it's charging, then you might be interested in this more ergonomic charging pad. The design isn't quite as robust as the ESR charger, but I could forgive this as it was really comfortable to hold, even in my smaller-than-average hands.

ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock) review

The ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock) costs a reasonable $39.99 / £35.99 / AU$59.99 and is available direct from ESR, or at Amazon. This is cheaper than many alternatives I've tested, which may give it an edge over other models.

As per many other in-car chargers, the ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock) is available in black on the ESR website, but at Amazon (US only) it also comes in grey and titanium colors, curiously. The front face of the charger is 3.1 x 3.1 inches / 80 x 80mm, which felt a little oversized considering I've tested slimmer alternatives that held just as well. Even so, it's not visible past the edges of an iPhone 12 Pro, or an iPhone 13 Pro; it's perhaps just personal preference that I'd rather have something smaller that isn't so obvious when a phone isn't in situ. I wasn't a fan of the shiny circular MagSafe charging area either; I didn't like that it could reflect light, plus it gathers dust.

(Image credit: Future)

The ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock) comes with two attachment options. It has a sticky pad to apply it to the dashboard, and a separate clip-on attachment so it can be fixed onto the air vents. I found this to work well; the clip is stiff to open but I managed to open it enough to slide it on. It has a handy little stability arm that folds down, stopping it from bouncing about while I drive, which even some of the best iPhone chargers for in-car usage don't offer. The charger comes with a USB-C cable, which I powered through an adapter in my car's cigarette lighter.

As was the case with the Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2 I tested, the hanging cable proved a bit obtrusive as it comes from the bottom of the charging pad, meaning it hung in front of the dash controls and proved an occasional irritation as I shifted gear. As I already had the Pitaka in place, I simply hoiked the ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock) over that to get it out of the way, but in the long term, I would look to use some stick-on cable tidy clips.

Something I noticed – which I also encountered with the similarly designed ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Watch Wireless Charging Set – is that the phone gets warm while it charges. This may explain why ESR has released another of these charging sets with CryoBoost, for an additional cost.

(Image credit: Future)

Speaking of warm things: my commute to work is a bit of a trial by fire for the in-car accessories I review, with an obstacle course of potholes and some aggressive speed bumps to contend with. The ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock) proved a worthy adversary to these challengers, however, keeping a tight hold on my phone and holding its position valiantly.

The ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock) charged an iPhone 13 Pro from 0% to 40% in half an hour, meaning that in that time frame it charged the phone an extra 10% compared to the Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2.

Overall, despite the dustiness and the fact it warms the phone while charging, this is a fast-charging and reliable in-car charger. If you're looking for recommendations on other variants of MagSafe chargers to use at home or on the go, why not check out our pick of the best wireless chargers.

ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock) review: Price & specs Should I buy the ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock)? Buy it if…

You want a reliable holder
Even through turbulent commutes, this ESR wireless charger kept a tight grip on my iPhone – and it didn't have an easy ride. Miles more efficient than a standard phone cradle, it stays where you want it as it charges your phone.

You want versatility
The two included attachment mounts give peace of mind when ordering, as you have another option if one mount doesn't provide the ideal placement for your phone. The air vent clip was my personal favorite, but it's great to have the option to stick it on too.

Don't buy it if…

You don't want a dust magnet
This is only a minor negative, which may not bother some, but I didn't like how much dust the protruding circular charging area collected, and its reflective surface proved to be a bit of a dust magnet too.

You don't want to get cable-tied
This will vary depending on the position of the charger and your car, but I found the cable proved obtrusive at times, getting in the way of the radio controls and occasionally proving irritating when shifting gears.

ESR Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Halolock) review: Also consider

Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2
If you'd prefer a slimmer and more subtle profile, and you're willing to spend a little more, then I highly recommend this Pitaka hook-on car charger. Attached to your air vents, it offers a strong hold and easy repositioning on the move. Check out the full Pikata MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2 review to learn more.View Deal

Ugreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station review

The Ugreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station is a budget-priced iPhone and AirPods charger, with a list price of $39.99 / £29.99 / AU$59.99 at Amazon. This is the cheapest MagSafe charging stand I've tested to date, albeit the majority of these wireless chargers have charged three devices rather than two. It's certainly nice to have a 2-in-1 option available though, if you're yet to be tempted by an Apple Watch.

