TechRadar Reviews

Razer Enki Pro: One-minute review

The Razer Enki Pro is a premium, high-end gaming chair that provides you with immense comfort, to the point I would consider it one of the most comfortable gaming chairs I have ever sat in.

It offers exceptional lumbar support, even for those who enjoy sitting in weird positions in their chair - myself included. You get 4D armrests, which are a joy if you’re someone who prefers a certain position for typing and then another for gaming.

However, one of the major downsides here is the fact that it will set you back $999 / £999, which is double the cost of even some of the best gaming chairs on the market like the Secretlab Titan Evo, which comes in at just $500 / £469.

At this hefty price point, you would expect a feature-packed seat with close to perfect ergonomics, but the Razer Enki Pro falls a tad short here. The Herman Miller x Logitech Embody gaming chair is another top-end premium seat, which comes with ergonomics designed to support your entire back and a 12-year warranty in comparison.

Another qualm I’ve got with the Razer Enki Pro, which is almost definitely more of a personal one, is the lack of style on offer from the chair here. It looks like a bog-standard gaming chair when it comes to colour, design and silhouette, which is a bit disappointing coming from Razer - whose products are typically very stylish.

Of course, this will be down to personal preference, but the hardback shell of the seat is just not for me.

(Image credit: Future)Razer Enki Pro: Price and availability

• Costs $999 / £999 / AU$1799
• Pricey when compared to similar gaming chairs
• Only one colorway available

At just under $1000, the Razer Enki Pro is a pricey chair considering what’s on offer. Chairs that offer a similar feature set include the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 and the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL, which both come in closer to the $500 mark.

You can pick up the Razer Enki Pro in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Stock is limited in other regions thanks to how large and heavy the chair is, which can make shipping difficult.

You can grab a couple of special editions for the Razer Enki Pro, including the Lamborghini, Williams Esports, or Koenigsegg editions, which come in at a higher price point of $1,299 / £1,299, but the base chair only comes in a black and green colourway.

The chair often goes on sale over at the Razer website, where you can typically grab the seat at $100 / £100 off making the value proposition a little better.

Razer Enki Pro: Specs

Max weight of user

299lbs / 136kg

Max height of user

6’ 8” / 204cm

Recline angle

152 degrees with reactive seat tilt

Warranty

3 years limited

Lumbar support

Built-in lumbar arch

Material

Alcantara and EPU synthetic leather

Razer Enki Pro: Design and aesthetics

• Extremely heavy
• 4D armrests
• Alcantara seat

One of the first things you’ll notice about the Razer Enki Pro, before even unboxing the chair, is the weight.

At around 30kg, this chair is extremely heavy, to the point that it feels weighty even when just moving it around or swivelling. While the weight does make the chair seem very heavy-duty, it can get annoying to constantly have to work hard to swivel the chair while you’re sitting in it, just because of how heavy it is.

A lot of this weight is likely down to the hard shell exterior of the seat, that isn’t my cup of tea in terms of style. It makes the chair appear bulky rather than sleek and slender, which is what I would prefer.

You have the benefit of 4D armrests, which is almost expected when spending this much on a gaming chair. These allow you to move the armrests completely so they can sit exactly as you like. They can be adjusted up and down, left and right, forwards and backwards, which makes this perfect for those who want their armrests a certain way for gaming and then another way for typing.

The Razer Enki Pro also comes with a 152-degree seat recline, which is pretty common in many gaming chairs. It also has weight-adjusted tilting, meaning you can lean back in the chair and it will adjust accordingly without the need for any manual adjustments.

I didn't use this feature very often because I’m currently trying my best to repair my absolutely awful posture by sitting up exceptionally straight all the time, but when I did decide to sit cross-legged in the seat, it was great to be able to comfortably lean back.

(Image credit: Future)

Something that sets the chair apart from alternatives on the market is the Alcantara leather, which feels like suede.

This is much harder wearing and moisture resistant when compared to typical leather, but still doesn’t absorb all of your sweat that some felt or cotton chairs do. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the feel of the Alcantara, but again, this will be down to personal preference and taste.

In terms of the silhouette, you get 110-degree extended shoulder arches and a 21” base to allow for optimal weight distribution for long-lasting comfort and all-day gaming.

These wider shoulder arches make the chair suited to those who may have a wider frame, but it's worth noting that it has a maximum user weight of 136kg. You get built-in lumbar support - which isn’t adjustable - that encourages you to sit upright.

Razer Enki Pro: Comfort and adjustability

• Adjustable headrest
• Extremely comfortable
• Able to sit for long periods without strain

After constructing the chair, it was very quick and easy for me to determine that the Razer Enki Pro was one of the most comfortable chairs I have ever sat in. I typically find myself fidgeting a lot throughout the day, changing positions and trying to sit in weird ways just to feel comfortable, but this was an issue of the past - for the most part - with the Razer Enki Pro.

The lumbar support is pretty good; it would be nice to be able to adjust it to suit my back, but it still feels very comfortable even when I’m sitting at my desk all day long.

I feel content sitting in this chair for long periods of time without any strain. I often find myself getting up and stretching, and walking around every so often in my other chairs just because I feel achy and strained, but I didn’t need to do this in the Razer Enki Pro.

Of course, it's recommended to get up and move around at least once an hour if you’re sitting at a desk for long periods of time.

The one downside when it came to comfort was the headrest. It isn’t as well cushioned as I was expecting, so I ended up just removing it altogether. The headrest is magnetic, meaning that removing it or adjusting it is super simple, so no matter what your preference is, you’re able to get the headrest where you like it.

(Image credit: Future)Razer Enki Pro: Assembly

• All tools in the box including a pair of gloves
• Very heavy box
• I’d recommend two people for assembly

When first unboxing and constructing the chair, I struggled a tad. I’ve built countless gaming chairs in my time, thanks to the never-ending stream of review seats, but the Razer Enki Pro takes the crown for being one of the heaviest chairs I’ve ever built.

However, it was very easy to put together in spite of that, with everything just sliding into place. It only needed eight screws to attach the back to the base of the seat, which was very simple, but lifting the actual base up and trying to slide it onto the guide rail was so difficult to do alone, and I needed to call in some help in order to do this.

While it could be done solo, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Should I buy the Razer Enki Pro?Buy it if...

You want one of the most comfortable chairs money can buy
The Razer Enki Pro is one of the most comfortable seats I have ever used. It provided me with excellent lumbar support to the point I wasn’t achy or strained even after sitting for long periods of time.

You’re a fan of the ‘typical’ gamer aesthetic
Considering it comes in one black/green colourway and features a hard shell exterior, this chair is very ‘gamer-y’ in style.

Don't buy it if...

You want more features out of your gaming chair
With 4D armrests and weight-adjusted tilting, there isn’t a lot on offer from the Razer Enki Pro. Other chairs at this price point come with footrests, cooling systems and adjustable lumbar support.

Also consider...

If you’re not sold on the Razer Enki Pro or you just want to weigh up some other options then here’s how it compares to two other alternatives that we’ve reviewed.

Razer Enki Pro

Noblechairs Legend

Andaseat Kaiser 3 XL

Max weight of user

299lbs / 136kg

331lbs / 150kg

395lbs / 180kg

Max height of user

6’ 8” / 204cm

6’ 7” / 200cm

6’8” / 180cm

Recline angle

152 degrees with reactive seat tilt

90 - 125 degrees recline

90 - 165 degrees recline

Warranty

3 years limited

2 years

2 years

Lumbar support

Built-in lumbar arch

Yes

Yes (adjustable)

Material

Alcantara and EPU synthetic leather

High-tech faux leather

PVC leather or linen fabric

Noblechairs Legend
The Noblechairs Legend is a stunning chair that looks like it's been pulled straight out of a classy sports car. It looks and feels immaculate, and the material is plush and breathable. It provides you with amazing comfort even after extended periods of time.

Read our full Noblechairs Legend review

Andaseat Kaiser 3XL
The Andaseat Kaiser 3XL is designed for larger humans. Not only does it provide you with amazing comfort, but it also comes backed with features including adjustable lumbar support. It’s much more budget-friendly when compared to the Razer Enki Pro.

Read our full Andaseat Kaiser 3 XL review

How I tested the Razer Enki Pro

• Sat in all day for work and all evening for gaming
• Used for a month in total
• Compared to other gaming chairs

I spent all day, every day, using the Razer Enki Pro for a month, including working all day and gaming all evening.

I would sit in it for multiple hours at a time, including full working days. I would adjust the armrests and recline often to change seat positions or to relax in the evenings when I was gaming.

I compared my experience to multiple other gaming chairs I have reviewed over the years, right down to the build experience and design, to the features on offer and the comfort.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed January 2026

If you're a God of War fan, you've likely noticed Sony's iconic, deity-destroying action series has been dominating the spotlight as of late. Following an announcement that the franchise's original trilogy is being remade, we got a first-look at Kratos and Atreus in Prime Video's upcoming live-action TV series adaptation.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5 (on PS5 Pro and PlayStation Portal)
Available on: PS5
Release date: February 12, 2026

But before a collective "Boy!" could be bellowed in celebration of all this news, we also got word that a new series' spin-off game is rumored to be in the works. Given that you'd need a Leviathan Axe to cut through all these recent reveals and rumors, you could be excused for overlooking God of War Sons of Sparta, a brand-new prequel entry that was shadow-dropped shortly after the Greek trilogy remake reveal.

A retro-flavored 2D action-platformer starring a teenage Kratos, Sons of Sparta is a far cry from what the franchise has previously delivered. Borrowing heavily from the Metroidvania genre, the smaller-scale game has also earned the ire of some players – including series' creator David Jaffe – who've been less than impressed by this fresh direction for the franchise.

But while the game never reaches the epic highs of its predecessors, I've mostly had a good time stabbing, puzzle-solving, and exploring the would-be god-slayer's early stomping grounds, especially when braving its land of Laconia on my PlayStation Portal.

A slow start, but stellar story

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Santa Monica Studio/ShopTo )

Admittedly, Sons of Sparta doesn't make a fantastic first impression. Its action is slow to start, and its early environments sport a muted tone that can come off a bit drab on a large display, like the 65" 4K TV I started my journey on.

The game's combat and world didn't immediately grab me, but its characters and narrative did. A collaboration between Sony Santa Monica Studio, who penned the story, and Mega Cat Studios, Sons of Sparta is cleverly framed as a tale adult Kratos – voiced by the protagonist's first performer, TC Carson – tells his young daughter Calliope.

Narration from the older Kratos, as well as some fun exchanges between him and his little girl, are peppered throughout the lengthy campaign. But the bulk of the storytelling is delivered by young Kratos and his brother Deimos. The siblings, who are enduring the agoge in hopes of becoming Spartan soldiers, are richly realized with top-notch writing and quality voice acting.

In fact, it's the brothers' engaging, evolving dynamic that drew me to revisit the game on my PlayStation Portal after all but abandoning it following a short session on my PS5 Pro. And I'm so glad I returned to it, as Sons of Sparta is not only a perfect fit for the portable platform, but investing more time in it allowed me to appreciate what it had to offer after its subpar start.

Combat that ultimately clicks

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Santa Monica Studio/ShopTo )

The game's combat, which feels a bit plodding in the opening hours, really finds its footing a few hours in. Kratos can't do a whole lot with his equipped sword and shield initially, but it's not long before your inventory is brimming with abilities, upgrades, and skills. The franchise's familiar red orbs, as well as other collected resources, can be invested in a variety of offensive and defensive skills, while a number of weapon attachments can be acquired and upgraded.

The gods also get in on the action, gifting Kratos with a number of cool tools – like a fire-spewing tree branch – that can combat baddies, assist with puzzle-solving, and open previously obstructed parts of the map.

Speaking of the game's sprawling navigational interface, viewing and using the tool on the Portal's 8-inch, rectangular display immediately struck me with a satisfying sense of nostalgia. Having spent my youth studying maps in Metroid and Castlevania entries – as well as other classic side-scrollers – on Nintendo's many handhelds and Sony's own PlayStation Portable and Vita, it was a blast witnessing Sons of Sparta's map blossom in all directions on the more diminutive screen.

Playing with PlayStation Portal Power

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Santa Monica Studio/ShopTo )

But playing on the Portal did more than recall my favorite map-navigating memories. The prequel's painterly, hand-drawn pixel art style really pops on the portable hardware's 1080p HD display. Where the game felt a bit small and swallowed up by my TV's 65" screen, its varied, vibrant environments arguably presented much better on the smaller LED screen.

Of course, the innate intimacy of playing on a portable platform also deserves credit for putting the game in its best light; I was able to appreciate far more detail playing Sons of Sparta a few inches from my face rather than squinting at it from across my living room.

It also doesn't hurt that the Portal's handgrips deliver the same immersion-ratcheting features as the PS5's DualSense Wireless Controller. From feeling the rhythmic cadence of Kratos readying his Solar Sling – another fun gift from the gods – to the intense, sustained pulse that builds when opening a treasure chest, the handheld's haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are easily on par with the standard DualSense controller.

And speaking again to that more intimate portable experience, seeing Sons of Sparta's action unfold directly between those rumbling, vibrating handgrips adds a level of immersion and immediacy that playing on a console just can't match.

Godlike audio

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Santa Monica Studio/ShopTo )

I further complemented my time behind Kratos' spear and shield by pairing Sony's PlayStation Pulse Elite headset with the Portal. As expected, this allowed me to absorb every detail of the game's dynamic soundscape, from ear-rattling boss encounters to the nuanced echo of water dripping in the game's atmospheric Grand Cistern environment.

Sons of Sparta is undoubtedly a smaller-scale entry in a series known for making big, bold, blood-soaked splashes with each release. But while the stakes of its story are lower, and it lacks some of the epic set pieces, cinema-rivaling effects, and adrenaline-pumping action of its predecessors, it still delivers a solid, albeit quite different, God of War action-adventure.

If you're expecting a 2D take on Kratos' previous god-slaying exploits, Sons of Sparta will likely disappoint. But if you're craving a fresh, canon story supported by a serviceable metroidvania structure, deep combat, and plenty of fan-pleasing call-outs to the larger franchise, this unconventional prequel's got you covered…especially when enjoyed on the PlayStation Portal.

Should you play God of War Sons of Sparta?Play it if...

You're craving a new canon God of War story
God of War Sons of Sparta has its share of ups and downs in the gameplay department, but its prequel story and characters are consistently good. If you want to learn more about Kratos' young adult years and how they were shaped by his complex relationship with his brother Deimos, this entry is more than worth your time.

You're looking for the perfect game to play on your PlayStation Portal
From its retro art style and side-scrolling action to its platforming-fueled navigation and Castlevania-evoking map, Sons of Sparta looks and feels like the sort of game you might have sunk hours into while clutching a Nintendo handheld or Sony PSP. It's a perfect fit for the PlayStation Portal, one that arguably looks and plays better on the portable platform.

Don't play it if...

You're expecting the full God of War experience in 2D form
Sons of Sparta isn't a traditional God of War game presented as a 2D sidescroller, but rather a brand new direction for the franchise. More a metroidvania puzzle-platformer than gore-soaked action spectacle, the prequel will likely disappoint those expecting to jump in and carve through mythical creatures with Kratos' Leviathan Axe or Blades of Chaos.

Accessibility features

God of War Sons of Sparta includes an impressive suite of accessibility features, from various audio adjustments and visuals assists – including options for customizing color filters, text sizes, and blood and gore effects – to motion reduction aids and gameplay settings for decreasing difficulty.

In addition to including a number of presets for accessibility features, the game also offers plenty of individual selections for a more tailored experience.

(Image credit: Sony/PlayStation/Santa Monica Studio/ShopTo )How I reviewed God of War Sons of Sparta

I played a few hours of God of War Sons of Sparta on my PlayStation 5 Pro, on my 65" 4K display, before fully committing to it – and enjoying it much more – on my PlayStation Portal, streamed from the Pro.

I tested Sons of Sparta's audio with both the PlayStation Pulse Explore earbuds and PlayStation Pulse Elite headset, with the bulk of my 25-hour playtime using the latter. I paid particular attention to how the game looked and played on the portable device versus the console, and noted the various ways it incorporated the handheld's DualSense features.

First reviewed February-March 2026

Soundpeats Cove Pro: Two-minute review

If you’re here because you’re interested in buying the best cheap headphones, let’s skip to the chase: these are now going to be the go-to pair I recommend for the foreseeable future. They’re not perfect, which is why there’s still over 1,000 words to this Soundpeats Cove Pro review, but for the money they're outstanding.

Soundpeats is constantly impressing me with its great-value audio offerings, like the indelible in-ear Soundpeats H3, or the reliable open Soundpeats Clip1, and so I’m not overly surprised that I’m giving out another glowing review to something from the company. It’s less versed in over-ears than other kinds of headphone, though, so there was always the chance of something going wrong.

The Cove Pro are fantastic headphones for people who just need any old pair of cans that’ll do the job, so you’ve got a way of listening to music when at home or on the go – they nail all of quality-of-life features you’ll want.

For example, the battery life is fantastic: 95 hours, or nearly four days straight. These aren’t going to give up the ghost during a long-haul flight, that’s for sure.

They’re also some of the most comfortable on-ears I’ve used recently, as the padding in the cups and headband is soft, and they’re not too heavy or pinchy over the crown of your noggin. What I'm saying is, you can leave them on your head for long periods of time without getting aches.

Audiophiles (or people who aren't sure of the title but are picky about their sound) might not be as impressed. The ANC is quite light-touch; the Cove Pro reduce sound more than ‘cancel’ it, and the audio isn’t as good as some other budget options I’ve tested. It’s a bit too warm and veers towards muddy, with a lower-end that isn’t as well-defined as on some alternatives. I wasn’t blown away, but bass-heads might still be happy.

Soundpeats Cove Pro review: Price and release date

(Image credit: Future)

• Released in January 2025
• Sells for $69.99 / £69.99 (around AU$140)
• Cheap, but not cheap cheap in today's market

Soundpeats announced the Cove Pro in January 2026, following the rush of headphones that followed CES at the beginning of the year.

You can buy the Cove Pro for $69.99 / £69.99 (around AU$140), so they're fairly affordable cans – best suited for people who want decent headphones that'll last a long time, but don't need the highest quality or audio or premium features.

They’re not the very cheapest headphones that are worth considering – I recently tested the OneOdio Focus A1 Pro which sell for $34.99 / £43.99 (about AU$85), and there are a few other super-budget options worth buying like the Sony WH-CH520. But they’re still certainly a budget option compared to the big names on the block.

Soundpeats Cove Pro review: Specs

Drivers

40mm

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life (ANC off)

95 hours

Weight

251g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0

Frequency response

20 Hz - 40,000 Hz

Waterproofing

IPX4

Soundpeats Cove Pro review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• 95-hour battery life
• The ANC is very light-touch
• Nice perks like Bluetooth 6.0, listening test and LDAC

Possibly the most eye-catching spec of the Soundpeats Cove Pro is the battery life: up to 95 hours of ANC-off listening. Very few headphones crack the 100-hour barrier, and anything close like this deserves props.

The endurance drops quite a bit if you turn ANC on: down to 58 hours. That's quite a sacrifice to remove some sound, though in the grand scheme of things ~60 hours is still decent.

The ANC isn't very powerful here; it'll strip out the worst of background noises rather than remove them in any meaningful way. There's also an ambient mode, but I couldn't hear a difference between this and Normal (ANC off).

(Image credit: Future)

The Soundpeats app is the Cove Pro’s all-but-mandatory smartphone app. It's worth downloading, even though it forces you to create an account, because it offers a few features unusual in lower-cost headphones.

The app offers an equalizer (presets or 10-band custom mode), find my headphones function, spatial audio, bass booster and even a custom listening test which builds you a bespoke EQ mix. It’s clearly in a very early state – the pictures and text refers to earbuds, and one menu was in Mandarin, but it did a decent job of tweaking my audio and wasn’t too hard to use.

Unlike many budget music-blowers, the SoundPeats supports a few higher-res Bluetooth codecs, including LDAC, SBC and AAC. It connects via Bluetooth 6.0, and in my testing it didn't stop out at all – there was one brief stutter, and that was it.