In terms of design, the Ugreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station is simple but has some attractive little details. Aside from the charging pad and the top of the base, it has a slightly metallic charcoal grey finish, with dark mirrored sections at either end of the pencil-thin post. The only thing that lets it down aesthetically is the cheaper-looking black plastic finish of the top face of the base.

I was pleased that the circular charging pad sits on a robust-feeling hinge, so I could change the viewing angle easily. Some chargers lack this ability, such as the ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Watch Wireless Charging Set (HaloLock), despite it being around double the price – though this extra expense is reasonable enough considering the much faster charging speeds and added Apple Watch charger.

The charger proved suitably heavy and sturdy despite the compact circular base and skinny charging post. The charging pad has a soft matte finish that collects dust, but other than that it looks and feels nice. The base of the charger has a USB-C input for the included USB-C cable, and there's an inset AirPods charging area towards the front. There's also a small indicator light to indicate the charger has been powered on, and to act as a status light for AirPods or other compatible wireless earbud case charging.

The Ugreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station can charge iPhones 12 to 16, and AirPods 2 to 4. Unfortunately, it has been one of the slowest MagSafe chargers I've tested to date, taking three hours to fully charge an iPhone 13 Pro, making it over an hour slower than the average charging speed of the many wireless chargers I've tested. That being said, it's the cheapest charging stand I've reviewed so far, and by some margin, so if you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, perhaps slow charging can be forgiven.

Overall, the Ugreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station is an option worth considering if you're keen to get your hands on a MagSafe charging stand without breaking the bank, or if you don't need an Apple Watch charger. If the Ugreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station isn't quite ticking your boxes, we've got a bunch of other recommendations over in our best wireless charger guide, and it's worth checking out our pick of the best iPhone chargers too.

(Image credit: Future) Ugreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station review: price & specs

(Image credit: Future) Should I buy the Ugreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station? Buy it if...

You want a compact charging station
Some charging stations like to make a statement, and take up room while doing it, but this Ugreen 2-in-1 charger has a satisfyingly small footprint while remaining reassuringly stable.

You only want to pay for what you need
There are a bunch of 3-in-1 MagSafe chargers out there, so it pays to have a cost-effective charging option designed to juice up just the devices you own.

Don't buy it if...

You don't like to be kept waiting
There's no denying it, this is far from the fastest MagSafe charger out there. It was left straggling behind the other wireless chargers I tested, taking a leisurely three hours to fully charge an iPhone 13 Pro.

You want a high-end finish
The design of this charger is by no means cheap and nasty, but the budget-looking black plastic finish at the top of the base plus the dust-collecting and slightly poor-fitting charging pad surface doesn't exactly scream premium quality.

Ugreen MagFlow 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Station review: also consider

Mous MagSafe Compatible 3 In 1 Portable Charger
If cheap and compact are a priority in your quest for a new wireless charger, then this Mous charger might just be of interest. For a bit more investment you can get this charger that has the benefit of Apple Watch charging capability, plus it folds down to a satisfyingly small size, so it's effortlessly easy to carry with you on the go. You can check out the full Mous MagSafe Compatible 3 In 1 Portable Charger review here.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PC
Available on: PC
Release date: September 26, 2024

Mouthwashing has made a statement in late 2024. I wouldn't be surprised if you've seen it all over social media, as more streamers and gaming fans are diving straight into the latest indie horror game. It's easy to see why, even just saying the name of the game makes people go "Mouthwashing? What kind of name is that?". Well, nothing can quite prepare you for the next two hours or so worth of gameplay, I can tell you that much. A game with a title so strange deserves to be a wild ride and god, I'm going to be thinking about this for such a long time alongside many of the other best horror games out there.

Indie game developers Wrong Organ are the ones to blame for the inevitable onslaught of nightmares I'll have over the coming days, as they've burned their horrifying imagery into my retinas and they're probably feeling pretty gleeful about that. In fact, it's so utterly disturbing I've had a hard time picking out images for this article for fear of scaring away half our audience. I've spared you the worst of it, whether or not you go and see the rest for yourself is up to you.

In space no one can hear you... drinking mouthwash?

(Image credit: Wrong Organ)

Mouthwashing has a wonderfully sadistic premise. The five-person crew of the Tulpar, a freighter spacecraft owned by Pony Express, find their ship in a state of emergency. It was intentionally crashed, causing irreversible damage, and now its crew is stranded in space. We learn this in the first 30 seconds of the game where a little tagline in the captain's log reads I hope this hurts. It only gets darker from that moment on.

Not only are they stranded, and they've had their personal credits docked due to navigational incompetence (you will quickly learn Pony Express likes to dock worker's pay), but food and supplies are rapidly running out. But, hey, they're transporting cargo! Surely there's something of value in there right? They'll be penalized if they take a little peek at what they're transporting, but surely it's worth the risk if you're literally stranded?

Well, as the title foreshadows, their cargo is useless. It's just boxes and boxes of mouthwash. No food in sight, nothing useful. As if being stranded wasn't cruel enough. Sanity is in short supply too, and that soon begins to dwindle.

We play as Jimmy, the co-pilot of the Tulpar. He's Curly's second in command, and the captain has seen better days. When we meet Curly, we learn he bore the brunt of the damage from the crash, rendering him mute, physically scarred, and without any hands or feet. He's in a terrible condition and has a frightening appearance, something the game does not shy away from.

The rest is made up of Anya, the nurse and sole female member of the crew (yes, that is an uncomfortable experience), Daisuke the cheerful, naive intern whose parents forced him to get the job, and Swansea the gruff, recovering alcoholic mechanic. The game is non-linear and moves before and after the big crash, where we get to see the dynamics between the characters and Jimmy's worsening mental state. His inevitable breakdown is where the real horror comes in.

The descent into madness

(Image credit: Wrong Organ) Best bit

(Image credit: Wrong Organ)

During the height of Jimmy's frightening breakdown, he hallucinates a party scene. I'm not going to include an image from the real scary moment, that would be a spoiler, but Curly looking ominous next to a cake should do the trick. You will know the party scene when you get there, and then you'll end up wishing you were anywhere but.

It's important to note that Mouthwashing is a very surreal game. You find yourself in impossible locations, you see things that don't exist, and much of the game is Jimmy hallucinating the most horrible stuff. There are a few jump scares here and there, especially the climactic vent scene near the end of the game, but much of the horror comes from the psychological aspects. Horrible visuals, sudden text popping up on-screen, and Jimmy's often deranged decisions are far scarier than things that go bump in the night. Or day. Frankly, it's hard to tell what time it is onboard the Tulpar and that's also pretty scary.

One of the Steam tags does describe the game as a walking simulator, but don't be surprised if it's more of a "frozen on the spot" simulator because you're bracing yourself for whatever horrors await behind closed doors or hidden inside vents. The game is dialogue-heavy in a lot of places - you'll read a brilliant monologue from Swansea late in the game - but the scares are in abundance too. It's hard to wax lyrical about how great this game is without going into full spoilers, so you're just going to have to see for yourself.

There's a limited amount of voice acting here but the sounds we do hear are crafted in such a way it'll make your skin crawl. Curly's wails and moans of pain, screaming sounds, and eerie corporate jingles are all this game needs to pack a very effective punch. It makes way for the haunting soundtrack to do most of the legwork, which only elevates the horror.

The less said about this, the better, as it really is a game you should go in and experience for yourself. You'll learn so much about the characters for better and for worse, and it leaves a lasting impression. You play for a couple of hours, but it will stay with you for much, much longer.

Should I play Mouthwashing?

(Image credit: Wrong Organ) Play it if...

You like surrealism in games
The game goes off the rails pretty quickly and you'll end up navigating some pretty baffling scenarios involving hallucinations, distortions, and strange landscapes. If you're put off by weird, unrealistic visuals, a different kind of sci-fi horror is better for you. View Deal

You like reading
There's an absence of voice acting here, so you'll be expected to read a lot to figure stuff out. If you like piecing together stuff via text-based clues instead of skipping dialogue, Mouthwashing is right for you. Take your time, explore properly, and absorb everything you're told.View Deal

Don't play it if...

You're squeamish
This game is incredibly grisly and dark. Expect scenes of violence, torture, references to sexual assault (note: this is subtle but still upsetting), as well as some really in-your-face imagery. Don't let the lack of high-fidelity graphics fool you, it's deeply unpleasant without a need for high definition.View Deal

You want combat
Although the game is visceral and violent in places, there is no traditional combat in Mouthwashing. Instead, you walk around and interact with things, which might be too slow a pace for some players. The thrills and chills don't come from fighting here.View Deal

Accessibility

Mouthwashing is very easy to navigate. There are different language and subtitling options, and since 99% of the dialogue is not spoken and comes up as text, it's very clear and easy to understand. You can adjust your camera sensitivity too, but I played on the default settings and had no issues.