• Features score: 4/5

Soundpeats Cove Pro review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Light and comfortable to wear
• Useful on-cup controls, but no 3.5mm
• Bog-standard looks

When I pulled the Soundpeats Cove Pro from the box, I thought they were dead ringers for my old Sony WH-1000XM3s. Sure, there isn't a huge scope for variety in the world of headphone aesthetics, especially the budget market, but the design language is there.

These cans weigh 250g, with an IPX4 rating indicating that they’re splash-roof. The right cup has an ANC button, power button and volume rocker on it, and they're flush enough that I sometimes thought I'd missed pressing them until I got used to the feel of it. The exception is the power button, which has a little indent so you can easily differentiate it by feel.

The one thing I’d like to see is a 3.5mm port. As it stands, you can’t use an AUX cord to connect these to your music player.

I found the Cove Pro surprisingly comfortable; you can't always rely on the budget headphones for a good fit, but these felt great. The soft cups settle gently on the ears, and a large pad on the band keeps them nestled on your cranium. I could listen for long periods without any kind of strain or ache.

The headphones also feel surprisingly premium in terms of build quality. The plastic material feels a little more durable than the squeaky cheap stuff some rivals are made out of, and other traits of budget cans like rattly joins and a hollow-feeling body were all absent.

You can fold the Cove Pro in on itself to make it more portable, and they swivel and extend a fair amount to suit different sized heads.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Soundpeats Cove Pro review: Sound quality

(Image credit: Future)

• 40mm driver
• Messy low-end handling
• EQ can fix some issues

Like most budget headphones – actually, most cans at any budget – the Cove Pro have 40mm drivers. Soundpeats' website goes into detail on titanium-coated diaphragms, patterned dome drivers and magnets, all giving the impression of a thoughtful approach to audio – it’s all for naught, though, as they don’t sound any better than your average budget cans

Music is warm, sometimes too much – as I write this I’m listening to Old Ties and Companions by Watchhouse, and the timbre that should be created by the various acoustic instruments feels lacking because of the sound profile. Bass can sometimes blow out other parts of a song, especially with rock music, which can often see the bass guitar override guitars.

It’ll appeal to bass-heads for sure, and people who go to gigs so often that they don’t realize you’re not always supposed to hear and feel the bass above everything else. But I found it a bit too much – and using the Bass Reduction EQ preset sometimes wasn’t even enough.

Get through the bass, and you’ll find fairly detailed audio, though the lack of support for wired listening means these aren’t budget audiophile cans by any means. There’s a pronounced soundstage though, something you can’t always say about options at this price point, giving a little bit of extra sparkle to songs like T-Shirt Weather by Circa Waves and Such Great Heights by the Postal Service, which have bassless introductions so you can enjoy the atmosphere.

• Sound quality: 3.5/5

Soundpeats Cove Pro review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

• At best, exceeds expectations for price
• At worst, matches expectations for price

The Soundpeats Cove Pro aren't quite the cheapest headphones on the market – or that have wowed TechRadar’s team recently – but they're not far off. And they offer top value for money.

The build quality here is better than I've come to see expect from budget cans, even if the looks won't win any awards for originality. And the feature set is better than many same-price rivals, with tools that you'd normally find in cans twice as pricey.

In its weaker departments, the Cove Pro still deliver at the level you'd expect for this price; they sound no worse than the average budget headset, and deliver enough ANC to trump rivals which don't offer the feature.

• Value: 4/5

Should I buy the Soundpeats Cove Pro?Fairphone Fairbuds XL (2025) score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

The battery life is great, and there are some solid features, but the ANC isn't anything to write home about.

4/5

Design

They're basic to look at, but lightweight and comfy.

4.5/5

Sound quality

They sound muddy, but there's detail and a reasonably wide soundstage.

3.5/5

Value

Set your expectations for the budget and you won't be disappointed.

4/5

Buy them if…

You need a really solid battery
If you don't get around to charging your headphones often, the 95 hours offered here will be great for you.

You don't want uncomfortable headphones
If you often find over-ear headphones a little uncomfortable, you might find these a bit more tolerable.View Deal

You don't want to spend much money
Don't use your headphones enough to justify an expensive purchase? These will be great alternatives that'll serve you find.View Deal

Don’t buy them if…

Audio quality is your most important factor
The best parts of the Cove Pro are their features and build, and budget audiophiles will find better picks below.

You need top-tier noise cancellation
If you live somewhere noisy and need to find peace, these are fine picks, but there are better buys (see below for these).

Soundpeats Cove Pro review: Also consider

Soundpeats Cove Pro

OneOdio Focus A6

Earfun Wave Life

Drivers

40mm

40mm

40mm

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Yes

Yes

Battery life (ANC on)

95 hours

75 hours

60 hours

Weight

251g

240g

264g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 6.0

Bluetooth 6.0

Bluetooth 5.4

Waterproofing

IPX4

None

None

OneOdio Focus A6
These top-rated headphones sound great, and undercut the Cove Pro. If audio quality is your main interest, these are the alternatives to consider.
Read our full OneOdio Focus A6 review

Earfun Wave Life
These picks are also more affordable than the Soundpeats, and are also very comfortable to wear (plus we liked the ANC) though the battery life isn't comparable.
Read our full Earfun Wave Life review

How I tested the Soundpeats Cove Pro

• Tested for a month
• Tested at home, on walks, on public transport and the gym

I used the Soundpeats Cove Pro for just over a month to write this review, immediately following a few of their big rivals.

I used the cans paired alongside my Android phone, listening on a variety of services. This included in a range of indoor and outdoor settings including, most challengingly, on a train ride home after a high-end audio show.

For TechRadar, I've already tested a wide range of budget headphones, including over-ear alternatives and other picks from Soundpeats.

• First reviewed in March 2026

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

One-minute review

(Image credit: Future)

The GTPlayer LR002 is a budget-friendly gaming chair that hopes to match the comfort levels of costlier competition.

It’s less aggressive in its gamer stylings than many others in this sector. You could even call it smart, and my review unit’s light grey and blue finish helped to showcase the chair’s lighter side.

However, the fabric doesn’t look or feel especially premium, and neither do the solid materials employed throughout the LR002’s construction. It certainly won’t trouble the likes of the Secretlab et al in terms of build quality.

An area where it does compete with the best gaming chairs, though, is cushioning. Not only is the seat soft and plump, but so too are the arm rests and backrest, which makes the LR002 a comfortable chair to sink into. The lumbar and head pillows are less plush, but still provide me with sufficient support in the right areas.

Things take a turn for the worse, though, when it comes to adjustability. The LR002 lacks any form of adjustments for the arm rests, and there’s no rocking function: if you want to lean back, you can recline the backrest to your desired angle, but once there, you’re locked in.

(Image credit: Future)

The included footrest also disappoints, owing to its poor design and construction. It consistently failed to slide out smoothly, and even when fully retracted, I found it stopped far too short to be usable, even for someone of my short stature.

Taller gamers are also likely to be disappointed with the seat height range. Although it goes lower to the ground than many (something I often welcome), I imagine those six feet and over would find its maximum elevation too low.

Assembling the LR002 was mostly a straightforward process, thanks to the relatively light seat base and backrest. However, some of the bolts proved difficult to screw in fully, while the angles of some of the holes were awkward to reach.

With its reasonable price, the LR002 makes a compelling case in the budget gaming chair segment. It’s an even more attractive proposition with the huge discounts we’ve seen GTPlayer offer. However, if you’re tall or like plenty of adjustments in your seat, the LR002 is unlikely to satisfy.

GTPlayer LR002 review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• $159.99 / £149.99 / AU$703
• Available worldwide
• Cheap for a gaming chair

The GTPlayer LR002 costs $159.99 / £149.99 / AU$703 and is available now in most territories around the world. It comes in multiple colorways, half of which are monochromatic; two shades of blue, a brown, and an orange finish comprise the rest.

This is a decent price for a gaming chair, putting the LR002 at the budget-end of the spectrum. What’s more, we’ve seen it on sale for less than half price in the UK, making it even more of a bargain. This was direct from GTPlayer's website, although the original price listed here is substantially more than that on Amazon.

It competes with the likes of the Corsair TC100 Relaxed, which commands a similar price to the LR002. We think this is one of the best cheap gaming chairs around, thanks to its comfort levels and adjustability; the LR002 can match the TC100 in the former area, but not the latter.

If you're willing to part with more cash, but still want to steer clear of the most expensive models, the Asus ROG Destrier Core is a solid bet. Not only does this gaming chair offer more adjustments than the LR002, its unique mesh backrest improves breathability and lends a certain style to the unit that sets it apart from many others in the sector.

GTPlayer LR002 review: Specs

GTPlayer LR002

Price

$159.99 / £149.99 / AU$703

Dimensions

58.9 x 28.3 x 20.5in / 149.5 x 72 x 52cm

Max user weight

299.8lbs / 136kg

Min seat height

18.7in / 47.5cm

Seat width

20in / 51cm

Warranty

1 year

GTPlayer LR002 review: Design and aesthetics

• Soft but basic looks
• Cheap-feeling materials
• Lightweight design

The LR002 takes the typical gaming chair approach in terms of overall form, although it’s softer and more rounded than others. These aspects make it a more inviting chair, in my view.

I was also fond of the light grey finish of my review unit, accented by light blue strips, which helps to make the LR002 look less austere than many others in this sector. Granted, it’s not the most elegant of designs, but it’s inoffensive and understated enough to suit most settings.

The lack of premium materials is perhaps the biggest aesthetic weakness of the LR002. The fabric, while smooth to the touch, looks and feels cheap. It’s more breathable than other gaming chair upholsteries, but I still think it’s too thick to keep me cool on a hot summer day.

The plastics used in the unit’s construction also look and feel like cut-price affairs. In their defense, they’re light, which helps to keep the chair’s weight down. In fact, the LR002 is one of the lightest gaming chairs I’ve come across.

There’s a strange hollowness to the backrest; it’s only partially filled, with what feel like small polystyrene balls. It crackled and popped as I leaned into it (it has plenty of give), which wasn’t something I was expecting or particularly wanting to feel, but fortunately, the effect wasn’t disruptive enough to ruin my time in the chair. The backrest is also very thin, which contributes to the aforementioned lightness of the LR002.

GTPlayer LR002 review: Comfort and adjustability

(Image credit: Future)

• Cushioned on all contactable surfaces
• Lacks fundamental adjustments
• Very poor footrest

The soft appearance of the LR002 translates to all-round comfort. It offers more cushioning than your typical gaming chair; this is especially true of the backrest and armrests, which put it ahead of many others, even those costing much more.

The strapped lumbar cushion works well, allowing for easy height adjustments while seated, yet it remains in place once you’ve found the ideal height. It’s smaller than those included with other gaming chairs, but it was sufficient to get the support I needed.

It’s a similar story with the head pillow. It’s less plush than others, but again, it provided just enough support for my head and neck. As you might expect, given the budget nature of the LR002, it doesn’t attach magnetically, but via a humble strap.

While the arms are comfortable, thanks to their generous cushioning, they’re quite narrow, which might pose a problem for some gamers. The bigger issue, though, is their complete lack of adjustability.

This is especially frustrating given that they move when the backrest is reclined — but this is the only scenario in which they do. I was lucky that their height was ideal for my seating position, but I imagine there’ll be many gamers who won’t find them suitable.

(Image credit: Future)

Equally disappointing is the LR002’s lack of a tilt function. If you want to lean back, the backrest can recline all the way to 140 degrees — but once it’s set, the unforgiving rigidity prevents any form of rocking. At least the recline mechanism is smooth with no discernible notchiness, and the lever is easy to operate.

A retractable footrest is installed underneath the LR002. However, this has to be one of the most poorly designed examples I’ve come across. Every time I tried to slide it out, it would get stuck partway, requiring a few jiggles to set it free.

What’s more, the cushion itself doesn’t stay upright, requiring constant leg pressure to hold it in place. Worst of all, though, is its short extension. While it managed to support my legs, the front edge of the rest dug uncomfortably into the back of my calves — and I’m only 5”7. Anyone taller than this will find it laughably impractical.

Another issue for taller gamers is the seat height. The minimum setting is quite low to the ground, which is something I often welcome, but the maximum isn’t all that high. And since there’s only one size of the LR002, this could cause a problem for the long-legged.

GTPlayer LR002 review: Assembly

(Image credit: Future)

• Light base and backrest
• Clear instructions
• Tight bolts

Assembling the LR002 was mostly an easy process, barring a few minor frustrations. It comes with a hex key that features a grip handle, which, while useful, was a little too short to get the leverage I hoped for when tightening the bolts.

What’s more, none of these bolts or their insert points were greased even slightly, which made them even more difficult to screw into place. Some also proved incredibly resistant to the point that I thought their threads must be misaligned.

Both the backrest and seat base are light relative to those of other gaming chairs. This is always a blessing, since wrangling these into place is nearly always the most laborious aspect of any build.

The instruction manual is largely clear, and aside from some aforementioned bold issues, installing the other elements is easy. This includes the under-seat bracket, which can sometimes be a fiddly process.

However, I found the spokes for the wheel base tough to fix to the central hub, since the bolt holes lie in a somewhat inaccessible position. The manual instructs hitting them with force to get them in place, and it’s not joking: I would take care not to damage your floor during this part of the process.

Should I buy the GTPlayer LR002?Buy it if...

You want soft cushioning
It’s not just the seat base that’s padded: the arms and backrest are suitably plush, too, which isn’t a given.View Deal

You don’t want to spend the earth
The LR002 is certainly one of the more affordable gaming chairs out there. View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You’re tall
There’s only one size of the LR002, and the seat doesn’t go all that high. Also, the footrest barely extends far enough for those under six feet, let alone those over it.View Deal

You prioritize adjustability
The lack of adjustments is a real weak point of the LR002. There’s no adjustment at all for the arms, and there’s no tilt function for the seat.View Deal

GTPlayer LR002 review: Also consider...

Here are some alternatives to the GTPlayer LR002 if you need more in the way of adjustability or quality:

GTPlayer LR002

Asus ROG Destrier Core Gaming Chair

Corsair TC100 Relaxed

Price

$159.99 / £149.99 / AU$703

$629.99 / £499.99 (about AU$600)

$199 / £199 / AU$399

Dimensions

58.9 x 28.3 x 20.5in / 149.5 x 72 x 52cm

53.1 x 27.8 x 24.1in / 135 x 70.7 x 61.3cm

53.5 x 23.4 x 19.7in / 136 x 59 x 50cm

Max user weight

299.8lbs / 136kg

299.8lbs / 136kg

264lbs / 120kg

Min seat height

18.7in / 47.5cm

18.5in / 47cm

17.7in / 45cm

Seat width

20in / 51cm

20in / 51cm

21.2in / 54cm (incl. bolsters), 14.2in / 36cm (excl. bolsters)

Warranty

1 year

2 years

2 years

Corsair TC100 Relaxed
The Corsair TC100 Relaxed is one of the best budget gaming chairs around, thanks to the levels of comfort and adjustability it provides for the cost. And although the arm rests aren’t 4D, they can be adjusted for both height and width, unlike the LR002’s.

Read our full Corsair TC100 Relaxed review.View Deal

Asus ROG Destrier Core
If you want something that stands out from the crowd, the Asus ROG Destrier Core is a fine choice. Its mesh back not only looks good, but it also makes the chair very breathable. The Destrier Core also has more adjustments than the LR002, including a movable headrest, which isn’t always seen on gaming chairs.

Read our full Asus ROG Destrier Core review.View Deal

How I tested the GTPlayer LR002

(Image credit: Future)

• Tested for several days
• Used for gaming and working
• Plentiful gaming chair experience

I tested the GTPlayer LR002 for several days. I sat in it when gaming, working, and general browsing on both desktop and laptop devices. I made sure to try every adjustment and function available.

I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade, and experienced many chairs in that time, from office to gaming models. This includes those from high-end brands, such as Steelcase and Secretlab. I’ve also reviewed a number of gaming chairs previously, running the gamut of price points and functionality.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed February 2026.

KEF Coda W: Two-minute review

KEF, it seems, has identified a customer for whom its existing lineup of wireless stereo speaker systems is not absolutely perfect. This customer can live without network streaming, but would like to be able to listen to a turntable. They don’t need their system to work on a desktop, but they would like it to be available in a fairly wide choice of finishes. And so here’s the Coda W.

As well as the network streaming/phono stage trade-off and the ‘regular’ size of the cabinets compared to the dinky dimensions of some predecessors, the Coda W has cutting-edge Bluetooth connectivity (the aptX Lossless codec is supported), an HDMI eARC input and properly hi-res functionality via its digital optical and USB-C inputs. Four discreet modules of Class D amplification power the 12th generation of the company’s Uni-Q driver array – 30 watts goes to each 25mm aluminium dome tweeter, 70 watts to each 130mm magnesium/aluminum mid/bass driver. And if that all sounds a bit tentative, there’s a pre-out for a subwoofer too.

In practice, it works either ‘pretty well’ or ‘very well indeed’, albeit maybe not quite well enough to sit among the best stereo speakers on the market. The phono stage is probably the least effective of the input options, which is a pity, when you consider it’s one of the real differentiators between this system and the slightly more expensive KEF LSX II LT, its most obvious stablemate. If, however, you switch to one of the digital inputs (either wired or wireless) and the Coda W has plenty going for it. There’s detail and drive, plenty of well-behaved low-frequency presence, a really even-handed attitude towards tonality and frequency response, and a level of energy and engagement that’s a match for the best that any even remotely price-comparable rival can muster.

Turn the volume down to the sort of level that conversation can easily be heard over, though, and quite a lot of this attitude is replaced by a more pedestrian, less energetic character that sucks some of the animation out of recordings. Mind you, if you want to listen at low levels in order to engage in conversation, it could be argued that this isn’t all that much of an issue.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)KEF Coda W review: Price & release date

• $999 / £799 / AU$1449
• Released in October 2025

The KEF Coda W wireless active stereo speaker system is on sale now, and in the United States it costs $999. The asking price in the United Kingdom is £799, while in Australia it goes for AU$1449.

There are a few very credible alternatives around, of course, not least from KEF itself in the shape of its slightly smaller, slightly pricier, slightly differently specified LSX II LT wireless stereo speaker system. So does the Coda W have what it takes to, um, undermine its sibling and cannibalize its sales?

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)KEF Coda W review: Features

• 200 watts of Class D power
• Wireless and wired connection options
• 12th-gen Uni-Q driver array

In most respects, the Coda W is specified as extensively as seems reasonable, given the asking price. Then you consider the way its (admittedly more expensive) LSX II LT sibling is specified, and you realize you’re engaged in a game of ‘swings and roundabouts’.

Still, the gain outweighs the pain here more than a little. The Coda W is an active stereo speaker with 200 watts of Class D power available – naturally enough it’s divided half-and-half between the two speakers. Slightly unusually for an active – rather than a powered – system, is that only one speaker requires mains power. This ‘primary’ speaker connects to its ‘secondary’ partner via a supplied length of USB-C-terminated cable which transfers power as well as digital audio information.

The secondary speaker has just a USB-C input on its rear panel – it’s positioned beneath a bass reflex port that vents from higher up. The primary speaker, by way of contrast, is all action. It has a USB-C output for connection to its partner and a matching bass reflex port, of course, but in addition, the rear panel features (in no particular order): a connection for mains power and an ‘on/off’ switch, an HDMI eARC socket, a digital optical input, a USB-C slot for data transfer, a line-level stereo RCA input, a moving magnet phono input (also on stereo RCAs) with a ground post, and a pre-out for a subwoofer. There are also buttons to initiate Bluetooth pairing (the KEF uses Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless codec compatibility) and to reset the whole shebang. There’s a switch to turn the ground lift circuit on or off, too.

What’s missing? Well, there’s no Ethernet socket, and no Wi-Fi connectivity either. So network streaming is unavailable, which puts the Coda W at a disadvantage compared to the LSX II LT, although it hits back with its integrated phono stage. No network capability means no Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect etc, so if you’re using Bluetooth to enjoy some wireless tunes, it means your smartphone (or what-have-you) will be fully occupied.