There are also quite a lot of flashing images and things suddenly popping up that are unavoidable, and visually it can be jarring and distorted, but that is simply the nature of the game rather than a technical issue. If you do find yourself affected by these things, just be aware it's a very unforgiving game in that sense.

How I reviewed Mouthwashing

I tested Mouthwashing for around two hours and finished the main game. I played the game using a Lenovo Legion 5-15ACH6H gaming laptop with Beats Flex wireless headphones and a PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller. I also did additional testing with the laptop’s built-in keyboard and Steelseries Aerox 9 wireless gaming mouse, to check that the game ran smoothly in both modes.

Headline 2: Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand review: a speedy and stable 3-in-1 MagSafe charger

Headline 3: Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand review: a speedy and steadfast 3-in-1 MagSafe charger that's perfect for the chronically clumsy

Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand review

The Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand has a list price of $99.99 / $89.99 / AU$199.95, making it considerably cheaper than the Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe, which takes over half an hour longer to charge an iPhone 13 Pro. It's available to purchase from the official Anker site in the US, UK, and Australia and is also available at Amazon, but only in the US and UK at the time of writing.

I was very impressed when the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand charged up an iPhone 13 Pro in just 1 hour and 38 minutes thanks to Anker's signature wireless fast charging, Wireless PowerIQ. This makes it the fastest MagSafe charger I've tested, and I've tested a lot of them! It also proved the fastest at charging my Series 9 Apple Watch, taking just 1 hour and 4 minutes to juice it from 0% to 100%, making it a worthy contender to win a spot in our pick of the best iPhone chargers. It also had no problem charging AirPods Pro 2, and Motorola Moto Buds+ cases.

(Image credit: Future)

Although I like the black version I tested, in all honesty I prefer the look of the Shell White Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand. Still, it made an attractive addition to my desktop as I like its minimalist yet interesting aesthetic. However, quite quickly the circular base was starting to show dust, which made it somewhat less attractive. This may not be a bother for some but I wouldn't want to have to wipe down my charger regularly, and the silicone-type material of the earbuds charger seemed to become rather attached to the aforementioned dust, and wasn't keen on letting go.

It isn't exactly the most compact 3-in-1 charger you could buy though, with a base size of 5.5 x 5.5 inches / 140 x 140mm, so you'd need the space for it. The charger is available in Shell White and black on the official Anker site for the US and Australia, but it would appear it's only available in black for the UK, however, you can buy it in Shell White at Amazon UK.

(Image credit: Future)

Due to its wide base, I had no concerns about accidentally knocking this 3-in-1 stand over, and, even after some provoking, my phone just swiveled on the charger rather than falling off, which scored this charger some brownie points as I'm chronically clumsy. All three devices are easily accessed, unlike some other 3-in-1 chargers, such as the ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Travel Wireless Charging Set, which hides the watch and earbuds chargers behind the MagSafe phone mount. One little niggle I had with it was the firmness of the hold when I tried to use my phone as it charged. It swivels more than other MagSafe chargers I've tried out, not to a ridiculous extent, but at times it proved a little irritating. It does, however, make it super easy to change the phone's orientation from portrait to landscape, so it's not all bad.

In a nutshell, though, the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand had a surprisingly fast charging time and was strong and sturdy enough to withstand my sometimes chaotic desk environment. While the price is higher than alternatives such as the ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Watch Wireless Charging Set, it has a more attractive aesthetic, provides easier access to all three devices, and charges a bit quicker too. If you want to look at other wireless charging options before making a decision, I recommend checking out our selection of the best wireless chargers to see what else is out there.

Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand review: Price & specs Should I buy the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand? Buy it if…

You want something a bit fancier
If you're tired of boring black desktop charging sets, then this Anker 3-in-1 charger might be what you've been searching for. With a large circular base and its shiny silver post and charging arms, it makes for something a little different, without being too "out there".

You want a quick charger
I was thoroughly pleased with the charging speeds delivered during testing. This is the fastest MagSafe charger I've tested so far, and trust me, I've tested a lot of them. If you want to juice up your iPhone or Apple Watch in under two hours then this is the charger for you, just make sure you're using the included plug for the best result.

Don't buy it if…

You want something compact
As sturdy and efficient as this charger is, it may prove too much of a space invader for people who don't have much room to spare on their desk or nightstand. If this sounds familiar, I have a space-saving recommendation in the Also Consider section below.

Dust gets you down
I can't comment on how noticeable it would be on the Shell White variant, but in the first few minutes of having the charger on my desk, I started spotting pesky specs of dust on the black circular base.

Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand review: Also consider

ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Watch Wireless Charging Set
A more compact solution to your desktop charging needs, this ESR charger features an earbud charger in the square base, a MagSafe charger on a post, and a clip-on watch charger behind. It's still a bit of a dust magnet, especially the shiny surface of the charging pad, but considering it only took fourteen minutes longer to charge an iPhone 13 Pro than the Anker charger, plus it's a fair bit cheaper, I think I can forgive that.View Deal

Kindle Paperwhite SE: One-minute review

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is a mainstay on our list of the best Kindles, and the new Paperwhite offers just enough improvements to keep the e-reader feeling fresh while still leaving me wanting a bit more. It’s a little brighter, a little sharper, and a lot faster, and it turns out that speed truly makes a difference if you read a lot.

The main factor behind your choice of e-reader is where you get your books. If you buy books from Amazon or subscribe to Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited service, the Kindle is your only choice, and the Kindle Paperwhite is the best Kindle for most people. It’s bright, durable, and even water-resistant enough to survive a splash of salt water if you want to read in the sand.

Of course, the color Kindle is here, but don’t look at the Kindle Colorsoft if you don’t yearn for color when you read. It’s hard to go back to black and white once you’ve seen it, and the Colorsoft costs a lot more than the Kindle Paperwhite.

The Amazon Kindle Colorsoft is basically a Paperwhite in color (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

That’s fine because the Kindle Paperwhite does everything you’d expect from a Kindle, no more and no less. If you want a bit more, my review sample was the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, which includes wireless charging and maxes out the storage. I didn’t once charge the Kindle wirelessly except to test that it works, but you can buy a dock from Amazon to prop your Kindle at your bedside and let it charge while it shows you the cover of the book you’re reading.

That’s if you pay a little extra for the Kindle Paperwhite without lockscreen ads. I’m not a fan of Amazon’s common lockscreen ad scheme. I don’t like my phone, tablet, or e-reader serving me ads as a privilege of ownership. It feels cynical, and even though you can save $20 / £10 (and why is it so much cheaper in the UK?!) by allowing Amazon to take over your Kindle lockscreen with advertisements, I’d rather see my book covers or even just Amazon’s pleasant reading-themed wallpapers. Thankfully, the Signature Edition doesn't have lockscreen ads.

If you get your books from the library (yes, your local library will lend you an e-book) or if you buy from a seller other than Amazon, you have more choices, but the Kindle Paperwhite is still one of the best. I wish it had real buttons to turn pages, like the Kobo Libra e-reader. Buttons just feel more reliable than tapping or swiping, especially if I’m in the tub and my fingers are soapy.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition exceeds other e-readers in its speed and responsiveness. Turning pages feels fast now, much faster than it was on older Kindle devices, and zooming into a chart or a picture happens almost as quickly as it would on a smartphone. I didn’t think a performance boost would make such a huge difference for a Kindle, but it’s really noticeable and makes the e-reader better.

Besides the library, Amazon’s Kindle book store is also the most robust place to buy books. You’ll find every title you want, and the store is great at making suggestions. I was slightly disappointed by the Kindle Unlimited content offering, though, so I wouldn’t recommend the subscription service unless reading is your passion and not just a pastime.

The new Kindle Paperwhite is an easy e-reader to recommend because the Paperwhite wasn’t broken, and Amazon didn’t fix it. It’s just a bit better, but it does everything I need an electronic book to do. The only thing I miss is color, and I suspect that the next Paperwhite upgrade that comes along in a few years will satisfy that craving.

Kindle Paperwhite SE review: price and availability

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• $159.99 / £159.99 for the Kindle Paperwhite with 16GB of storage, with ads
• $199.99 / £189.99 for the Signature Edition with 32GB and wireless charging
• No Australia launch date yet

The Kindle Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature Edition are a bit more expensive than the Kindle Paperwhite from 2021, and you don’t really get anything new. It’s a better device, to be sure, with a brighter screen and a more responsive interface, but I don’t like that it’s creeping up in price, especially since it’s an excellent vessel for Amazon to sell you more Kindle books.