The input resolution of the USB-C is 24bit/192kHz, while the digital optical is 24bit/96kHz and the HDMI eARC operates at 16bit/44.1kHz – analog signals are digitized on entry to 24bit/96kHz. All these wired sources are (re)sampled to 24bit/96kHz before being decoded to the analog domain the driver arrays can understand.

Unlike the LSX II LT, which features a compact version of the 11th generation of KEF’s instantly recognizable Uni-Q driver arrangement, the Coda W is packing the 12th version. There’s a 25mm aluminum dome tweeter behind an elaborate waveguide and positioned in the throat of a 130mm magnesium/aluminum mid/bass driver. Each tweeter is in receipt of 30 watts of power, while each mid/bass driver gets 70 watts. This arrangement, reckons KEF, is good for a frequency response of 41Hz - 20kHz.

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)KEF Coda W review: Sound quality

• Energetic and confident sound with detail to spare
• Loses some animation at low volume levels
• Phono stage is nothing special

At its best, the KEF Coda W sounds very, very good indeed. Unlike some of its most obvious rivals, though, getting away from ‘its best’ is not especially difficult to do.

With a genuinely hi-res (24bit/96kHz) FLAC file of Prince’s U Got the Look incoming via the USB-C socket, there’s plenty to enjoy about the way the system performs. It maintains a strictly neutral tonality, adding no discernible heat to any part of the frequency range and not cooling any part of it down either. The top end attacks with crisp determination, but despite what you might have read about metal tweeters, there’s no suggestion of hardness or glassiness to the treble sounds the Coda W delivers.

The transition into the midrange is smooth to the point of inaudibility, and once there the amount of detail the KEF is able to extract and contextualize allows both the voices in the recording to come across with all their attitude (horny, mostly) and character intact. Beneath here, the lowest frequencies hit hard but control their attack well, so the four-square rhythm is expressed confidently. As with the rest of the frequency range, detail levels down here are high, with plenty of subtlety and variation to go along with the straightforward punch available.

The frequency response is even-handed, with no area underplayed or overrepresented, and the soundstage the KEF creates is big and plausible. Like all the best Prince songs, U Got the Look sounds like an expensive demo, with great big spaces and silences playing their part. The Coda W has no problem laying the stage out coherently, and it gives just as much emphasis to the absences as it does the actual occurrences. Dynamic headroom is significant, and the lower-key dynamics of harmonic variation are also paid close attention. The KEF sounds keen to entertain, and it preserves all the energy the recording wants to communicate.

All of this is true, to a lesser or greater extent, when listening to the same song wirelessly via a FiiO digital audio player running the Tidal app or to a CD-borne copy of the song delivered into the system’s digital audio input. The Coda W remains a lively, informative and quite vibrant listen that seems to revel in the vivid and upfront nature of the recording.

It’s possible to move away from this best-case scenario, though, either by turning the volume down to a modest ‘background’ sort of level or by listening to a vinyl copy of the song through the integrated moving magnet phono stage.

The differences are probably less pronounced when playing the record, so I may as well start here. The phono stage fitted to the Coda W just isn’t anything special – for all of the cliches regarding the vinyl format and its facility with rhythm and tempo-management, the song sounds just fractionally lumpy and leaden-footed when heard this way. It’s from the 80s, sure, when every rhythm was mechanical and regimented, but there was always more swing to Price than the Coda W is willing to reveal via its phono stage. The knock-on effect is a minor dialling down of the energy in the recording, and a mild loss of engagement as a result.

Turning down the volume results in a slightly more fundamental shift in emphasis. I know it’s quite easy to argue that ‘background’ levels would tend to imply that not all that much attention is being paid to the music, and certainly no critical listening is likely to be happening, but there are more than enough systems around that don’t change their sonic character at lower volumes to understand that the changes that the Coda W goes through aren’t inevitable or, to a lesser extent, excusable.

Turning the wick down means a lot of the system’s previously vivid and energetic attitude towards music goes astray, replaced by a slightly matter-of-fact and unengaged alternative that’s not especially welcome. Particularly not when you know what the system is capable of if only it were playing a little louder.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)KEF Coda W review: Design

• 285 x 168 x 268mm (HxWxD)
• Choice of five finishes
• Optional SQ1 stand

The Coda W may cost less than the LSX II LT, but there’s more of them. At 285 x 168 x 268mm they’re bigger than their siblings in every direction – if you were hoping to position these on a desktop, think again. Unless you have a mahoosive desk, anyway.

A pair of speaker stands is the way to go. Any decent product will do, of course, but KEF will happily sell you a pair of its SQ1 stands that have been developed with the Coda W (and a few other KEF models) in mind.

The standard of build and finish is well up to standard. The Coda W may lack the exciting curves of their LS and LSX stablemates, but they look and feel good. And the choice of five finishes – my review sample's dark titanium, midnight blue, moss green, nickel gray and a vintage burgundy version that’s only available from very select outlets – means there really ought to be something to suit your mood and/or decor here.

• Design score: 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)KEF Coda W review: Usability & setup

• Truncated version of the KEF Connect control app
• Physical controls on the primary speaker
• Small remote control handset

KEF supplies a little remote control handset to operate the Coda W. It deals with ‘power on/off’, ‘volume up/down/mute’, allows you to cycle through the inputs and, if you’re streaming via Bluetooth, to access ‘play/pause’ and ‘skip forwards/backwards’.

The controls, with the exception of the Bluetooth stuff, are duplicated as touch-controls on the top of the primary speaker - although you can only scroll through your inputs in one direction, which is a (very) mild irritation.

There’s also a very brief version of the KEF Connect app available too. It connects via Bluetooth, offers input selection and volume control, allows you to check for updates, and also features a balance control and rudimentary EQ adjustment in the shape of ‘treble cut/boost’ and ‘bass cut/boost’ controls. It’s also where you can let the Coda W know if it has a subwoofer attached.

• Usability & setup score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)KEF Coda W review: Value

• Very high standard of build and finish
• Enjoyable sound quality...
• But it's variable depending on the output used

It’s difficult in the extreme to suggest the KEF Coda W is anything other than very decent value for money. It has some real highlights where specification is concerned, is built and finished to a very high standard, and is capable of uncomplicatedly enjoyable sound quality too.

The fact that it lacks some features available in a very similarly priced product from the same manufacturer is, ultimately, less concerning than the fact that its sound is quite variable depending on the input you’re using.

• Value score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Should I buy KEF Coda W?KEF Coda W scorecard

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

Pretty well-equipped, with HDMI eARC socket, USB-C connectivity and Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless codec compatibility.

4.5 / 5

Sound quality

Energetic and confident but loses some animation at low volume levels; average phono stage.

4 / 5

Design

Choice of five finishes, and excellent build quality, make it a good fit for any room.

5 / 5

Setup & usability

Limited version of the KEF Connect app; touch controls; small remote control handset

4.5 / 5

Value

Solid value, but hampered by sound issues at low volume levels.

4 / 5

Buy them if…

You want an all-in-one system that can support more than one source
There are plenty of input possibilities here, up to and including the option of including your TV.

You’re sick to death of the ‘black/white/wood veneer’ options that hold sway where speakers are concerned
The Coda W is available is a range of quite sophisticated finishes – and ‘walnut’ is nowhere in sight.

You’re just as likely to listen to vinyl as to a music streaming service
From aptX Lossless Bluetooth to a moving magnet phono stage, this KEF system has you covered.

Don’t buy them if…

You don’t want your smartphone tied up with music playback
There’s no networking functionality here, so wireless streaming means your smartphone won’t be available for anything else.

Your listening is likely to be mostly via vinyl
The moving magnet phono input here is probably the least impressive of the lot.

You have designs on a desktop system
This system is too big for your desktop, so get that idea out of your head.

KEF Coda W review: Also consider

KEF LSX II LT
I don’t wish to labor the point, but I do find it odd that KEF has released the Coda W in what seems like fairly direct competition with its own LSX II LT. No, the LSX II LT doesn’t have a phono stage or top-of-the-shop Bluetooth connectivity, but it’s got network smarts, a smaller form factor and is, in its own way, just as decorative as the Coda W. Oh, and it’s no slouch when it comes to sound quality.
Here's our full KEF LSX II LT review.

Acoustic Energy AE1 Active
You could also break free of the KEF hegemony and consider the Acoustic Energy AE1 Active system. Yes, it’s pricier than either of the KEF pairs, not as interesting to look at, and only supports physical connections, but despite all this it’s prodigious value for money thanks to its absolutely fulminating sound quality.

How I tested the KEF Coda W

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)

I positioned the speakers on a pair of Custom Design speaker stands, connected them together using the supplied USB-C cable and plugged the primary speaker into the mains.

Then I connected a Technics SL1300G fitted with a Goldring 1042 cartridge to the phono input (and also to the line-level input, having positioned a Cambridge Alva Duo phono stage between the two), and plugged a Rega Apollo CD player into the digital optical input.

I used an Apple iPhone 14 Pro and a FiiO M15S digital audio player as Bluetooth sources, and connected an Apple MacBook Pro (running Colibri software) to the USB-C input. After this, I put the speakers either side of my Philips 48OLED806 TV and connected them via HDMI. Lots of sources, meaning lots of content – and for quite a length of time.

• Read TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee
• First reviewed: March 2026

It’s been a while since the original Echo Studio launched way back in 2019. So, it makes sense that it’s such a drastic overhaul; the new, 2025 model is 40% smaller with a total design refresh, Alexa+ compatibility and new Fire TV features.

The original Echo Studio launched way back in 2019, and the fact that it’s taken this long for a second-gen model to arrive makes the Studio an outlier in Amazon’s smart speaker range, with other Echos receiving more regular upgrades.

It makes sense, then, that this is a fairly major overhaul: the 2025 model is 40% smaller and gets a total design refresh that brings it into line with other Echos, along with Alexa+ compatibility and new Fire TV features.

While the previous-gen Studio was more than a little clunky in terms of its design, it was pretty well received — much to the surprise of many who’d long bemoaned the audio quality of Amazon’s Echo speakers. Then, in 2022, a slightly upgraded version was released with some modest improvements; this wasn’t considered a new generation of the Studio, but again it surprised and largely delighted users.

So, has lightning struck twice (or technically, thrice) with the new Echo Studio? Well, not quite, but this is still an impressively capable speaker, especially at its size.

There’s an inevitable trade-off between the speaker’s size and its audio quality. In its smaller form factor, the second-generation Studio is certainly more appealing, and the spherical design, new knit-fabric exterior and front-facing controls are much more homely compared to the original, the design of which resembled a medieval knight’s bucket helmet.

With the latest Studio packing Amazon’s new AZ3 Pro chip and offering Alexa+ compatibility, and some great smart home compatibility and sensors, there’s a lot to love, but having tried both the newer and older models, I don’t think the new audio hardware quite lives up to its predecessor. That being said, it’s most certainly the best Alexa speaker for audio available today… unless, of course, you can find a first-gen model on resale.

Echo Studio (2nd gen, 2025) price and availability

• List price: $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$429
• Released November 2025

The new Echo Studio is the most premium Echo speaker in Amazon’s lineup, offering home-theatre buffs and audiophiles an Alexa-powered alternative to standard speakers. You concede some audio quality, sure, but it’s pretty compact, and the smarts you gain are decent enough.

It’s available in black (graphite) and white (glacier white), and costs $20 / £40 / AU$100 more than the original Studio at $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$429; the price hike is explained, in part, by the rising cost of hardware, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.

It’s also Alexa+ compatible, meaning US Prime subscribers have immediate access to the currently-in-beta service (at the time of writing). Whether or not that’s a positive or a negative, I’ll leave you to decide.

My main issue with the value proposition here is that, at times, the Echo Studio (second-generation) just doesn’t live up to its Studio moniker; and yet, allowing for inflation, it costs the same as the previous generation. Had Amazon skipped some of the smart features and delivered a stronger all-around audio performance, I’d have less of an issue; as it is, and as is the case with almost every new Echo device I’ve reviewed in the past few years, this is one I’d only go for during a sale, and I’d be looking for at least a 40% discount.

• Value: 3.5/5

Echo Studio (2nd gen, 2025) specs

Echo Studio

Dimensions

6.1 x 5.6 x 5.8 inches / 155 x 142.2 x 147.3mm (W x D x H)

Speakers

1x 3.75-inch high excursion woofer, 3x 2.25-inch full-range drivers

Processor

AZ3 Pro

Connecivity

Zigbee, Matter, Thread Border Router, eero

Voice assistant

Alexa

Weight

53.5oz / 1.63kg

(Image credit: Future)Echo Studio (2nd gen, 2025) design

• New, more premium design and materials
• 40% smaller than the previous generation
• Fewer ports, fewer audio-first design features

Like the Echo Dot Max, which I tested a few months ago, the Echo Studio has a new, more sophisticated look and feel, featuring a chunky knit-fabric exterior, front-facing controls, and a 40% smaller frame than the previous Echo Studio models.

Now, instead of resembling a bucket-shaped medieval knight’s helmet, the Echo Studio is more akin to a rounded spaceship (read: Death Star), and it’s a change I’m quite happy with aesthetically. The base is flat and slightly rubberized, housing a screw-mount for any users who might wish to wall-mount their speaker(s).

The neater look and smaller footprint make it a much more appealing option for around the home, and the new front-facing controls are easily accessible and clear — especially when compared to the original’s small and fiddly buttons. There are volume controls as well as a physical mute button on the plastic control panel. Plus, if you give the Studio a gentle pat on the top, you can stop or start tracks, stop timers and alarms, or end calls and drop-ins.

The iconic illuminated Alexa ring, which glows blue when the speaker is listening to you, now encircles the control panel, and changes colour and brightness for different types of alert (for example, orange for an Amazon marketplace-related notification, or red for connectivity issues).

There’s been a complete hardware refit, too. The new Echo Studio uses the latest AZ3 Pro chip to power Alexa commands and other on-board smarts like ambient sensing and spatial sound. Where the last-generation speakers had three two-inch side-mounted mid-range speakers, a two-inch upward-firing midrange speaker, a 1-inch front-facing tweeter, and a 5.25-inch downward-firing sealed woofer and cutout spaces to allow for airflow to enable powerful and deep bass, the latest model has just three full-range drivers and a single high-excursion woofer. More later on how that impacts performance, but as far as design goes, it does make the focus on the newer model’s aesthetics feel like a big trade-off when you compare the hardware specs.

Connectivity is another area where the new Studio has taken a hit. On the rear, you’ll find a single power port – that’s right, no more 3.5mm combo port for standard audio cable input and Mini-Optical, and no micro-USB port for service/Ethernet adapters. For most, these inputs will be no great loss, but the inflexibility of these speakers will be disappointing to some, and especially to those who know a bit about home theater.

Objectively, I can’t say I dislike the look and feel of the new Echo Studio – it’s more pleasing to the eye, and a lot easier to find a home for at its smaller size. However, many of the concessions made ultimately impact performance and usability — and for a supposedly top-of-the-range speaker I’d always prize those qualities over look and feel.

• Design: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)Echo Studio (2nd gen, 2025) audio quality

• Complete hardware refit compared to previous generation
• Solid, clear audio across a range of genres
• Mid-range performance for home cinema

Sitting at the top end of the Echo speaker lineup, the Echo Studio in principle offers the best audio you can get from an Amazon speaker. However, while that’s indeed the case, not everyone who loved the first-generation Studio will enjoy this newer version.

As mentioned above, the new Echo Studio trades its predecessor’s three two-inch side-mounted mid-range speakers, two-inch upward-firing midrange speaker, 1-inch front-facing tweeter, and 5.25-inch downward-firing sealed woofer for three full-range drivers and a single high-excursion woofer. Plus, under the hood, the new AZ3 Pro chip does a lot of the legwork, working in tandem with onboard far-field microphones to deliver Automatic Room Adaptation, fine-tuning the audio experience based on the room’s acoustics. There’s also spatial audio, Lossless High Definition and Dolby Atmos support.

So, what difference do these hardware changes make in practice? I played a variety of tracks from different genres to test the speaker’s audio quality, as well as trying out the new Amazon Home Theatre feature, to find out.

It’s a tale of trade-offs; on the one hand, the soundstage is well balanced overall, producing beautifully clear layers and expressing texture in tracks well. Hans Zimmer’s Cornfield Chase was rendered with beautiful depth and clarity, especially at louder volumes, as was Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye, with the Echo Studio proving amply capable of rendering Buckley’s quivering vocals beautifully while preserving the layered rhythmic guitars and mounting tension. Dynamic songs like Glory Box by Portishead offer well-rounded bass, with every detail of the track, right down to its vinyl crackle, represented with impressive clarity.

However, the Echo Studio lacks the powerful bass and overall volume of older models, and certain tracks suffer as a result: Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush plays much more faithfully than on the Echo Dot Max I tested a few months ago, but the Echo Studio still lacks the pummeling bass I so adore. Similarly, Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain, especially at lower volumes, fails to fully deliver the track’s signature thunderous, driving bass.

With Amazon removing many of the audio-first design features (like the sound-carrying cutouts) and squeezing the device into a far smaller form factor, the new Echo Studio ultimately loses a lot of its oomph. It also now downmixes stereo content to mono, and compresses the mix more aggressively at higher volumes than the original model.

That said, when I was testing this speaker in my apartment, I wasn’t looking to push the volume beyond 70% (mostly for the sake of my neighbours), and the bass was, broadly, suitably present for my living space, this is aided by the Automatic Room Adaptation, which works well to really flood a space with sound.

Of course, the Echo Studio can do more than just play your music. You can connect up to five Echo Dot Max or Echo Studio speakers plus an optional Echo subwoofer to a Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd-gen), Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd-gen), or Fire TV Cube (3rd-gen) to use Amazon’s new Home Theatre feature. I gave this a quick try, albeit with just the one Echo Studio, watching a few scenes from Red Sonja, The Batman and Oppenheimer to put its through its paces. I was pretty happy with how much depth and clarity the Echo Studio provided (it’s all handled over Bluetooth, so I did notice a bit of a delay with lip-synching initially; thankfully, you can adjust this in the settings), and I can imagine with a full set the sound would be really quite impressive.

That said, the dynamic range was pushed to its limit during my testing, and I ultimately found myself toggling the volume fairly often. Plus, its downmixed mono playback makes it a hard sell for a cinephile – of course, you can opt to spend $1,000 / £1,000 / AU$2,000 on a full Amazon Home Theater setup, but for that price I’d wager there are far superior surround sound systems. It’s only if you’re benefitting specifically from the Echo Studio’s place in Amazon’s Fire TV / Prime / Alexa+ ecosystem that I can see this being a viable option.

• Audio quality: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Echo Studio (2nd gen, 2025) features

• Smart and accurate sensors
• Speedy Alexa commands
• Alexa+ compatible

Much like the Echo Dot Max, the Echo Studio is locked and loaded with clever sensors and smarts to help run your smart home, including the same temperature and ultrasound motion sensors as the Echo Dot (4th gen) as well as a new Wi-Fi sensing capability.

I set these up at home for even smarter Alexa Routines; when I enter a room, an automation turns on my smart lights, and when the temperature drops, my electric heater turns on to keep me toasty during the UK winter months. Everything worked as expected on test, and it’s good to see the Echo Studio keeping pace with other smart speakers here.

The new AZ3 Pro chipset delivers super-speedy Alexa responses, though you probably won’t notice the difference unless you’ve been using Alexa-enabled devices from a few years ago. Where you will feel the difference is if you have access to Alexa+, as that’s the real driver behind the additional computing power. I’m testing this speaker in the UK, where we don’t currently have access to Amazon’s full agentic AI platform, but my US-based colleague Lance Ulanoff shared his first impressions of the service overall.