Never fear! Because the Kindle Paperwhite will likely get discounted often. I’m finishing this review just before the 2024 Black Friday deals season starts, and the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition already has its first discount: it’s $45 / £35 off at Amazon. That’s a good start! I’m sure we’ll see this e-reader drop in price every time Amazon has a sale day, or a holiday, or a day that ends in 'y.'

Is it worth the price? Compared to what? There aren’t any other e-readers that synchronize perfectly with Amazon’s book store, unless you buy a more expensive device that runs Android and can load the Kindle app. That’s a bridge too far, on my reading journey.

The Kobo Clara Color costs less than a Kindle Paperwhite (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

You can find a Kobo Clara e-reader with a smaller display for less money; you can even get a Kobo Clara Color e-reader for less than a Kindle Paperwhite, let alone the Signature Edition Paperwhite. The Clara has a smaller display, and you should definitely explore Kobo’s book library before you commit if you’re making a switch.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Kindle Paperwhite SE review: Specs

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future) Kindle Paperwhite SE review: design

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Looks nicer with Signature Edition metallic paint
• No page turning buttons, and power button is poorly placed

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is a very simple e-reader, and Amazon hasn’t improved the design at all except to offer some brighter paint options, especially if you spring for the Signature Edition with its metallic paint. That’s the review sample I have, and I like the look much more than the basic matte black finish, as you’ll find on the Paperwhite and the Kindle Colorsoft.

What happened to Kindles that felt premium? The Kindle Oasis lingered for years as a premium model, clad in metal with real page-turn buttons. I guess Amazon gave that all up to cut prices, or maybe readers just didn’t want to pay more for a luxurious electronic book. In any case, I hope Amazon offers an alternative to the bland plastic Kindle Paperwhite slab in the future.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition from the side (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I also hope Amazon brings back page buttons because pressing a button is easier than swiping or tapping on the correct spot. If I held the Kindle Paperwhite SE too high, I’d open a menu instead of turning the page. Just give me a button.

There's only one button on the Kindle Paperwhite SE, and it’s the unfortunately placed power button. If you rest the Paperwhite on a desk while reading or rest it heavily on a finger for balance, you might turn off the screen by accident.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is certainly simple; I just wish there were more elegance to be found.

• Design score: 2 / 5

Kindle Paperwhite SE review: display

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• E Ink Carta 1300 display
• Full set of white and amber LEDs for reading at night

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition uses the latest E Ink black and white Carta 1300 display, which doesn’t offer more sharpness than past Kindle screens, but the Kindle already looks great when it’s displaying text and writing. Pictures look good enough in 16 levels of grey, but if you want better graphics, you should go for the Kindle Colorsoft.

The display does an impressive job keeping up with the improved performance inside. I expected to see a lot more ghosting and residual characters as I zoomed in and out of a page, but the Paperwhite SE gave me a lighter version of my screen for panning, then flashed briefly and gave me a darker, final version when I was steady.

The Kindle Paperwhite SE can get plenty bright, so be warned that the incredible 12 weeks of battery life only applies when you are reading at half brightness. If you are in a well-lit room you won’t need any light at all, but reading before bed is my personal habit, so I use the light frequently. There’s a full set of amber lights and white LEDs inside so that you can eliminate all the blue light before bedtime.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Kindle Paperwhite SE review: software

The Kindle has direct access to Goodreads to rate your books (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Amazon’s Kindle software keeps things very simple
• Better performance makes menus and libraries move faster

If you buy books through Amazon, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition does a perfect job delivering those books to your device. The Kindle can synchronize your progress easily if you read across multiple devices. It can also report your reading to Goodreads automatically or connect you to the social service to write your own reviews.

There isn’t much more to the Kindle Paperwhite SE. If you have books from other sources, you can connect the Kindle Paperwhite to your computer directly or just synchronize through Amazon’s web-based software.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

There is a web browser, but it’s dreadfully simple, maybe thankfully so. You won’t find yourself distracted and browsing your favorite websites on this e-reader. I could barely get TechRadar.com to load beyond some text boxes.

The big thing that I’m missing with Kindle software is the ability to annotate my books right on the page. The Kobo Libra can use a stylus to take notes on a book. Not just highlighting or sticky notes but actually drawing in the margins and on the page. It’s a nifty trick that Amazon really needs to adopt, especially for the Kindle Scribe.

• User experience score: 4 / 5

Kindle Paperwhite SE review: performance

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Surprisingly fast performance on E Ink
• Improved scrolling, moves faster than before

Amazon gave the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition a dual-core processor inside, which makes this electronic book more powerful than the Apollo 11 lunar lander. That means it can turn pages very quickly. I joke, but in fact, the difference is noticeable if you’ve ever owned a Kindle and been annoyed by slow page turns.

The only place where the Kindle still lags behind modern technology is in touch sensitivity. The E Ink display is not very sensitive, and I still felt a delay between tapping the screen, like when I needed to enter my Wi-Fi password, and when the character appeared. Menus were faster when I was scrolling, but still not totally reliable when tapping through them.

Frankly, there’s not much more I could ask for with Kindle performance. I’ve seen E Ink displays that try to do a lot more, and they overcomplicate simple technology like e-paper. I’m happy that Amazon made the interface more responsive. The next frontier is touch response.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Kindle Paperwhite SE review: battery

USB-C charging or go wireless with the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

• Excellent battery life, if you follow the rules
• Avid readers will get a week of battery life or more

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition will last for 12 weeks on a single charge, if you’re a casual reader. Amazon’s 12-week claim calls for 30 minutes of reading with the screen at just under half brightness. If you read all day in bright sunshine, the Kindle Paperwhite SE might last longer. If you read in the dark New England winter nights, the Paperwhite will need to charge more often.

The good news is that you will get over 40 hours of screen time between charges, and the battery won’t die if you put the book down for a few weeks. If you read at a good pace, you’ll be able to read a couple of books before you need to charge the Kindle Paperwhite, and that’s exceptional for any modern electronic device.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition features wireless charging. I like the wireless option as an elegant solution for keeping your Kindle topped up on a bedside stand, but it’s not essential at all.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition? Buy it if...

You want a new Kindle
Amazon hasn’t given us a proper new Kindle for reading in years. Time to rejoice! New Kindles have arrived.

You’re a serious reader
You can buy the cheaper Amazon Kindle, but serious readers want brighter displays with better battery life, and the Paperwhite is the one.

You’ll be reading in harsh, beach-like conditions
The Kindle Paperwhite is IP67 rated, so it can resist sand and even salt-water (with a proper rinse after).

Don't buy it if...

You read comics or graphic novels
If you don’t care about color, don’t worry about the Kindle Colorsoft. But who doesn’t care about color?!

You want to take notes on your books
E-readers from Kobo can write directly on the pages, and there’s always the Kindle Scribe if you need a pen.

You expect a real web browser
The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite still keeps things simple. This device is for reading without distractions, not doomscrolling.

Also consider

Kobo Clara Colour
You can save a bit of money and even check out a color E Ink display with the Kobo Clara Color. As long as your books aren’t all on Kindle, it’s worth a look.
Read our in-depth Kobo Clara Color review

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024)
The base model Kindle Paperwhite doesn't have wireless charging, which I never needed, and it comes with only 16GB of storage, which is more than enough for most avid readers.

Check out the Kindle Paperwhite at Amazon

How I tested the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Testing period - three weeks
• Subscribed to Kindle Unlimited and Comixology
• Tested books, comics, audiobooks, and bathtub reading

I used the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition for three weeks before I published this review. I read two novels, multiple short stories, Japanese manga, and a number of other materials, including cookbooks and magazine.

I used the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition for listening to audiobooks from Audible, and for listening while I read the same book. I used the Paperwhite in the bathtub to test its water resistance, and because reading in the bathtub is the main reason I like to review Kindle Paperwhite devices.

I did not have a dedicated wireless charging dock, but I tried charging the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition with a Qi-compatible wireless charging adapter that attaches magnetically to the back of a smartphone. Before my review period I charged the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition using the USB-C port, and I only charged it one more time before this review was completed, even though I read daily and usually for more than an hour a day.

I used the Kindle Paperwhite without a case, and the photos in this review reflect its condition after daily use without a case, which is pretty good. I subscribed to Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited service and Comixology, and I also loaded books into my collection through the Overdrive library borrowing system and my local library.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed November 2024]