• Features: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Echo Studio (2nd gen, 2025)?Buy it if…

You want room-filling audio

The Echo Studio’s room-adapting smarts go a long way to up the value, and it’s delivering a lot of clever optimization to compensate for the admittedly weaker hardware.View Deal

You’re upgrading from an older, regular Echo speaker

More recent Echo smart speakers pack fairly similar specs and performance, but the AZ3 chip brings a marked improvement. View Deal

Don’t buy it if…

You’re an audiophile

While in many ways the Echo Studio does impress, it’s fundamentally incapable of offering a true hi-fi audio experience.View Deal

You own an older Echo Studio

I’m willing to bet that if you love your old Echo Studio, you won’t be a huge fan of this newer model. View Deal

Also consider

Echo Studio

Echo Dot Max

Echo (4th-gen)

Dimensions

6.1 x 5.6 x 5.8 inches (W x D x H)

4.27 x 4.27 x 3.9 inches

5.7-inch x 5.7-inch x 5.2-inch

Speakers

1x 3.75-inch high excursion woofer, 3x 2.25-inch full-range drivers

0.8-inch tweeter and 2.5-inch woofer

3-inch neodymium woofer and two 0.8-inch front-firing tweeters with Dolby Audio support

Processor

AZ3 Pro

AZ3

AZ1 Neural Edge

Connecivity

Zigbee, Matter, Thread Border Router, eero

Zigbee, Matter, Thread Border Router, eero, Wi-Fi 6

Zigbee, Matter, Thread border router. Dual-band Wi-Fi, eero, Bluetooth

3.5mm audio line-in/out.

Voice assistant

Alexa

Alexa

Alexa

Weight

53.5oz / 1.63 kg

505.3g

970g

Also consider Echo Dot Max

The new Echo Dot Max offers adaptable and solid audio specs, with much of the same internal hardware as the Echo Studio barring some of the more powerful speakers.

For more information, check out our full Echo Dot (5th-gen) review.

Also consider Echo (4th-gen)

The 4th generation of Amazon’s base model Echo speaker may be getting long in the tooth, its audio performance is admirable, it’s often on sale at bargain prices, and offers a similar performance.

For more information, check out our full Echo (4th-gen) review.

How I tested the Echo Studio (2nd gen, 2025)

• I used the Echo Studio as part of my smart home setup
• I played lossless audio through Spotify
• I used the standard Alexa and other advertised features.

I tried all of the advertised features of the Echo Studio (barring Alexa+ which is not currently available in the UK) to assess its performance and audio quality.

As well as testing Alexa’s ability to follow commands and surface information, I used my Echo Studio as a speaker, streaming lossless tracks via Spotify across a variety of genres and moods to test the speaker’s dynamic range, clarity and volume. I also tried using the new Echo Studio as part of my Amazon Home Theatre setup, listening to various TV shows and movies to see how well the speaker would serve cinephiles.

I’ve had an Alexa-powered smart home for years, having professionally tested smart home devices for over four years. In addition to my at-home Alexa setup, I’ve also used both Google and Apple devices to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the most popular smart home ecosystems.

GoPro Lit Hero: two-minute review

GoPro is a name that's synonymous with the action cam market, with the brand having largely been responsible for the explosion in popularity of such cameras over the past two decades. The brand has come a long way since its first Hero camera, a 35mm film-compatible wearable model released in 2004.

Now the likes of the GoPro Hero 13 Black and GoPro MAX 2, are considered amongst the best action cameras available, and largely dominate the market. And despite rumors that the company intends to kill off the Hero Black range, GoPro has dismissed the speculation. In other words, the GoPro family seemingly has a bright future ahead. In fact, as I completed this review, GoPro announced the next generation GP3 processor which will power a new wave of GoPros for 2026 and beyond.

That being said, the direction of the range can sometimes take an odd turn, and one such example is 2025’s GoPro Lit Hero, a sort of replacement for the GoPro Hero (2024), which was itself a weird compromise of price over specification.

You certainly can’t criticize the camera’s portability — it’s one of the smallest and lightest action cameras you can find anywhere, and there’s no danger of it weighing you down whilst out on a cycle ride or when travelling. Before hopping on a plane, there was none of the usual "Should I, shouldn’t I?" dilemma I often experience when choosing what to take on a trip, and it was a simple case of "Why not?" and throwing it into my camera bag.

The Lit Hero is unmistakably a GoPro product, albeit a much stripped-down one (Image credit: Peter Fenech)

There haven’t been many compromises in terms of build quality, and the Lit Hero feels rugged despite its diminutive size.

However, the tiny screen makes changing settings a challenge, while there isn’t a lot of room for camera controls on the body, making the handling experience frustrating at times. The screen itself isn’t always easy to use for image previews and is quite fiddly. It’s not a camera you can use in a hurry, which is a problem given the type of content you’d probably shoot with it.

There's very little in the way of manual controls: if you just want a point-and-shoot camera, you'll be fine, but if you hope to take control over the image-making process, there isn’t much here to satisfy a creative appetite.

Image quality is passable, but not mind-blowing. The camera struggles in low light thanks to its tiny imaging sensor, and despite offering 4K shooting, footage is anything but pro-level. Stills and video are sharp enough, but quickly lose detail as the sensitivity is increased. Meanwhile, colors are quite natural.

Overall, the GoPro Lit Hero is an affordable entry to the action cam market, and is a good take-anywhere choice. It won’t draw too much unwanted attention, or take up room in a bag. The problem is that too much has been stripped away to facilitate the small size. If you were expecting a simplified Hero Black, with similar properties, just smaller, you would probably be disappointed.

I'm not sure who the Lit Hero was designed for, specifically. Yes, it's an entry-level camera, so beginners might benefit. However, the naming convention is confusing, and I'm uncertain as to why such a powerful LED was incorporated. It's also still not that cheap, which I fear is more because of the brand name than any real premium advantages it offers.

As a result, the camera doesn't really hit any target market well. It sounds mean, but it might be best suited for filmmakers who want a camera that they're happy to risk destroying in the pursuit of extreme shooting angles. Otherwise, I can't think of anyone in particular to whom I'd recommend the Lit Hero.

GoPro Lit Hero specsGoPro Lit Hero specs:

Type:

Action camera

Sensor:

1/2.8-inch CMOS

LCDs:

1x rear 1.76-inch touchscreen

Memory:

Micro SD

Lens:

15mm equivalent, f/2.3

Battery:

Embedded rechargeable 1255mAh Enduro Lithium-Ion

Video:

Up to 4K/60p, 4K/30p (4:3)

Photo:

12MP (4000 x 3000 pixels)

Dimensions:

56.6 x 48.4 x 29.45mm (W x H x D)

Weight:

3.3oz / 93g

(Image credit: Peter Fenech)GoPro Lit Hero: Price and availability

• Released October 21 2025 worldwide
• The GoPro Lit Hero retails for $269.99 / £239.99 / AU$419.95
• The Starter Bundle includes a Shorty mini tripod, bike mount and case for $344.99 / £304.99/ AU$539.95

The GoPro Lit Hero went on sale from October 21 2025 for a price of $269.99 / £239.99 / AU$419.95, but months later and with the next generation of GoPros set for 2026 it can be purchased for less. The camera is available in kits too, including the Starter Bundle, which includes a bike mount and camera case and retails for $344.99 / £304.99 / AU$539.95.

Other activity-specific bundles are available, such as the Water Activities Bundle ($332.99 / £296.99 / AU$519.95), Bike and Camp Bundle ($349.99 / £399.99 / AU$ 546.95) and a Kid’s Bundle for $359.99 / £322.99 / AU$ 572.95, which supplies a Shorty mini tripod, case and Flexible Grip Mount.

• Price score: 3.5/5

GoPro Lit Hero: Design

• Small 1.76-inch LCD touchscreen
• Waterproof to depths of 16ft / 5m
• Super-lightweight at 3.3oz / 93g

The Lit Hero certainly looks the part, and has many of the traditional design markers of a GoPro product. The rear of the camera is dominated by the 1.76-inch LCD screen, with no physical buttons or controls whatsoever. This isn’t unusual for an action camera, and the same is true of a higher-end model like the DJI Osmo Action 6. The difference there is the screen size, which at 2.5 inches is much easier to interact with and operate.

The monitor on the Lit Hero is so small that my fingertips dwarfed some of the icons, making the precise selection of settings tricky when on the move and when outside in winter, digits numb from the cold. The active area of the screen is much smaller than the back of the camera, too, so there really isn’t much control real estate to be working with. If, like me, your hands are on the large side, it’s something to be aware of if the Lit Hero is on your shopping list.

It’s also not the most detailed LCD I’ve ever used, and it’s not ideal for judging the sharpness of captured images and footage. A few times, I thought I’d got the subject in focus, only to find the camera had back-focused upon opening the images and footage on the large screen of my laptop.

(Image credit: Peter Fenech)

The touch function is useful (well, actually essential as it happens), but it isn’t hugely responsive, and it can take a few taps to get the desired menu to open, or multiple swipes with wet or muddy fingers to scroll through previews. Overall, it’s definitely a good idea to download the dedicated GoPro Quik app onto your phone, via which you can more accurately quality-control your footage.

The rest of the body is incredibly simple, which is both a negative and a positive. On one hand, this means you have to rely on the tiny screen to operate most of the camera’s functions, frozen fingers or not, but it also gives the Lit Hero a reassuringly unintimidating layout for beginners. There aren’t so many buttons that you might be worried about accidentally changing a setting you subsequently can’t figure out how to reset.

The Polycarbonate and TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) construction material is easy to grip, with a good amount of texture to provide friction even when the camera is wet. At no point did I worry about it slipping from my hands while using it handheld.

The other inescapable side-effect of such a small body is that when handling it, even just to remove it from a bag, it’s easy to touch the lens and leave behind fingerprints. It’s easily wiped clean, but this can be irritating.

• Design score: 4.5/5

GoPro Lit Hero: Performance

• Quick startup for rapid shooting
• Lack of built-in digital or optical stabilization is frustrating
• Super-powerful LED lamp is too intense for most uses

The camera itself is quick to start up, which was something I was concerned about, given the expected shrinking of the processor assembly to allow for the Lit Hero’s tiny dimensions. There’s very little delay between pressing the power button on the top of the camera and it being capture-ready.

Focus is also quick, at least as far as I could tell from my ‘hit rate’, looking back through captured images – looking at the screen, it’s very difficult to see the focusing in action, especially given the wide focal length. This was impressively maintained in low light and I didn’t notice a significant increase in out-of-focus shots in poor ambient lighting.

A big downside for me is the lack of integrated image stabilization. Rather than using an optical or sensor-shift IBIS system, you must first transfer footage to your smartphone using the GoPro Quik app, then apply algorithmic stabilization there. I’m not a fan of digital stabilization anyway, but not having it applied in-camera means you can’t preview how the final footage will actually look at the point of shooting. It’s a laborious extra step that slows things down.

The bright front LED panel is what lends the Lit Hero its namePeter FenechPeter FenechPeter Fenech

An added frustration is that the connection between my phone and the Lit Hero was fairly unstable. It kept dropping out, meaning that live previews of what the camera could see using my phone screen were so pixelated as to be largely useless. The transfer speeds were also predictably sluggish. Yes, it’s possible this is due to the age of my handset, or even a model-specific compatibility issue, but I’d experienced no such issue when pairing it to the Insta360 X4 Air and Insta360 X5 the day before.

The ‘Lit’ element of the camera’s name stems from the powerful LED torch on the front of the body. It’s really the only instantly noticeable change from the GoPro Hero (2024). I wasn’t sure a camera could ever be defined by its built in flash or continuous light, but oh wow, did this thing get my attention.

It’s inexplicably bright. For the size of the camera, the light output is impressive if not completely overkill. It’s so bright at the maximum setting that I found it impossible to perform a piece to the camera with it shining in my eyes. Of course, it might come in useful in dark conditions, but I found it just looked ugly in most cases. I found it helped when shooting underwater clips in a sediment-filled stream, but the exposure fall-off is very obvious and unsightly.

On a positive note, the battery life is decent, and I could easily get around an hour and a half of continuous use out of it, in chilly outdoor temperatures, before it ran out of juice. Since the battery is integrated and can't be swapped, this is good news.

I found the body warmed up pretty rapidly when shooting longer video clips; not problematic, but a little uncomfortable when using it handheld. I found the more powerful DJI Osmo Action 6 heated up less quickly after prolonged use.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

GoPro Lit Hero: Image quality

• 4K video looks good in brighter light, with natural color rendition
• Photo and video quality drop significantly at higher sensitivities
• No log mode for later color grading

With such a small (1/2.8-inch) imaging sensor at its heart, the Lit Hero is limited in its light-gathering capacity. As such, noise levels are quite high at every sensitivity. There are very few manual controls, with no true PASM modes that allow the user to manipulate exposure settings, meaning you’re at the mercy of the camera’s own decisions, often resulting in grainy footage.

While it’s easier to hide in fast-moving video, the mushiness of detail is clearly visible in stills. In daylight conditions, results are actually quite sharp, but this isn’t maintained for long as ambient light falls.

The autoexposure system is fairly dependable, and it was able to quickly assess each scene during my testing and correctly adjust the parameters to prevent obvious overexposure. Similarly, the auto white balance does a good job of keeping colors natural, even under mixed lighting. This is all good news since there’s little opportunity to amend these settings yourself.

The LED creates a strong exposure fall-off in low light situations (Image credit: Peter Fenech)

Some back-focussing occured at close working distances (Image credit: Peter Fenech)

I’d equate the experience and resulting images to those from a basic smartphone or compact camera – I wouldn’t recommend the Lit Hero for ‘serious’ still photography work, but it’s good enough for off-the-cuff content creation and vacation shots.

There isn’t much latitude for post-processing work either. Shadows can be blocked quickly, probably because the camera seems to be biased towards underexposure to keep the highlights in check, but it’s not a good idea to lift these too far. There is no Log mode so color grading must be applied to the pre-processed video, which can break down the tones if pushed too far.

• Image quality score: 3.5/5

GoPro Lit Hero: testing scorecard GoPro Lit Hero

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Price

As one of the most affordable action cameras available, the Lit Hero won't break the bank, but it's still questionable value for the spec on offer

3.5/5

Design

I have no real complaints about the design. Yes, it's fiddly but that's the trade-off for such a portable size

4.5/5

Performance

The screen isn't particularly responsive, the camera isn't that quick to operate, and it gets warm quite quickly after extended shooting

3/5

Image quality

While not terrible, the small sensor struggles in low light and detail turns mushy. Colors are good though, if not punchy.

3/5

Should I buy the GoPro Lit Hero?Buy it if...

You're married to GoPro

If you have plenty of existing GoPro accessories and are very familiar with the system, the Lit Hero might make a useful, extra-small addition to your collection. It could also serve as a B-roll camera or backup model in the field.View Deal

You're on a tight budget

If you aren't ready to invest in a high-end action camera such as the GoPro Hero 13 Black, the Lit Hero is an ideal entry point to the GoPro ecosystem. If you need a model for occasional use, or alternatively, a sacrificial camera for extreme punishment that you don't mind being destroyed, the price of the Lit Hero is appealing.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You need top-level quality

There's only so much a 1/2.8-inch sensor can achieve, and if you need footage and stills for a professional project, you'd be better off with a less entry-level specification. Images from the Lit Hero probably won't cut it for anything other than casual, everyday needs.View Deal

You like creative control

There isn't much to the Lit Hero's menu system, indicating a lack of any true manual intervention in the image creation process. There's a limited choice of frame rates and no log mode for later grading. View Deal

Also consider Insta360 Go 3S

In many ways the Go 3S is the best of both worlds: you get both an incredibly portable, wearable action camera and the benefits of the Action Pod, including easier handling and improved battery life. You get 4K resolution at up to 30p, waterproofing up to 33ft / 10m, and a slow-motion mode in 1080p of 200fps. If you want a truely tiny action cam that is tough enough to withstand some punishment, the Go 3S has no true rival beyond the DJI Osmo Nano (see below).

Read our in-depth Insta360 Go 3S review

DJI Osmo Nano

Proving there's life beyond GoPro, the DJI Osmo Nano offers some brilliantly modular features. Not only does it weigh a mere 52g, but you also get the benefit of some professional features, like the excellent DJI D-Log M mode for advanced color grading possibilities in post-processing. It also provides 4K recording, using a larger 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor – the same one featured DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro. If you want a camera that's light enough to go everywhere with you, without compromising heavily on spec, this is a great choice.

Read our in-depth DJI Osmo Nano review

How I tested the GoPro Lit Hero

• I used the GoPro Lit Hero over one week, both indoors and out
• I worked in a range of lighting conditions and weather to test the durability of the body and functionality
• The camera was submerged to analyze the waterproofing capability

While I always like to subject action cameras to some degree of punishing conditions, I like to use them as I might as part of an average shoot for which it was designed. As such, I don't make a habit of dropping them out of windows or running them over with a Jeep.

Instead, I took the GoPro Lit Hero with me on several outdoor shoots, in a range of weather, from rainy to full sun. I used the camera to capture behind-the-scenes content of my shoots and environmental imagery. This included submerging it in a stream and getting it down and dirty in muddy undergrowth.

I left the camera recording for extended durations to test battery life and heat management. I shot both still photos and video, then processed these in Adobe Lightroom and DaVinci Resolve to see how much detail I could recover from the extreme ends of the tonal range. Images shown here are the unprocessed out-of-camera Jpgs and video (cut together in the case of the latter).

• First reviewed February 2026

Logitech G325 Lightspeed: Two-minute review

Logitech definitely knows the strengths of the G325 Lightspeed, its new budget wireless gaming headset.

Advertised as a model that’s “just as suitable for an OOTD selfie or wearing out and about” as gaming, the impressively lightweight design and unique look make it well worth considering if you're after something more stylish than your standard gamer fare.

This is an incredibly comfortable headset that you should have no trouble wearing for extended periods of time, whether you’re gaming or taking calls at the office. Its memory foam earcups are super soft, and the thin plastic headband is reinforced with some effective padding.

The fact that it’s made almost entirely from thin plastic means that it doesn't feel anywhere near as premium as competitors like HyperX Cloud III or Razer BlackShark V3 X, but this is a reasonable compromise given the high level of comfort the resulting lightness brings.

(Image credit: Future)

The microphone represents a similar trade-off. On one hand, I love how streamlined the built-in beamforming microphone is - in fact, it’s almost invisible aside from a tiny little grille on the left earcup. There’s no messing around with a retractable arm or removable parts that you might end up losing.

On the other hand, there’s no denying that those models with dedicated microphone arms sound much better, even if they are a bit more frustrating to use. The mic of the G325 Lightspeed picks up a lot of background noise, despite the best efforts of Logitech’s “AI-powered noise reduction”, and leaves you sounding quite distant and grainy.

It’s perfectly adequate if you’re chatting with friends on a Discord call, but there are gaming headsets with much better microphone performance out there at this price, like those aforementioned alternatives.

This is also a very basic headset when it comes to features. The built-in controls are a volume rocker, Bluetooth pairing button, microphone mute switch, and that’s your lot. The headset is compatible with Logitech’s brilliant G Hub software, but it doesn’t offer much here aside from some EQ options and a couple of extra settings. This is going to be more than enough for most casual gamers.

The sound here is also good for the asking price, but not exceptional. Like other Logitech headsets, it sounds a bit flat out of the box without much bass, but it’s decently detailed and performs well in games.

With all of this in mind, you should already know whether the G325 Lightspeed is for you. If comfort and aesthetics are your priority, it’s an easy recommendation given the relatively low asking price - but those after booming sound or a crystal clear mic are better served with other options.

(Image credit: Future)Logitech G325 Lightspeed: Price and availability

• Costs $79.99 / £69.99 / AU$199.95
• Three colors available
• One of Logitech’s cheapest wireless models

Priced at $79.99 / £69.99 / AU$199.95, the G325 Lightspeed is one of the cheapest wireless gaming headsets Logitech makes right now.

This price point puts it in budget territory and, given the brand’s frequent generous discounts on other products, I wouldn’t be surprised you could scoop it up for around the $50 / £50 / AU$95 mark in the future.

At full price, it still represents quite good value, though, with much of the cost accounted for in the wireless capabilities and attractive design. There are three colorways available: a black with subtle purple accents, white with grey and mint green highlights, and a cute lilac with hints of orange.

Logitech G325 Lightspeed: Specs

Logitech G325 Lightspeed

Price

$79.99 / £69.99 / AU$199.95

Weight

7.4oz / 212g

Compatibility

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, mobile

Connection type

Wireless (Lightspeed, Bluetooth 5.2)

Battery life

~24 hours

Features

Beamforming microphone

Software

Logitech G Hub (PC / Mobile)

Logitech G325 Lightspeed: Design and features

• Attractive overall look
• Very lightweight
• Basic set of features

The design of the Logitech G325 Lightspeed eschews the usual gamer aesthetic of most headsets in favor of a more subtle look.

They’re sleek and seem more like a pair of music listening headphones than a gaming headset, which I quite like. You could easily wear these out of the house or in the office without embarrassment, which is certainly one of the biggest reasons to choose this model over others.

At only 7.4oz / 212g, the G325 Lightspeed is impressively lightweight, though it’s easy to see where Logitech has made the biggest sacrifices to achieve this. The headband feels particularly thin and cheap, with lots of flex to it. Importantly, it is still comfortable thanks to generous memory foam padding. The earcups, which can be adjusted up and down by a few inches, are similarly well-padded with memory foam cushioning.

(Image credit: Future)

The right earcup is completely plain aside from some subtle G325 branding, with all of this headset’s controls located on the back of the left one. There’s a power switch (situated beneath an LED indicator to denote battery level and charging status), a Bluetooth pairing button, a volume rocker, and a button to mute the microphone with a built-in and flush design on the front of the earcup.

The headset is compatible with the Logitech G Hub app, though it doesn’t give you access to many extra features. You can turn on side tone (which lets you hear yourself as you speak) or enable the microphone’s AI noise reduction features. There are also a number of audio presets to choose from, but the default one is well-balanced and a good fit for most uses.

(Image credit: Future)Logitech G325 Lightspeed: Performance

• Decent, balanced sound
• As suitable for office work as gaming
• Microphone could be better

Like other Logitech gaming headsets, the G325 Lightspeed sounds quite neutral out of the box. There is definitely some bass, but not overemphasized, and the mids and highs are decently presented. Is it the most detailed or breathtaking sound I’ve ever heard? No, but it’s firmly in line with what you should expect at this price.

I’ve been using the Logitech G325 Lightspeed for a few weeks now, and I never found the listening experience unpleasant, even when bobbing along to music as I worked. In games, the sound is more than sufficient for an enjoyable experience for a casual player, and this has been my go-to throughout my recent co-op playthrough of Resident Evil 6 and daily Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 matches.

Although I do have access to much better-sounding models, the ease of use of this one, not to mention the sheer comfort, is hard to argue with. Just plug the USB dongle in, and you’re ready to go.

I even like the built-in microphone despite its obvious flaws, too. This is not a gaming headset that you should use to start your streaming career, but the fact that the microphone is always present and incredibly unobtrusive is a plus. When I’m using the Astro A20 X, for example, I always have to dig the removable microphone out of my drawer and consciously attach it to my headset before I play - often struggling to find it in the process. Here, you just put the headset on, and you’re ready to go.

I do wish it did a better job of picking up your voice, though. I found that I often sounded quite quiet in comparison to other headsets, with a noticeably grainy quality to my voice. It also lets in an awful lot of background noise, with everything from typing to controller button presses picked up. This is easy to remedy with something like the Krisp noise suppression built into Discord, but still a clear area for improvement.

The battery life here isn’t anything special, but it’s good enough. Logitech claims that this headset will last more than 24 hours at 50% volume, and, in normal use, I found that it easily lasted about 20 hours at a time.

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Logitech G325 Lightspeed?Buy it if…

You want a light and comfortable headset
The Logitech G325 Lightspeed is incredibly comfortable thanks to its lightweight and generous memory foam padding. It’s one to choose if you want something that you can wear for hours and hours at a time.

You love the look
This headset also has quite a unique look that’s very different from most gaming models. Pick it up if you want something understated.

Don’t buy it if…

You need better sound
The sound here is good, but you can still get better performers for around the same price from brands like Razer or HyperX - especially if you don’t mind going for a wired alternative.

You want a great mic
The microphone here could do with some work. It gets the job done, but the performance isn’t as good as most models with a microphone arm.

Also consider...

Not sold on the Logitech G325 Lightspeed? See these two alternatives.

Logitech G325 Lightspeed

Razer BlackShark V3 X

HyperX Cloud III

Price

$79.99 / £69.99 / AU$199.95

$99.99 / £99.99 / around AU$141

$99.99 / about £99.99 / AU$150

Weight

7.4oz / 212g

9.5oz / 270g

10.9oz / 310g

Compatibility

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, mobile

PC, Xbox Series X/S (Xbox version), Playstation 4/5, (PlayStation version), mobile

PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, mobile

Connection type

Wireless (Lightspeed, Bluetooth 5.2)

2.4 GHz Wireless / Bluetooth / USB Wired

Wired (3.5mm)

Battery life

~24 hours

70 hours

N/A

Features

Beamforming microphone

7.1 virtual surround sound, unidirectional detachable cardioid mic

Detachable 10mm mic, DTS Headphone:X Spatial Audio

Software

Logitech G Hub (PC / Mobile)

Razer Synapse (PC)

HyperX NGENUITY (PC)

Razer BlackShark V3 X
This budget-oriented BlackShark headset from Razer is more expensive and heavier than the G325, but it offers significantly better battery life and much punchier sound, not to mention plenty more features.

For more information, check out our full Razer BlackShark V3 X review

HyperX Cloud III
The HyperX Cloud III might be getting on in years, but it’s still a top contender and regularly on sale for around the same price as the G325. It’s wired, but it comes with a phenomenal microphone.

For more information, check out our full HyperX Cloud III reviewView Deal

How I tested the Logitech G325 Lightspeed

• Tested for multiple weeks
• Used with PC, PS5, and Xbox
• Relied on for both work and play

I tested the Logitech G325 Lightspeed for multiple weeks, using it as my primary wireless gaming headset for both work and play.

I used it with my PC in addition to my PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, squeezing in plenty of game time with friends to test out the built-in mic. I also wore it daily while working, wearing it for online meetings and while listening to music, and found it to be a worthy companion.

I frequently compared its performance to a range of other models that I’ve tested, including the Logitech G522 Lightspeed, Astro A20 X, and SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5, plus more premium alternatives like the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro and Astro A50 X.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed February-March 2026

Privacy Bee remains one of the strongest “set-and-forget” data removal platforms in 2026, ideal for users who want more than basic broker opt-outs and are willing to pay a premium for automation, family coverage, and extra tools like tracker blocking and breach alerts. It’s still one of the pricier options, but its depth of features and strong independent ratings keep it among the top data removal services available today.

Data brokers, people-search sites, and marketing databases continue to harvest personal information from public records, social media, loyalty programs, and even obscure online forms. They package and resell this data to advertisers, lead generators, and, at times, questionable third parties. While mostly legal, this ecosystem raises serious concerns about stalking, doxxing, phishing, and identity theft - driving continued demand for automated data removal services that handle the tedious opt-out process and monitor for reappearances.

Privacy Bee positions itself as a full privacy suite rather than a simple removal tool. It combines broker opt-outs with risk assessments, marketing list suppression, dark web exposure checks, and a browser extension that manages “trust” in real time. That broader scope, plus family protection and business-focused options, helps justify its higher pricing compared to rivals like DeleteMe, Kanary, and Mozilla Monitor Plus, which focus more narrowly on broker lists.

Let’s take a look at Privacy Bee.

Privacy Bee: Plans and pricing

(Image credit: Privacy Bee)

Privacy Bee has evolved from a single flat annual price into a more flexible three-tier structure: Essentials, Pro, and Signature, with options for monthly billing, multi-year discounts, and multi-person coverage.

The Essentials package targets people-search sites only; Pro adds broader broker coverage across hundreds of additional sources; and Signature adds priority support and more hands-on remediation for urgent or high-risk cases.

When you're looking at the pricing, you can choose to pay every month for the more basic options. But if you want to get the best deal, it's better to go for the yearly plans. This way, the monthly price drops significantly, especially if you sign up for several years at once or add others to your plan, like partners or family members.

At the time of this writing, the Essential version is $96 per year, the Pro version is $216, and the Signature version is $804. Discounts are often available online.

Privacy Bee: Features

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Privacy Bee centers on what it calls “Proactive data privacy”: you declare which companies you trust and which you do not, and the platform then centralizes and enforces those preferences. Its coverage spans hundreds of data brokers and people-search sites, over 400 for core removal, and well past 1,000, when you include broader marketing, industry lists, and smaller aggregators - putting it at the high end of the market in terms of total sites targeted.

The service automatically sends opt-out and deletion requests, tracks responses, and periodically re-scans to catch re-exposure, turning what could be hundreds of manual forms and emails into a largely hands-off process.

Privacy Bee does a lot more than just the basics. It also gives you some really useful extra tools to help keep your data safe. For example, it can scan the internet to see if your information has been leaked or shared without your permission. It also checks public social media posts and suspicious search results to give you a score for how private your data is. Then, it tells you what you can do to make it safer. It also helps stop junk mail and spam emails by removing your name from lists companies use to send you unwanted messages. This is something that many other services don't do.

There's also a tool you can add to your browser, primarily for Firefox, that lets you see whether a website is trustworthy. You can block trackers from sites you don't trust and change your settings as you browse the internet. It's like having a control panel for your privacy that you can use in real-time. This means you have more control over who sees your data and what happens to it when you're online. It's a pretty powerful tool for keeping your information private and secure.

Privacy Bee is a great tool for families. It has a central dashboard where you can add family members and manage their privacy settings. You can also decide if they get their own login or if you handle everything for them. This is really helpful for kids and older relatives who might not be good at keeping their digital info safe.

The dashboard is a great way to keep an eye on everything and make sure your family's privacy is protected. You can add or remove family members easily and change their settings as needed. It's also good for keeping kids safe online, as you can control what they can and can't do. For businesses, Privacy Bee's features can help prevent attacks like spear-phishing, which can be highly damaging.

It can also help stop employee doxxing, which is when someone's personal info is shared online without their consent. Overall, Privacy Bee is a useful tool for both families and businesses. It helps keep people's digital info safe and reduces the risk of online attacks.

On the other hand, Privacy Bee also offers features for businesses to reduce risks such as spear-phishing, employee doxxing, and social engineering. These features are usually sold separately from the plans for regular people.

Privacy Bee: Setup

Getting started with Privacy Bee is relatively pain-free and typically takes a single session. You begin by creating an account, selecting a plan, and entering core identifiers, such as your name, physical addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and, in some cases, additional aliases, to provide the system with enough information to locate your records.

During onboarding, Privacy Bee guides you through its “trust” model, prompting you to mark specific companies and categories as trusted or untrusted so that future opt-outs match your preferences.

Once your profile is configured, the platform launches an initial scan across its broker list and related sources, populating your dashboard with exposure findings and a baseline risk view. From there, it automatically sends opt-out requests, first to high-priority people-search and data-broker sites, then gradually to broader sources, a process that can take days to weeks, as third parties respond at their own pace.

Adding family members or additional identities follows the same flow: you enter their details, decide whether to grant a personal login, and the system integrates them into ongoing scans and removal workflows.

Privacy Bee: Ease of use

The Privacy Bee website is easy to use, even if you're not tech-savvy. It shows you important information in a simple way, using cards to display how many sites have been checked, how many removals are pending, and where new problems were found. You don't need to understand complicated legal or technical terms to use it. If you want more control, you can use the "Manage Your Trust" tools to look at individual companies and categories, change your trust settings, and see how those changes will affect what happens in the future. This way, you can easily manage your privacy and make sure your information is protected.

There are some downsides to consider, though. For one, Privacy Bee is primarily a web-based service accessed through browser extensions. Unfortunately, these aren’t available in every browser. On another down note, Privacy Bee doesn't have a full-featured mobile app that's as good as its desktop version. So, if you need to manage your privacy on the go, you might find it a bit limited. On the other hand, if you're someone who mostly uses a desktop and wants a service that’s easy to use and doesn’t require much effort, Privacy Bee's interface is a good mix of simple and transparent.

Privacy Bee: Security and privacy

(Image credit: Shutterstock / ZinetroN)

Given its mission, Privacy Bee is under pressure to demonstrate strong handling of the sensitive information customers must provide. The company never sells customer data, emphasizing that any internal analytics or marketing tools it uses are limited and that its business model is strictly subscription-based, not data-driven. It has published a privacy policy, and FAQs go into detail about this stance, explaining that it aims to reduce the overall data it must retain and to minimize sharing with third parties beyond what is necessary to process opt-outs.

On the security side, Privacy Bee employs protections such as encrypted data transmission and hardened infrastructure, and it invests heavily in monitoring breaches and vulnerabilities for users. While it is not an identity theft insurance provider, Privacy Bee still operates in the same risk space as services like IDX Complete and Aura. One trade-off is that, like many data removal tools, Privacy Bee is still primarily focused on U.S. users and U.S.-based brokers; European and other international coverage remains limited, which matters if you split time or maintain records across regions.

Privacy Bee: Support

Privacy Bee backs its service with a mix of documentation, educational content, and direct support. Its help center and FAQ sections cover core topics such as how removal requests work, what data is stored, what happens after an opt-out is submitted, and how to interpret your dashboard results, which helps reduce anxiety for first-time users.

The company also publishes a privacy-focused blog that explains trends in data brokerage, breach news, and best practices for staying safe online, helping customers understand the broader context of their subscription rather than treating it as a black box.

For direct assistance, you can typically reach Privacy Bee through online forms or ticketed support, with higher-tier plans like Signature offering more responsive, priority handling for sensitive or urgent issues.

Privacy Bee: The competition

The market for removing personal data has gotten increasingly crowded in recent years. Today, Privacy Bee has to compete with other well-known services like DeleteMe, Kanary, Optery, Mozilla Monitor Plus, and some newer options from security suites and privacy-focused browsers.

DeleteMe is still a popular choice for people who want a simple way to remove their data from brokers without spending a lot of money. It's usually cheaper than Privacy Bee, but it doesn't cover as many sites and doesn't have as many controls or tools for families. Kanary and Optery, on the other hand, are great for users who want really detailed reports and different levels of coverage.

Meanwhile, Optery's top plan can be more expensive than Privacy Bee, but it also offers very detailed documentation and custom removals. Kanary strikes a good balance between covering many brokers and offering both paid and free options, though the free option is limited.

Overall, users have many choices now, and each service has its own strengths and weaknesses. It's worth doing some research to find the best fit for your needs and budget.

When it comes to protecting your personal info online, there are many options. Mozilla Monitor Plus is one of them, and it's really closely tied to Mozilla's other products, like Firefox and their VPN. It's also pretty affordable and includes breach monitoring, which is a big plus.

Some other security platforms, like Aura and IDX Complete, offer similar services, but they might not cover as many areas as specialized tools.

Privacy Bee: Verdict

This service stands out as a premium, full-featured data removal solution that goes beyond basic broker opt-outs with robust privacy management, monitoring tools, and family-focused protections. Though its higher cost and limited platform compatibility may deter some users, the combination of broad coverage, automation, and a strong reputation makes it a solid choice for individuals or households seeking thorough and worry-free privacy control.

For those prioritizing depth, reliability, and convenience over budget pricing, this platform remains a top contender in the data removal space.

• Sign up for Privacy Bee

SFollowing in the footsteps of Stalker: Heart of Chornobyl and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed is another former Xbox-exclusive that has made its way to PlayStation platforms a year after its initial release.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5 Pro
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: February 17, 2026

Similar to those titles, Obsidian Entertainment's fantasy action role-playing game isn't just sloppy seconds on the PS5 and PS5 Pro, but rather the definitive edition of an already fantastic experience.

Avowed's arrival on Sony's consoles not only benefits from a year's worth of additional polish and bug fixes, but also plenty of fresh content and PlayStation-specific bells and whistles, like brilliant DualSense Wireless Controller integration.

DuelSense-fueled fighting

(Image credit: Microsoft / Obsidian Entertainment)

While I began an Avowed playthrough on my Xbox Series X a year ago, I didn't get to dig very deep into its rich, potential-packed universe. What I remember most from my brief time braving the Living Lands as an envoy of the Aedyr Empire is the game's rewarding combat, which feels better than ever on the PS5.

Fast, fluid, and superbly supported by weighty impacts of blades, bullets, and arcane abilities, the monster-slaying action was already satisfying as hell. But the combat's been amped up significantly thanks to the DualSense's immersion-ratcheting capabilities.

Obsidian didn't sleep on the gamepad's proprietary tech, fully leveraging its adaptive triggers and haptic feedback to make every input – from meaty melee strikes to slow simmering spells – feel as fantastic in your hands as they look on the screen.

Of course, this also folds in that fresh content I mentioned above, as the game's massive anniversary update introduces a new Quarterstaff for wizard builds. No mere reskin of an existing melee weapon, this two-handed tool of destruction allows mages to crack skulls up-close – as well as unleash powerful spells – in an epic fashion that'd make Gandalf proud.

Coupled with its next-level DualSense effects, it's quickly become my favorite way to bring death to the Living Lands.

An update worthy of the gods

(Image credit: Microsoft / Obsidian Entertainment)

While the Quarterstaff is my personal favorite addition, this sorcerer's best friend barely scratches the surface of the brimming update.

A deep photo mode – with plenty of options for customizing effects, filters, and color gradients – as well as a New Game+ option, will keep both existing envoys and new recruits busy. Beyond that, a trio of new races – Orlans, Aumaua, and Dwarves – join the Humans and Elves, bringing more character customization, perks, and fresh personality and lore to this already layered fantasy universe.

A slew of new difficulty modifiers also invite adventurers of all skill levels to tweak and tailor their experience to their hearts' content. Factor in the past year of smaller updates – adding everything from polish, bug fixes, and quality of life touches – and PlayStation fans are getting yet another definitive take on a title that was born on Xbox.

If the PlayStation version stumbles at all, it's in its lack of PS5 Pro-specific enhancements. It packs the now-standard quality (30 frames per second) and performance (60 frames per second) options, as well as a more in-the-middle setting for those with 120Hz displays. You can also chase faster performance by unlocking the frame rate, a welcome inclusion for sure. But there are no meaty ray-tracing features or other enhancements that allow you to truly harness everything under the Pro's hood.

And what is offered didn't seem to make much of an impact during my testing. In terms of both visuals and performance, my time playing on the Pro looked and felt pretty comparable to my Xbox Series X experience. Similarly, the standard PS5 and Pro seem to offer near-identical visual quality and performance, with no notable differences between the two.

Don't sleep on it a second time

(Image credit: Microsoft)

While Pro owners might pine for more features to justify their pricey hardware purchase, the finger can be partially pointed at the fact that Avowed already played smoothly and impressed visually upon its release a year ago. That same sentiment translates to many other elements of the game, including its fantastic storytelling, colorful character interactions, and vibrant, varied world, covered extensively in TechRadar Gaming's original review of the game.

Unsurprisingly, upon its release, Avowed was another compelling, polished action-RPG from a studio that's been honing and perfecting its craft for over two decades, starting with 2004's Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Sadly, it got somewhat lost in the sea of last year's acclaimed genre entries.

Thankfully, that oversight can now be remedied with its PS5 release, which not only reintroduces everything that was great the first time we faced its fungal plague but also brings a brimming treasure chest of fresh features, enhancements, and content.

Whether you're a PlayStation owner craving the most immersive experience from behind the DualSense or an existing envoy ready to wield the Quarterstaff as one of the new races, Avowed's second coming is as impressive as a Living Lands sunset…which you'll definitely want to capture in photo mode.

Should you play Avowed on PS5?Play it if...

You missed out on Avowed the first time
Given the glut of awesome RPGs that landed last year, you could be forgiven for overlooking Avowed's original release. That said, there's no excuse not to jump in now, as one of 2025's best genre entries is better than ever. If you're a fantasy RPG fan who missed this one the first time around, you're in for a real treat.

You've played Avowed, but have been craving fresh content
Even if you've already conquered the Dreamscourge, Avowed's anniversary update is reason enough to dive back in. Its New Game+, photo mode, and a trio of additional races offer fresh ways to experience the game, while its awesome, two-handed Quarterstaff is worth the price of admission (which is free if you already own the game) for wizard-wannabes.

You don't own an Xbox
If you're a PlayStation stalwart pining for a new action-RPG, Avowed has you covered and then some. Like last year's Stalker: Heart of Chornobyl and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Obsidian's fantasy-fueled romp is another previous Xbox exclusive that arguably plays better on Sony's console thanks to its immersion-cranking controller.

Don't play it if...

You're a PlayStation 5 Pro owner looking to justify your purchase
Avowed offers up a visual feast running at a peppy framerate on the PS5 Pro, but the same can largely be said for its standard PS5 and Xbox Series X versions. If you're looking for meaningful Pro features and enhancements, you won't find them here.

(Image credit: Microsoft)Accessibility features

Prior to its PS5 release, Avowed already offered an admirable slate of accessibility options for camera adjustments, subtitle settings, difficulty levels, and even an arachnophobia mode for those averse to creepy crawlies. But the game's new version builds further on this solid foundation, especially in the difficulty department.

A new "custom" difficulty setting allows players to tweak over two dozen modifiers, adjusting everything from player damage and stamina to carrying capacity, enemy attack speed, and much more. But while Avowed more than delivers in most accessibility areas, it still doesn't offer the suite of colorblind options that have become pretty standard in other games.

How I reviewed Avowed on PS5

I explored The Living Lands for just over 40 hours, adventuring primarily on my PlayStation 5 Pro, but also putting plenty of time into my standard PS5 and Xbox Series X for visual and performance comparisons. I found the best, most balanced experience playing on my Pro in quality mode with the framerate unlocked.

I focused on testing the game's anniversary update additions, specifically its custom difficulty settings, new Quarterstaff weapon, races, and photo mode. I played primarily on my budget TCL 4K display, with HDR enabled and using its built-in stereo speakers, paying particular attention to the game's DualSense controller integration for vibration and audio effects. I also played a few hours on my PlayStation Portal with PlayStation Pulse Explore earbuds.

First reviewed February 2026

Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro: 30-second review

I still have questions about the cart-before-horse nature of Thunderbolt 5 docks, where we have so many dock choices when there are virtually no TB5 peripherals, and a tiny percentage of laptops have this port.

Ignoring those salient points, the Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro is yet another slice of Thunderbolt technology for those lucky enough to have a TB5-capable system and can afford a top-tier docking station to go with it.

Straight up, this is easily the nicest Thunderbolt dock I’ve ever seen from Kensington, combining some elegant chamfered corners and a cool-to-the-touch metal exterior.

The front side has a great selection of ports, including card readers for three different standards. And at the back are even more connection options, including a few I’ve never seen on a dock, such as a TOSLINK optical for digital audio.

Having nineteen ports is an important selling point, but this dock can also operate as a Thunderbolt-connected SSD using a provided M.2 PCIe 4.0 slot, if you install an SSD.

However, when you combine this level of build quality with unique features, the first casualty is the budget, and this is one of the more expensive TB5 docks. And that price might easily be doubled if you want one for home and work.

Throw in some Thunderbolt-to-DisplayPort or HDMI adapters, and you might easily exceed $1500 for two docks and a 2TB NVMe drive.

If you need only one dock and have monitors that can accept Thunderbolt directly, then the outlay might be easier to justify. But with TB4 docks hovering around $200, the performance benefits of this dock might need to be documented.

Ignoring the price, this is easily one of the best laptop docking stations I’ve tested with Thunderbolt 5, even if it doesn’t have any direct HDMI or DisplayPort outputs.

Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro: Price & availability

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• How much does it cost? $279/£223/€260
• When is it out? It’s available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from WavLink

From what I understand, there are two variants of this dock: K33611NA (standard) and K33612NA (Mac-optimised). That makes little sense, since Thunderbolt 5 is meant to be a standard, and not something that needs to be optimised for on a particular platform. Unless Apple took it on themselves, uncharacteristically, to adopt a piece of technology and then break it?

You can get either directly from Kensington in the USA, but these are oddly missing from the European Kensington websites. The cost of both models directly from the maker is $449.99, which serves as an MSRP for this hardware.

However, it's cheaper via the Kensington outlet on Amazon.com, where it's available for only $404.99. The Newegg price is $435, curiously.

UK pricing via Amazon is only £389.10, and the EU price is around €430.

That $449.99 MSRP price is the single biggest conversation point of this dock, and with good reason. That is roughly double the cost of a well-specified Thunderbolt 4 dock, and it puts the SD7100T5 firmly in the corporate IT procurement bracket rather than the individual buyer market.

The justification for the price is the unique combination of features. As no other TB5 dock at any price currently bundles a PCIe M.2 SSD slot, CompactFlash reader, optical audio, programmable hotkeys, and three Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports into a single unit.

The bottom line is that if you can afford a laptop with TB5, you probably won’t be concerned about the cost of this hardware, and it is easily one of the best docks available.

• Value: 4 / 5

Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro: Specs

Feature

Specification

Compatibility

Thunderbolt 5, Thunderbolt 4, USB4, USB-C (Windows 11 23H2+, macOS 14.5+)

Total Ports

19-in-1

Thunderbolt 5 (upstream)

1x TB5 host port (80Gbps / 120Gbps Bandwidth Boost)

Thunderbolt 5 (downstream)

3x TB5 ports — support up to 140W PD and display output

USB-A ports

4x USB-A 3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps)

USB-C ports

2x USB-C 3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps); 1x up to 30W charging

Video — Windows

Triple 4K@144Hz or Dual 8K@60Hz

Video — Mac

Dual 6K@60Hz (M-Series Pro/Max required)

Power Delivery

Up to 140W (USB PD 3.1 EPR, 28V/5A)

KonstantCharge

Yes

Storage Slot

1x PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD slot (lockable, SSD not included)

Card Readers

CF 4.0, UHS-II SDXC, UHS-II microSDXC

Network

1x 2.5GbE Ethernet

Audio

3.5mm headphone jack, 3.5mm mic jack, 3.5mm speaker jack, TOSLINK optical

Hotkeys

2x programmable (iPhone backup + DND on Mac; custom on Windows)

Mounting

Pre-drilled holes for optional bracket (K34050WW, sold separately)

Security

Kensington lock slot (cable lock sold separately)

Thermal

Passive cooling

Construction

97% post-consumer recycled (PCR) aluminium

Warranty

3-year limited

Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro: Design

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• Recycled aluminium construction
• Lockable M.2 slot
• No display outputs

The SD7100T5 represents a design departure for Kensington, moving away from the brand's more conservative corporate aesthetic towards something that looks more at home on a creative's desk.

The marketing presentation declares that the case is constructed from 97% post-consumer recycled aluminium, a genuine sustainability credential if true.

The metal used in this dock is critical to the heat dissipation from the Thunderbolt electronics and the SSD, if you mount one. It did get slightly warm in use, but not too hot to touch, even after several hours of activity.

Due to the SD7100T5's lateral design, it is intended exclusively for horizontal desktop use, and Kensington sells a secure mounting plate accessory that attaches to the threaded holes on the underside.

Without that accessory, which isn’t included in the box, there are two security slots on the left side that work with Kensington's own cable locks, unsurprisingly.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The top panel is removable via a single screw, revealing the M.2 SSD slot beneath. This screw is small and requires a tiny Phillips screwdriver, which Kensington doesn’t include with the dock. With the screw removed, the M.2 slot can be populated with any PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 specification NVMe drive, and made accessible from the computer.

Thermal pads inside the slot thermally connect the drive to the case, but these don’t allow for drives that have attached heatsinks to be used. The counter to that downside is that the slot supports drives of different sizes, with 2232, 2240 and 2260 being supported alongside 2280.

Getting a drive installed and running takes a relatively short amount of time, assuming you have a suitably sized screwdriver.

I’m not going to list all the ports, because it's tedious, but there are some unusual ones that need to be mentioned. I’ve already spoken about TOSLINK Optical Audio, but for those using headphones and a microphone, 3.5mm audio jack inlets are included.

The typical arrangement for Thunderbolt docks is to have a single uplink port to the laptop that carries power and data, with two downlink ports usually on the rear of the dock. That’s not the case here, because there are three downlink ports, with one conveniently on the front.

My only issue with downlink ports is that the maximum power they can deliver is 30W, which makes them less than useful for charging phones. However, this dock does have KonstantCharge, another made-up word for keeping power available to attached hardware when the host system is turned off or disconnected. I like that idea, and I wish more docks had that feature.

There are two programmable hotkeys on the top surface, which some might find useful. On macOS, one handles iPhone photo backup and the other acts as a Do Not Disturb toggle; on Windows, both are customisable via the Kensington Konnect software.

Overall, this is an extremely nice dock with plenty of useful features and a few things that are less than must-have. Of these, the M.2 slot and the three TB downlinks are the ones that customers will probably buy this hardware for.

• Design: 3.5 / 5

Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro: Features

• TB5 Bandwidth Boost
• Built-in M.2 SSD slot
• CompactFlash + optical audio

The SD7100T5's feature list is what separates it from every other dock on the market. Starting with the connection: Thunderbolt 5 delivers 80Gbps bidirectional bandwidth as standard, increasing to 120Gbps under Bandwidth Boost when driving video-intensive workloads.

To put that in context, a decent USB-C dock, like the WavLink WL-UG75PD1-DH2, operates on 10Gbps USB-C, which gives the SD7100T5 twelve times the bandwidth available to share across its ports.

The built-in PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD slot is arguably the dock's most distinctive feature. It is lockable (the top panel is secured by a screw rather than friction), making it suitable for shared or office environments where physical security matters.

Often, laptops are given a modest amount of storage, like 1TB, but sometimes even less, and having another 2TB, 4TB or even 8TB of drive space when you connect to the dock could make data-intensive tasks easier to handle.

The SSD is not included and must be purchased separately, but even if it merely provides a means to back up the laptop, it's probably worth the investment.

The card reader selection goes further than any competing dock: CF 4.0 (CompactFlash), UHS-II SDXC, and UHS-II microSDXC. I’ll be honest and admit that I haven't used Compact Flash in at least 14 years, but I also know that some professional photographers still use older high-end DSLRs that require it. If you are one of those, then this might be another reason to invest in this design.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Audio connectivity is similarly comprehensive: separate 3.5mm headphone, mic, and speaker jacks plus a TOSLINK optical output. The optical connection enables lossless audio passthrough to external DACs and high-end audio systems, making it extremely helpful for anyone editing video or audio.

Features like the CF support and TOSLINK are quite unique for a TB5 dock, and while it could easily be argued that they’re somewhat niche, those that need them won’t care.

However, the lack of any direct HDMI or DisplayPort might also put off those looking for a more general-purpose device, since that requires additional budget to add adapters for monitor connectivity.

• Features: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro: Performance

• 80Gbps upstream bandwidth
• No DisplayLink compression
• TB5 Bandwidth Boost for video

The fundamental performance story of the SD7100T5 is the inverse of those docks that use USB-C or even Thunderbolt 4. On those devices, the issue of bandwidth management becomes critical, as they might be trying to service 55Gbps worth of ports (or more) with as little as a 10Gbps uplink.

The SD7100T5 operates on 80Gbps, rising to 120Gbps under Bandwidth Boost. The bandwidth pie is dramatically larger, which means port oversubscription is far less of a practical concern in real-world use. Bandwidth boost, in particular, enables display data not eat into the bandwidth for other devices, which it would on lesser docks.

In USB-C and Thunderbolt 4 docks, this is often mitigated using DisplayLink, which uses CPU-side video compression to minimise the amount of bandwidth required to support displays.

Critically, the SD7100T5 does not use DisplayLink. All video output goes through native Thunderbolt 5 signalling, meaning there is no CPU-side video compression, no software driver requirement for display output, and no compression artefacts or lag on moving content. Triple 4K@144Hz on Windows is native and uncompressed, a capability that is fundamentally impossible on DisplayLink-based solutions.

The proof in this pudding is that it is possible to connect a monitor via a Thunderbolt-to-HDMI or Thunderbolt-to-DisplayPort adapter, have that running, transfer a large file to an NVMe drive installed in the M.2 slot, and still achieve full speed. And critically, there is no impact on the image quality on the display.

The caveat to all this functionality is that the host system must have a Thunderbolt 5 port. Running this dock from a Thunderbolt 4 host rather than TB5 will still work, but the connection will be capped at TB4's 40Gbps, which means the Bandwidth Boost is unavailable and maximum display configurations are reduced.

The dock is fully backwards-compatible; you simply won't be able to access the full specification without a TB5 laptop, and, as a good TB4 dock is half the price, the extra cost of this device was largely pointless.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro: Final verdict

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro is the most comprehensively specified docking station available today. Its combination of three TB5 downstream ports, built-in M.2 SSD slot, CompactFlash reader, optical audio, 140W power delivery, and programmable hotkeys in a single recycled aluminium chassis is, at the time of writing, without direct competition.

If you have a Thunderbolt 5 laptop and can make use of what this dock offers, it is worth the $449.99, even if that’s a significant investment.

The problem, and it’s an awkward one, is that TB5-capable laptops are like hens' teeth. Normally, this is part of the review where I say that this situation will get better when X, Y and Z happen, but I’d be lying in this instance.

Intel's 2026 Panther Lake will not natively support TB5, meaning the total addressable audience remains primarily Apple M4 Pro/Max MacBook users and a relatively small number of Intel Core Ultra 200H/HX Windows users. For everyone else, a Thunderbolt 4 dock at $200-250 will deliver 80% of the practical benefit at half the cost.

For the right user, however, this dock genuinely transforms a single-cable laptop setup into a fully featured workstation. The M.2 SSD slot alone is a workflow improvement that has proven difficult to go back from, once experienced. The three-year warranty and Kensington's established reliability record add further confidence for IT procurement decisions.

If you are lucky enough to have the right platform to attach it to, the Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro is probably the best dock so far, if you can afford one.

Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro: Report card

Value

Expensive but no other dock matches this feature set at any price

4 / 5

Design

Premium recycled aluminium, lockable SSD slot, thoughtful hotkeys

4.5 / 5

Features

Best-in-class: M.2 slot, CompactFlash, optical audio, 3x TB5 downstream, KonstantCharge

4 / 5

Performance

Native TB5 video, no DisplayLink, full PCIe 4.0 SSD speed, consistent throughput

4 / 5

Overall

The most capable dock available, but only for those who genuinely need what it offers

4 / 5

Should I buy a Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro?

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

You have Thunderbolt 5
Apple M4 Pro/Max MacBook users or Intel Core Ultra 200H/HX Windows users will access the full 80–120Gbps bandwidth and unlock the complete display configuration options.

You need 140W charging
Very few docks deliver USB PD 3.1 EPR at 140W, a power level that’s essential for high-performance mobile workstations that require more than the standard 100W. View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You have Thunderbolt
While this dock might work with a Thunderbolt port if it downgrades to USB 3.2, a much better experience can be had with a Thunderbolt dock. And, they don't cost any more.

Your laptop has Thunderbolt 4 only
The dock is backwards-compatible but caps at 40 Gbps on a TB4 host. A CalDigit TS4 or a similar TB4 dock costs roughly half as much and will serve you better today.

Also consider

Kensington SD5000T5 EQ
More of a hub than a dock, but overall, it is a well-specified dock for those planning to head down the TB5 rabbit hole. However, the lack of machines with this port and peripherals to connect does make it largely overkill at this point. But cheaper than the SD7100T5 EQ Pro.

Check out our Kensington SD5000T5 EQ reviewView Deal

CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4
The CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4, or TS4 as it is also known, is a full-featured Thunderbolt dock that works with Thunderbolt 4/3 and USB-C. It is not designed to be a portable dock but specifically to support a laptop user who comes to the office and wants a single cable connection to the network and a host of peripherals. To that objective, it has no less than 18 ports and can deliver up to 98W for charging a connected system. If you don't have TB5, then this is a good alternative.

Check out our CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 (TS4) review

It’s been a while since I last reviewed Adobe Lightroom, and as always with Adobe, many features have been added and a host of others have been improved, so let’s take a look at Lightroom 9.2 and see what it’s all about.

But before we do, I need to point out that there are two versions of Lightroom: Lightroom, and Lightroom Classic.

Lightroom is a simpler, more user friendly version, whereas Classic is aimed at the professional user or someone demanding a higher degree of control, who prefers to store their media on their local hard drives. I’ll be primarily covering the Classic side of things here.

Adobe Lightroom Classic: Pricing & plans

• Three subscription options
• No perpetual license
• Additional AI credits available

As with most of Adobe's professional software, Lightroom Classic is subscription-only - and here, there are three options available.

Grab Adobe’s entire portfolio with Creative Cloud Pro for US$70 a month. Alongside Lightroom, this unlocks other popular apps such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, the works.

For a less expensive, photo-focused subscription plan, there's the Photography bundle. This brings together both versions of Lightroom as well as Photoshop for $20 a month. Alternatively, you could just limit yourself to Lightroom and Lightroom Classic for $12 a month.

These are monthly costs, based on a year-long contract. They also come with Generative Credits, from 250 a month for the cheapest option to 4,000 for the high end plan. Those credits don’t roll on: if you don’t use them in a month, they don’t get added to your next allotment the following month.

If you’re really into generative AI creation, Adobe has add-on plans to suit your appetite, from an additional 2,000 credits for $10 a month, to 50,000 for $200 a month.

• Pricing & plans: 3.5/5

Adobe Lightroom Classic: What is it?

(Image credit: Adobe // Future)

• Very well designed app
• Easy to organize, alter, and share your work

Let’s start with the basics: what is Lightroom Classic?

Quite simply, it has the dual purpose of storing and cataloging your photos, while also allowing you to make alterations to them and prepare them to share with others. Any change is non-destructive, so the original photos are never altered, and you can go back to the source to make additional tweaks without ever suffering from quality degradation.

I feel the interface is very well designed - and interacting with interfaces is what I do most of the time! You have seven different sections, all accessible through a large menu bar, top right. By default, you’re in ‘Library’, which is where you can see all the photos you’ve imported and worked on.

You can actually do a fair amount of work there, such as rotating an image, adding tags, a star rating, keywords, and even perform some light colour correction. But if you want to get fully immersed in image manipulation, then ‘Develop’ is the place to be.

This is where you get to apply in-depth colour correction, cropping, remove red-eye, correct for lens distortion, completely remove an object from a scene, and mask specific sections to fine tune which part of an image to alter - among many others. You’ll find the tools at your disposal are quite extensive.

But Lightroom Classic goes beyond that. You have the ‘Map’ section where you can see all the photos you took in a specific location (and alter a shot’s metadata should you need to), there’s a section dedicated to designing a ‘Book’, or creating a ‘Slideshow’, ‘Print’ selected photos, or upload them to the ‘Web’. Although, truth be told, this is something consumer software like Apple’s Photos offers too.

All in all, Lightroom Classic makes it easy to organise your shots, make them look their best with a wide range of tools, and share them in numerous ways. But what does its latest release bring to the table? Let’s find out.

• Score: 4.5/5

Adobe Lightroom Classic: What’s new?

(Image credit: Adobe // Future)

• New AI features can save time
• But I found results vary in quality
• And it’s not like you get your credits back if you’re not happy

While the general workflow remains unchanged from previous versions, the big new features are primarily AI-based. This will delight some, and send shivers down the backs of others.

The most useful application of AI is ‘Assisted Culling’. Currently in Beta (Adobe calls it ‘Early Access’), it’s designed to accelerate the photo selection process upon import, by automatically filtering out blurry, closed-eye, misfired images, and more. You’re given a few sliders to determine the intensity of the cull, and can choose which options to filter for. After a few seconds (depending on how many images you’re importing and your computer’s capabilities), the results are ready to be reviewed.

I found the process works very well, identifying with ease any issues it’s designed to look for, and if it made a mistake, you can alter the decision shot by shot. This makes looking through a series of very similar photos a much quicker process (and if you don’t like a machine doing that kind of work for you, you can always disable the feature). As an added bonus, this AI tool is free… Unlike Lightroom Classic’s new ‘Generate using Firefly’ options.

(Image credit: Adobe // Future)

Now why would we want Generative AI in Lightroom? Well, if you’re not well-versed in Photoshop, then it’s a quick way for somewhat clever algorithms to perform relatively complex actions for you… but I admit having a few issues with such technology.

As an example, I asked AI to colorize a black and white photo of my brother and I when I was just a baby. It should’ve been a simple process, and indeed the colours used do look good. However, it added an object on top of a chest of drawers, and changed my brother’s face. In another shot, it cleaned up a tray. Although I can appreciate the virtual maid having tidied up, it’s not what I had asked for. Plus if you’re not satisfied, you don’t get your generated credits back.

To be fair, other results were better, and Firefly didn’t alter the faces of other ancient family members of mine - even my great great grandmother was faithfully updated. The resolution of the resulting version can be set up to a maximum of 2K. Great for older images that have lower resolutions, but not so good for more modern shots.

If you have credits to burn, you can bring a photo to life by turning it into a video. I found this a bit disturbing, although others around me loved it. And it must be said, Firefly did an impressive job of bringing my long-gone relative to life (Dr Frankenstein would be proud).

• Score: 4/5

Adobe Lightroom Classic: Classic vs Lightroom

(Image credit: Adobe // Future)

• Lightroom is much simpler
• Generative Upscale tool is better than Classic’s gen AI features

Before finishing up, I wanted to quickly dip into the simpler Lightroom, as there’s a feature there that’s worth mentioning: ‘Generative Upscale’.

It’s worth mentioning as this AI-based upscaling isn’t actually done by Adobe but in partnership with Topaz Gigapixel instead, and unlike the Firefly option we explored above, you don’t leave Lightroom when using it, which is a definite plus.

The feature not only tells you how many credits you’ll need, but also how many you have left - a useful addition which is sorely missed in Classic’s Firefly. The downside though is, as with Firefly, you have no control over the process. You get what you get, whether you’re happy with it or not.

Overall, Lightroom Classic is a very good image management and manipulation tool, and its new AI-based additions will no doubt please some, but aside from the useful Assisted Culling feature, you have next to no control over the output of AI.

• Score: 4/5

Should I buy?

Buy it if...

You’re looking for a high-end, easy to use and feature rich image management tool, and appreciate the growing proliferation of AI tools within it.

Don't buy it if...

You don’t like subscriptions, and having more and more AI in your software irks you, not to mention that you have to pay extra for those tools.

We tested out the best photo editing PCs and the best laptops for photo editing and these are our top picks. 

Specs

Type: Thermal label printer

Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB

Max print speed: 72 labels/min

Max paper size: 4-inch

Print quality: 203 dpi

Apple AirPrint: no

Consumables included: 20 4x6-inch labels; 40 dual-color labels

Dimensions: 8.19 x 3.54 x 2.95 in / 208 x 90 x 75 mm (WxDxH)

Weight: 1.49 lbs / 676g

An inkless label printer that can print color? Well, sort of. Thermal printing works by heating special thermal media so there’s no ink, making it ideal for portable printing. The downside is it can only make black marks on thermal paper — until now.

Munbyn’s latest printer is compatible with dual-color thermal paper which adds either blue or red, but not not both. You have to choose between red/black or blue/black media, so it’s not like Hollywood discovering Technicolor, but dual-color labels are certainly more impactful and allow some cute creativity.

The other potential advantage of the Munbyn RealWriter 405B, is its readily replaceable printhead. With no ink cartridges to consider, and relatively few moving parts, this is probably the most cost effective way to print shipping labels, box stickers and price tags.

How does the RW405B compare to the best label printers? I took tested it out to see how it stacks up.

Munbyn RealWriter 405B: Design and build

(Image credit: Munbyn // Future)

This is a portable desktop label printer rather than a handheld, so it’s small enough to pack up and carry, but not in your pocket. Like the simpler Munbyn RealWriter 403B I reviewed, you feed paper through its intake rather than loading rolls of paper inside the printer.

But with this step-up model, you are getting the crucial roll dispenser that attaches to the printer. That doubles the footprint, although it’s still very easy to separate and store the whole assembly in a drawer whenever you want to clear your desk. It also has the advantage of ensuring your labels feed through smoothly so fewer are wasted through misalignment.

The smooth white and silver plastic looks good and feels sturdy enough when you lift the panel. Unlike the previous model, the printhead on this one unclips so you can clean or replace it more easily. There are just three buttons: paper feed, reverse feed and power.

Munbyn RealWriter 405B: Features & specifications

(Image credit: Munbyn // Future)

The Munbyn RealWriter 405B can print on a wide range of thermal media from large 6x4 inch panel labels down to one-inch round price tags. And now the list includes dual-color labels.

These look just like regular white stickers, but embedded in the white thermal paper is either blue dye or red dye, depending on which roll you choose. In other words, Munbyn’s color innovation has nothing to do with hardware and everything to do with software and paper. I expect the black and white Munbyn RealWriter 403B will be updated to dual-color compatibility at some point.

Auto-calibration is another key feature that allows this printer to line up each label with surprising accuracy. So long as you load the paper roll with some care to keep the feed straight rather than diagonal, the leading edge will always be automatically lined up just right. That’s an important point for a label printer without internally loaded paper.

With no display of its own, the Munbyn RealWriter 405B is best controlled by the free Munbyn Print app designed for MacOS, Windows, iOS or Android. I found the software quite convoluted, but with it you can design your own dual-color labels and choose from a wide selection of templates and graphic elements.

In the box with your printer and roll holder are some blank thermal media to get you started. These include 4x6-inch fan-fold labels, a standard size for parcel labels, and some red/black and blue/black 1-inch round stickers.

Munbyn RealWriter 405B: Setup and operation

(Image credit: Munbyn // Future)

This is a true plug and play device. With no ink to install or Wi-Fi to connect to, it’s a simple case of connecting the power cable, downloading the Munbyn Print app to your phone and connecting the two devices via Bluetooth.

The label holder is easy to assemble with its three plastic parts, so you probably won’t need the printed quick-start guide at all. It’s actually quite fun to use.

Munbyn RealWriter 405B: Performance

(Image credit: Munbyn // Future)

The Munbyn RealWriter 405B printed quickly and reliably throughout the test, with no misprints or jams. The image quality is very good for a thermal printer, which is to say that it’s nowhere near as sharp as an inkjet or laser, but it achieves a darker and more consistent imprint than a lot of inkless solutions. Munbyn’s claim of “crystal clear prints every time” is optimistic.

The 203dpi print resolution is pretty low, but it’s good enough to print readable bar codes and QR codes. There is a limit though. Print your postage label too small, as I did experimentally, and it won’t scan. Always print at the correct size and you may never again have to wait in line at the post office.

Black imprints appear nice and dark, on the whole, with the quality being on par with the Munbyn RealWriter 403B, but there are times when the thermal process leaves a less than bold black finish. Take a closer look at my test stickers to see what I mean.

Feed in some dual-color labels, and the advantage of the Munbyn RealWriter 405B is revealed. Adding red, or blue to the design can make your stickers way more impactful. With just these colors, you might be able to print your brand logo or highlight a keyword in a label.

On the downside, there are limitations to which design elements you can color and the dual-color paper itself lets some ghostly red or blue show through unintentionally, so it’s not perfect.

Munbyn RealWriter 405B: Consumables

(Image credit: Munbyn // Future)

With no ink to think about, your only consumables cost is the thermal paper. It comes in the form of rolls, or fan-folds, or stickers and naturally, thermal stickers are more expensive than regular ones.

And dual-color thermal stickers are more expensive again, but on the whole, ink is more expensive than paper, so thermal printing will usually work out as the more cost effective way of labelling. Munbyn suggests a figure of 3 cents per label.

The RealWriter 405B comes with some dual-color two-inch round stickers and some 6x4-inch labels in the box. When you come to buy more, you’ll discover a pretty broad range of compatible stickers in varying shapes and colors.

Munbyn RealWriter 405B: Maintenance

(Image credit: Munbyn // Future)

The only maintenance this little printer needs is an occasional wipe with a dry cloth along its print head to keep it clean. The print head detaches easily, which is good news as it’s the only component of a thermal printer that’s likely to need replacing. Munbyn says it should last around six times longer than rival printers and won’t need replacing for at least 970,000 labels.

Munbyn RealWriter 405B: Final verdictMunbyn // FutureMunbyn // FutureMunbyn // Future

There’s no denying the convenience of a dedicated label printer and this practical application of thermal print tech is a perfect example. For me, the Munbyn RealWriter 405B turned out crisp parcel labels that scanned reliably every time and made it possible to print a very wide range of stickers.

Could the accompanying Munbyn software be improved? Definitely. The app makes it possible to print all kinds of great stickers with plenty of graphic elements to play with - and now that includes red/blue dual-color designs too. I found the app unintuitive and frustrating, but for simply printing parcel labels or plain tags, it’s a pleasure to use.

As a reliable, low maintenance, and low cost labeller, the Munbyn RealWriter 405B is hard to beat.

For more, I've tested out the best home printers and the best small business printers.

Cast your mind back to 2022, when BBC smash hit period drama Peaky Blinders was wrapping up its sixth and final season. Loveable local gangster Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) was tricked into believing that he was about to die from syphilis, making himself a recluse in the process.

However, this was all a lie, with Tommy tracking down the doctor responsible but failing to kill him. In this moment, Tommy learned the ultimate lesson of grace, and his legacy was forever changed (and more importantly, left on a high).

At least, this was the case until new Netflix movie Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. We've picked up with who's left of the gang in 1940, with Tommy's now grown-up eldest son Duke (Barry Keoghan) involved in a plot to foil the Second World War. In short, he's helping the Nazis distribute counterfeit money across the country, making him rich to the tune of £70 million in the process.

But never fear! It's Tommy to the rescue... well, at least after he's done dithering over whether it's the right thing to do. Duke's aunt Kaulo (Rebecca Ferguson) and Tommy's sister Ada (Sophie Rundle) are on hand to try and coax him back to Birmingham, and I bet they wish they hadn't bothered.

The biggest problem with The Immortal Man is how overwhelmingly depressing it is. The first half struggles to get itself going, with the second half abruptly ending in unnecessary tragedy.

If you're looking for jaunty fights, slick laughs and Tommy back on fighting form, you've come to the wrong place. Netflix has instead penned a funeral to the show we once loved, and simultaneously paved the way for an incredibly uninspiring sequel series.

I'm not joking when I say that I never want to watch Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man again

It breaks my heart to be the bearer of such bad news after an agonizing four-year wait, but let's dig deeper into what's gone so wrong. More than anything else, it's the actual storyline that The Immortal Man has chosen to flesh out.

Fans have been waiting a long time for a spectacular Tommy Shelby comeback, wanting more of the same explosive energy that we got during the original series run. Instead, Tommy has become a man who is incredibly unsure of himself.

He's got good reason to be, as fans will find out in the first 20 minutes. But sadly, this all makes for incredibly drab viewing. It's easy to sum the entire movie up as this:

The first 45 minutes is Shelby continuous saying "No, I can't possibly go back to Birmingham" to the few people on hand to listen. The middle 25 minutes is Tommy at his best, punching and shooting layabouts who don't respect their elders. For the final 40-odd minutes, we're back to misery, as Tommy has all but given up the ghost.

Our original crew has practically dissipated before our eyes, too. By the time The Immortal Man closes out, we're largely left with new or B-plot characters, none of whom we actually give a damn about. That's not amazing news if the BBC does intend to develop a sequel series in the future…

In essence, it's out-and-out dread, which isn't exactly what you want to sit down and stream after a long week. Tommy's ending in season 6 was much more fitting too, and I really wish it remained his final hurrah. The Immortal Man ends suddenly, sadly, and with little resolution for the characters we dedicated almost a decade to.

Not everybody else is a great fit either

Stephen Graham is onscreen for all of 5 minutes. (Image credit: Netflix)

When we talk about period dramas, the term 'iPhone face' is sometimes bandied about. This describes someone who looks so modern that you just know they've seen an iPhone, therefore is not a successful fit for a story set in the past. Barry Keoghan suffers from something I'm going to term 'iPhone haircut'.

Sporting an on-trend fade and more sticker-style tattoos than I could count, Keoghan's styling completely takes us out of the 1940s moment. Thanks to Saltburn, Eternals, Master of the Air, The Banshees of Inisherin, Crime 101 and the upcoming four Beatles movies, the man is absolutely everywhere, so perhaps it was already going to be difficult to buy him as anyone other than a modern actor.

Even so, it speaks to the disjointed feeling that The Immortal Man hosts, a patchwork of old and new that sits in a no-man's land in between. There's light to be found in the dark, including multiple touching tributes to Helen McCrory's character Polly Gray and, ironically for something so bleak, the best lighting in a Netflix movie I've possibly ever seen.

On the whole though, these minor wins don't make up for the dull and depressing bigger picture. My advice? Watch The Immortal Man's trailer before binging Peaky Blinders season 1-6 all over again. Trust me, it's a much better use of your time.

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Nothing Headphone (a) review

The Nothing Headphone (a) are just about the dream tech version 2.0 launch. As the follow-up to the Nothing Headphone (1), launched in 2025, they fix the sound problems I had with those headphones, they keep the excellent stuff I liked, and they somehow cut the price in half in the process (in one country, at least).

What more could you ask from something that's looking to go from audio also-ran to ranking among the best headphones available today? At their official price of $199 / £149 / AU$329, I think the Nothing Headphone (a) are arguably the best cans in their category — just with a few reasons why you might want to choose something else over them.

Let's start with the most important area: the sound. As soon as I fired these up, I felt a sense of relief. Nothing's first headphones baffled me in my Nothing Headphone (1) review with their oddly narrow soundstage that felt like the breadth of a song's traffic was being crammed down a single-lane road.

The Nothing Headphone (a) immediately feel like a big expansive highway in comparison – it's an open, wide and free-flowing soundstage that allows songs to spread out and to feel more energetic, emotive and satisfying. And when I say "in comparison", I mean I broke out the original $299 / £299 / AU$549 model for a listen, and while they have their strengths (a nicely refined frequency balance), the new model is so much more enjoyable to listen to.

There are 40mm drivers under the mesh (Image credit: Future)

And this improvement has come without any major downsides, though there's one quirk worth discussing. My unit came with the 'More Bass' setting activated out of the box, and this was certainly much more generous with the bass than the Headphone (1) was, to the point of wandering into the 'bass-heavy' category.

This was no problem at all with electronic or pop music — the strength of the lower frequencies gives a glorious foundation to deep drum machines or sinking synths. It's also well integrated into the overall balance, despite being so muscular, with the Headphone (a) having no problems delivering lower mids that can stand up to, or transition from, the bassier parts.

But it was too much for some tracks with real instruments. In Regulars by Allie X, the double bass that opens the song sounded like the instrument was collapsing under its own vibrations. I pulled up the EQ in the Nothing app, saw it was set to 'More Bass', switched to 'Balanced' instead, and immediately the double bass went back to sounding like a double bass, instead of a quadruple bass.

This took a bit of a punch out of electronic songs when I switched back to those, but the bass still had good depth, its integration with the rest of the sound was still excellent. But Nothing's superb app gives a nice option here that I decided to take it up on: I set one of the controls to be an instant EQ switch, so I could get the extra bass if I wanted it.

The oval section is more rounded on these headphones than the original (Image credit: Future)

The Headphone (a) provide loads of space for the mid-range to express itself, with a nice chunkiness to guitars, the ability to handle a lot of complex instruments going on at once, and a nice clarity to vocals through it all.

Moving to the treble, it's again just very well worked into the sound, able to stand up for itself without ever feeling harsh or like it's overblowing in order to be heard even when songs get really energetic.

But there is a slight softness of detail to the Headphone (a)'s sound. They're not poor in this area by any means, but switching to the similarly-priced Sennheiser Accentum Plus reveals a slightly more convincing edge to the guitar strings and tambourine in Fleetwood Mac's Go Your Own Way, and more texture to the beat of sticks on drumskins in Sonny Rollins' St. Thomas. There's also better instrument separation in the mix.

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus also have a more neutral sound overall, but this comes alongside a shortfall in bass depth and less dynamic attack in playback. I probably prefer the Nothing Headphone (a) overall for sound given my personal predilection for electronic music, but if you're more of an acoustic fan, you may be better off leaning towards the Sennheiser.

This doesn't change when switching to Hi-Res Audio and listening over USB-C, or with LDAC higher-quality wireless, both of which are supported here (along with a 3.5mm headphone jack). The USB-C mode maybe had a little extra lightness of touch with instrument separation and detail, but any difference was minor.

The overall design vibe is a little more 'regular' than the original Nothing headphones (Image credit: Future)

The Sennheiser cans are also much lighter than the Headphone (a) at 227g, versus 310g for the Nothings. That's an improvement on the 329g that the Headphone (1) weigh, but is still higher than most of the competition, and means they still need a stronger clamping force to stay on your head than lighter competition.

Again, this isn't inherently a bad or good thing, but you will 'feel' them more than other headphones, and the synthetic pads aren't designed to be particularly breathable, so left the sides of my head feeling warm over time.

It's probably worth talking about the overall design for a moment here, which is very similar to the original, but has been 'softened' in a way that makes them feel less like they make you look like a cyborg (a good thing), but the ear cups look less like cassette tapes (a shame). Aluminum is now plastic, and gentler curves to the raised section in the middle of ear cups makes all the difference.

Original flavor on the left, new flavor on the right (Image credit: Future)

Sadly, I don't love the new yellow and pink colorful options. I think there's not enough color for it to really work – the yellow in particular looks like a fried egg, because the rounded yellow mound is surrounded by white. I think there needed to be more color throughout. I love the changes in the white and black models, though – undeniably Nothing, but more mainstream than the divisive Nothing Headphone (1).

Nothing has kept a quirk of headphone design that I don't like here, in that the size is adjusted at the top of the head, rather than by the ears, which I find makes it harder to make micro-adjustments, but isn't a big deal overall.

The headband adjustment is way higher up than on most cans (Image credit: Future)

What is a big deal is that Nothing has kept the fantastic set of controls from the Headphone (1). In particular, the roller for volume control is my favorite control system on any pair of headphones, period. It feels so high quality, it moves reliably under the thumb, and audible clicks tell you that it's moving up through volume tiers. Anything else feels crude in comparison.

That is paired with a 'rocker' control underneath, which is also super-intuitive. Nudge it one way to skip forward, and the other way to skip back. At the top of the right ear cup is a round multi-function custom button that was set to trigger your Voice Assistant by default; I changed it to EQ control, as I mentioned, but it can also work as a camera remote trigger (a new feature for this model) or a mic mute button, or a few other options.

The roller control at the top, with the rocker underneathFutureThe fully customizable button on the outside of the earcupFutureThe on switch, USB-C and headphone jack port on the bottomFutureThe Bluetooth pairing button hides on the inside of the earcupFuture

And you'll absolutely want to play around with this, because Nothing's app is so good. Not only are the headphones customizable in so many ways — different noise cancellation options, different spatial audio types, multiple EQ controls — it's also just really simple to find the key features you want to turn on and off, such as the low-lag mode for gaming, or dual-device connectivity (which really should be on by default, but most devices have it off, so I won't knock Nothing hard for that).

We recently knocked the Sony WF-1000XM6 earbuds for making it hard to find its essential features, so it's nice to see Nothing show how it should be done.

I mentioned spatial audio options before, and while you don't get head tracking or Dolby Atmos here, there are two options with processing handled by Nothing: Concert and Cinema. Concert does a good job of moving sound out from the ear cups, and making it feel like more of a speaker setup across and in front of you.

Cinema adds more left and right sound to that, while also pushing the EQ a little more towards the treble — going for more of a 'surround sound' experience and boosting voices, I suspect — and I found it useful for picking dialogue out of movie soundtracks, so I'd happily use it when watching while traveling.

Speaking of traveling, the noise cancellation here is strong, though not mind-blowing, and that's just fine for this level. Walking along a busy road while listening to music, I wasn't bothered by outside sounds at all. I could hear podcasts clearly while on public transport. The Transparency profile also works as advertised, and never makes things robotic or tinny.

But I want to briefly call out here that Nothing provides the best sounds to indicate what noise mode you're in. Switching to Transparency is announced by an exhaled breath as if sound is escaping; noise canceling is announced by the sound of something being sucked down and then slammed shut. There's no ambiguity here, and no annoying voice.

Nothing promises a phenomenal 75 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation turned on, and 135 hours with it turned off. I couldn't possibly test both claims fully in my time with them so far, even if I used them every waking hour. But I can say that they seem to live up to it, with the battery indicator dropping by 20% after around 13 hours of use.

This makes them essentially best in class, and phenomenal value. In general, I'd say these are about as good as headphones value gets in this space between the budget and premium options. There are only really two knocks against their value worth mentioning.

The first is that it's a shame they don't have an auto-pause feature (also called wearer detection) for when you take them off. It's pretty standard even in affordable stuff these days and while I'm not mad about it since they offer so much elsewhere, it's still surprising.

The second is that in lieu of a hard case (presumably dropped for cost reasons; again, it's understandable) they come with what I can only describe as a swimbag. Yes, it's like a smooth plastic fabric. Yes, it closes with a drawstring. Yes, it made me kind of nostalgic. No, it doesn't feel like a premium addition.

(Image credit: Future)

The thing with the Nothing Headphone (a) is that all the knocks I have against it are either minor like the above, or are more subjective, like the weight and clamping force.

There are enough little downsides or quirks that I can't quite give them full marks, but make no mistake that I think these are excellent headphones, that they'll be ideal for a lot of people, and that they're superb value.

Nothing Headphone (a) review: Price & release date

• Released on March 13th, 2026
• $199 / £149 / AU$329

The Nothing Headphone (a) arrive with an impressive price of $199 / £149 / AU$329, meaning that they come in at half the price of the earlier Nothing Headphone (1) and their £299 launch price in the UK, while they're a third cheaper than the $299 Headphone (1) price in the US. In Australia, the drop from AU$549 for the Headphone (1) is between those two percentages.

I should note that they Headphone (1) have been available for as little as $254 / £199 / AU$350 in sales events, though — but I have no doubt the Headphone (a) will see juicy discounts too.

Instead of putting them in direct competition with high-end releases from the likes of Bose and Sony, the Headphone (a)'s mid-to-low price tag puts them up against the likes of Sennheiser's Accentum Plus or Soundcore Space One Pro.

Nothing Headphone (a) review: Specs

Drivers

40mm

Active noise cancellation

Yes

Battery life (ANC off)

135 hours

Weight

310g

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.4, LDAC, USB-C audio, 3.5mm jack

Frequency response

20Hz - 40kHz

Waterproofing

IP52

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy Nothing Headphone (a)?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

They're generally best-in-class for features, but miss just a few minor options.

4.5 / 5

Sound quality

Expansive and exciting with excellent balance, but a little soft on detail.

4.5 / 5

Design

The best controls of any headphones, and a premium build – but a little heavy.

4 / 5

Value

An excellent mix of features and performance for a very fair price.

4.5 / 5

Buy them if…

You want excellent all-rounders for Android or iPhone
No matter which platform you're on, the Headphone (a) deliver an excellent range of features, great sound, and their mighty battery life.View Deal

You like a big and energetic sound
The Nothing Headphone (a) deliver fun and dynamic audio that's finely balanced, and is much more expansive than the Nothing Headphone (1).View Deal

You don't like to think about charging
75 hours with ANC on, and 135 hours without it, are as good as it gets in headphones right now.View Deal

Don’t buy them if…

You want a neutral, hi-fi sound
They're well-balanced, but still like to juice up songs a little — the Sennheiser Accentum Plus can deliver a more neutral sound with a little more instrument separation.View Deal

You don't like to 'feel' your headphones
Nothing has made these lighter than its first pair, but they're still heavier than most other options, and clamp the head more firmly as a result.View Deal

You need a protective case
If you don't treat your headphones very well in your work or gym bag, the flimsy plastic drawstring sack the Nothing Headphone (a) come with won't do much to help them.View Deal

Nothing Headphones (a) review: Also consider

Sennheiser Accentum Plus
If you'd like a more 'hi-fi' sound than the Nothing provide, in a lighter body, then these are ideal. They're a bit more detailed and neutral, and battery life is great at 50 hours. You'll miss out on a lot of features in comparison, though – but we do like them, as our Sennheiser Accentum Plus review explains.View Deal

Sony WH-1000MX4
Still available to buy over five years since they launched, and now available for a price in the same range as the Nothing Headphone (a). Good sound, great noise cancellation, a super-comfortable fit, and a hard case, for those who want one. They have a solid range of features, but not as many as the Nothing – and the battery life is 30 hours with ANC on. Still, they're great cans – you can read our original Sony WH-1000XM4 review there.View Deal

How I tested the Nothing Headphone (a)?

These look a little more natural on the head than the Headphone (1), thanks to some tactical curvier design (Image credit: Future)

• Used for a week in my day-to-day life
• Tested largely over standard Bluetooth and USB-C hi-res wired audio
• Tested with a pre-release update to the Nothing X app

To test the Nothing Headphone (a), I started carrying them everywhere with me and made them part of my normal life. I used them on both walking and public transport commutes, around the house, and at the office.

I compared them directly to the Nothing Headphone (1), Sennheiser Accentum Plus and Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones, switching back and forth, as the headphones I think are the biggest alternative options. I had access to an early version of the Nothing X app with support for their features, so some details may change there before launch.

I lead TechRadar's AV team, and I've been reviewing audio gear for well over a decade, from the budget end of things all the way to up to high-end audiophile tech. I reviewed the earlier Nothing Headphone (1), as well as this newer model.

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

My favorite thing about WWE 2K26 is a relatively minor feature. At the start of every match, you get the choice of what actions your character will take. Do you bumrush your opponent and try to knock them down out of the gate? Do you go in for a staredown or a handshake? Or do you hang back and play to the crowd? Yearly sports games don't tend to feature massive overhauls, but this implementation of a little bit of psychology shows me that deep down, Visual Concepts gets it.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: March 13, 2026 (Early access on March 6, 2026)

Since returning with WWE 2K22, these games have gotten steadily better with each release, and WWE 2K26 is no different. The grappling feels better thanks to the aforementioned change and an updated stamina system that forces you to play tactically; the roster is huge, and the updated match types are mostly winners. But as is the tale with the WWE 2K series, its improvements are undercut by what feels like new ways to make money.

Hotdogging and grandstanding

(Image credit: Visual Concepts/2K)

One major change to WWE 2K26 is the absence of the traditional "buy a pack, get x wrestlers" DLC model. This year introduces the ringside pass, of which there will be 6 across the entire year. There's also a free route, which is how you unlock WWE Legends this year as opposed to previous years, where there was an in-game shop or unlock-everything DLC to grab. I don't blindly hate battle passes in games, but in 30 hours of playing WWE 2K26, I've barely hit the halfway point of the first pass.

Sure, there are ways to gain levels faster, such as your MyRise playthrough or Showcase mode – the latter of which is one-and-done – while the quickest ways seem to be through The Island and MyFaction, two modes that are playable without spending a penny but far easier for those who do invest. Paired with the ability to buy level skips, it feels like a rough trade from simply getting the characters you pay for – especially when there are still characters locked to MyFaction card drops through random number generating (RNG) on top of that. And while you can complete these battle passes at any time across the year, you can only work towards one at a time, meaning anyone who isn't playing consistently from day one will get left behind.

This is paired with another symptom of the yearly sports release, that some things just don't get touched. Aside from the ability to book intergender matches, MyGM – which should be my favorite mode as someone who was begging for a booker mode in these games from 2008-2022 – remains practically unchanged from WWE 2K25, and thus my same issues persist (namely, the super restrictive class and alignment systems).

Best in the World

(Image credit: Visual Concepts/2K)

The highlight of this year's modes is 2K Showcase – the yearly mode focusing on a story, be that of a wrestler, a family, or a show in which you play recreations of classic matches – with this year's focusing on cover star CM Punk. While there are some notable omissions from the mode, like the absence of Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho, and Daniel Bryan from WWE, stopping those feuds from being included, it's a lengthy selection that covers the bases.

Punk notably had a very public falling out with WWE in 2014 before returning in 2023, and part of this year's Showcase is imagining what would happen if he didn't leave. These include the likes of his planned showdown with Triple H at Wrestlemania 30, taking on AJ Styles at his first Wrestlemania, and fighting Bray Wyatt as The Fiend. These are the absolute highlights of this mode and made me wish deep down we could've seen them happen in real life.

I typically prefer MyRise – a storyline featuring a created character – most years, but sadly, I'm a bit let down by this year's edition. Don't get me wrong, The Comeback and the story of The Archetype is one of the best stories told in the series to date, but you can feel the budget ripped out of this mode as you play.

As opposed to the separate men's and women's division stories of previous years, it's pretty much the exact same story across both, with recurring dialogue and events, just with women instead of men in roles. And like last year, side quests are gone entirely; instead, you play Rise matches, which are simple exhibition matches against wrestlers to earn stars. These are fine as a side thing to buff your character, but you're forced to play them between pretty much every main storyline, and it feels like tedious, artificial padding.

Boy Stable

(Image credit: Visual Concepts/2K)

After hating it last year (I called it "a superfluous mode that feels focused on money"), The Island returns this year, and shockingly, it feels a lot more interesting. Instead of still images and text, the mode features actual cutscenes this year, making it feel like an extension of MyRise in ways.

But once again, you create a new character for The Island, and this character’s stats are upgraded via VC – the game’s premium paid currency, which can also be earned in-game. So if you want to play one of the mode's towers, which challenge you to play a gauntlet of matches on one health bar, you're going to have a far rougher time with your base stats. Plus, you can battle other players online on The Island, and I don't need to tell you that the person who spends money will have a better time.

Best Bit

(Image credit: Visual Concepts/2K)

The CM Punk Showcase mode, filling in the blanks of his decade-long WWE absence, was filled with genuinely great 'What If?' moments, like him retiring Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 35 or answering John Cena's US title open challenge.

But ultimately, I think, why would I want to spend money on this? I received a review code for the Monday Night Wars Edition of the game, which comes with a substantial amount of VC anyway, but I still feel like I'm wasting it to buff up a character I frankly don't care about. And given MyRise has gotten smaller both years The Island has been included, I can't say I'm a fan of this tradeoff from one of my favorite modes to one I can't see myself thinking about too often.

I'd much rather save the VC for MyFaction – the game's Ultimate Team equivalent. But not because I'm madly into MyFaction, but because exclusive versions of superstars are often locked behind this mode's RNG. Do you want Drew McIntyre's 2010 version with his fantastic theme song? Better hope you get him. What about Booker T's iconic King Booker gimmick? Well, you're going to need to get five Oddities cards, which are random drops. Plus, you straight up can't play certain missions or challenges without having access to certain cards, so get spending, I guess.

WWE 2K26 continues the series tradition of frustrating me with every entry. There's a fantastic wrestling game in there; the roster is great, the showcase is an excellent piece of throwback and fantasy about one of the best wrestlers of all time, and MyRise continues to be a fun story despite feeling majorly cut back. But the Ringside Pass is another red flag on top of the existing red flags of previous years and something that will need to be significantly tweaked for me to consider it a suitable replacement for the previous method.

Should you play WWE 2K26?Play it if...

You want a great wrestling game
WWE 2K26 is great grappler that improves upon last year's entry in solid iterative ways. It's not going to be a major overhaul for series regulars, but smart changes make for a more engaging battle system. And there's a lot of it among the specific modes.

You're a fan of wrestling history
The CM Punk Showcase mode is already a brilliant edition in its own right, but the inclusion of those "what if I never left" matches offers an interesting take on what is one of the most significant events in wrestling history.

Don't play it if...

You get fomo
You won't unlock everything in WWE 2K26. It's updated all year with new exclusive characters locked to MyFaction cards, and with the addition of grindy battle passes this year, that's only going to get worse.

You're extremely averse to microtransactions
You can play WWE 2K26 entirely without spending a penny, but some of the modes are made far more accessible and easier for those willing to put a bit of coin in.

Accessibility features

WWE 2K26's accessibility features are mainly focused around mini-games. You can change the timing-based pinfall minigame to a rapid press motion if you please, or change the rapid press submission game to a slider, alongside the option to include held inputs for both, but these won't be changed for any online modes. Outside of that, there's not much to write home about, with four difficulty options and manual AI sliders. However, there are no options for colorblindness, unfortunately.

How I reviewed WWE 2K26

I played 30 hours of WWE 2K26 on PS5 Pro using a DualSense Wireless Controller, and an LG C5 OLED TV with its built-in sound.

During this time, I played all of Showcase mode, a Babyface men's division run of MyRise, and the first few chapters of a Heel women's division run. I played a few months of My GM and Universe mode, a few chapters of The Island, and about four hours of MyFaction – mostly the towers. I also played a good few regular matches along the way.

First reviewed February-March 2026

There has never been a better time to be Rachel Weisz, or indeed, a Rachel Weisz fan. Since The Favorite in 2019, she's been in a string of steamy TV sessions from Prime Video's Dead Ringers remake in 2023 to brand new Netflix show Vladimir, based on the hit novel of the same name.

I could wax lyrical about how refreshing it is to see a woman over 50 consistently and unashamedly explore her sexuality onscreen until the cows come home, but the projects Weisz is picking are so much more than that. For one thing, Vladmir is possibly the most uncomfortable binge watch of my entire adult life.

Let me explain. Weisz's character, simply know as The Protagonist (let's call her P for clarity) is a professor at a university with her husband John (John Slattery), who has been suspended after numerous sexual assault allegations against him have come to light.

At the same time, new professor Vladimir (Leo Woodall) arrives on campus — and despite them both being married, P becomes infatuated with him, fantasizing about the idea of Vladimir whenever she can.

It's a morally conflicting watch, making it something you can barely tear your eyes from. Much like P, we can't fight the pull of overwhelming desire, but we know what's unfolding is abhorrently wrong at every level. For that alone, I think Vladimir is the first truly unmissable TV show of 2026.

In Vladimir, sex has never been more sordid or scandalous

Netflix invites us to "descend into sexy madness" while watching Vladimir, and that's an incredibly apt summary. M is clearly an academically smart and well-educated woman, but when it comes to her moral compass, she's operates like a clueless teenager.

It's hardly a spoiler to say P throws her family, career and sanity out of the window in order to objectify and clamor over Vladimir while he shows very little signs of reciprocation. When we meet him, he's a true family man, putting his daughter and marriage to fellow troubled colleague Cynthia (Jessica Henwick) before professional ambition.

I like that there's no real reason for P self-sabotaging, as we often don't understand those who choose to in real life. She hates John for putting her in such a precarious position, but equally uses him as a vessel to act on her feelings for the version of Vladimir she's created in her head.

You might think this sounds like a modern feminist icon, shunning the conventions of marriage and professionalism in order to be fully liberated by sex and passion. However, her stance on the female complainants against her husband puts an end to this, with P making it clear that she believes the women in question are just as at fault.

We're left with a complicated soup of unadulterated mess to sift through, making us critically engage in ways we're normally afraid to... and this is our real breath of fresh air moment.

Content is arguably taking the safe route, trying not to ruffle any feathers or give viewers any pause for thought. There's a reason why the likes of Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias are championed by Netflix, and with Vladimir, it's going against the grain.

Don't get me wrong, it's an incredibly uncomfortable binge

Reality, or an illusion? (Image credit: Netflix)

Don't get me wrong, though... you'll likely find Vladimir an incredibly tough watch. Not just because the subject matter is morally dubious, but because the new Netflix show really turns up the spice.

Almost all of the 8 episodes feature a hot and heavy sex scene, and showrunner (and original author) Julia May Jonas has spectacularly nailed the spice. Nothing is gratuitous or unnecessary, and desires are explicitly explored with nothing off-limits. Honestly, it's all you could ever ask for.

By this point, it hopefully goes without saying that Weisz is completely mesmerizing, and she's head and shoulders above the additional cast. In a way that brings Notes on a Scandal, Misery and Fleabag together, she frequently breaks to fourth wall to talk directly to viewers, yet it remains difficult to understand exactly what she's going to do next.

Jonas frequently distorts P's imagination and reality, combining them into the same indistinguishable scene. Vladimir is an incredibly easy binge watch too, with all 8 episodes coming in under the 30-minute mark. It's all like taking a medicine you know isn't really any good for you.

Sure, John inserts himself too heavily into the story when he's the last thing we care about, but everything else about Vladimir is sexy from start to finish. Sexy is often unhinged when you take off the rose-tinted glasses, and this is truly a warts-and-all experience.

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LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro review

Dolby Atmos FlexConnect is well and truly here. And the LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro is among the first systems to make use of this technology. This sound system – composed of an LG H7 9.1.6-channel soundbar, two 2.1.1-channel LG M7 wireless speakers, and the LG W7 sub, all available separately too – is a powerful, dynamic, and expansive-sounding system. But is it capable of outdoing the home theater big boys — particularly Samsung?

Well, let’s start by tackling the Immersive Suite 7 Pro’s unique feature: its Dolby Atmos FlexConnect capabilities. This enables you to enjoy optimized sound and Atmos effects even with your speakers in non-optimal positions for traditional surround setups – the speakers map their position in the room, and adjust their output so you'll still get as close to 3D sound as they can provide. So, if your living room isn’t suited to having rear speakers to the left and right behind you, this could be a real solution.

And FlexConnect works really well in practice on the Sound Suite, helping it to stand out among the very best soundbars. I tried placing the two M7 speakers – which can work wired or wirelessly – across various spots in our TV testing space, and I was treated to clear, impactful, and balanced sound with each configuration. All you have to do is recalibrate the speakers each time you change their position, which is quick and easy to do in the LG ThinQ app.

More generally, the calibration tool provides accurate, streamlined sound, no matter where you’re seated. I had to retry this a couple of times during testing for the most accurate reading, but this wasn’t too troublesome. I did experience a couple of errors later on in my testing, but was almost certainly due to a network issue in our weird corporate network in our test rooms, so setup is likely to be straightforward if you’ve got stable home connectivity.

I want to talk about the Suite 7 Pro’s sound more generally now, because it really impressed me. Surround sound is phenomenal, and I often felt like I was truly enveloped in the movies or music I was playing. When viewing a 4K Blu-ray of 2024’s Nosferatu, I truly felt like I was at the center of the action — the movie's eerie score came through with immense power and control, high-pitched screeches pierced through the center channel and never sounded tinny or distorted, while bass was rippling yet regimented.

In addition, I was struck by the accuracy and expansiveness of the Suite 7 Pro’s Dolby Atmos performance when switching over to The Mask on 4K Blu-ray. At one point, the titular character flung through a glass door like a tornado with a truly palpable smash, and the system mapped his wild movements across the screen with tremendous precision.

Something that a lot of Dolby Atmos soundbars struggle to nail is height effects, but that’s not the case for the Suite 7 Pro. I threw on Top Gun Maverick, and during the scene where Tom Cruise flies his jet over Ed Harris, the verticality of the move was captured with commendable fidelity. The continued upward movement was traced well too, making for a highly immersive viewing experience.

One audio feature that some people may miss is support for DTS audio, meaning there’s no decoding of DTS HD or DTS:X onboard here – but that was to be expected after LG dropped DTS from its TVs in 2025. If your TV or video player supports decoding DTS, that should be fine.

But let's take it back to the fundamentals, where the Suite 7 Pro performs admirably. Dialogue is clear and direct, bass is intent-filled but doesn’t overwhelm other sounds in the frequency range, and treble is both clear and expressive.

I didn’t think music sounded perfect on this system, though, with vocals in the mid-range sometimes getting slightly obscured in the mix. Still, tunes generally sounded strong with clean bass and the Suite 7 Pro made great use of its various channels, especially with Atmos tracks. There’s AI-powered upmix mode if you want to convert a stereo audio signal into an expansive multi-channel format.

In fact, there are quite a few sound modes available, including an AI Sound setup, bass, and voice settings. Personally, I enjoyed the standard sound mode the best— it felt like the most balanced and revealing of the available options to me. But the options don’t stop there. You can adjust channel levels to suit your preferences, adjust the lighting on the rear speakers, and even activate Sound Follow mode, which centers audio on you, rather than a position in the room.

Combine all of that with Wi-Fi connectivity — which opens up hi-res 24-bit/96kHz audio and supports for the likes of Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect — and you’re looking at a feature-rich system. You’ve also got Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity at your disposal.

(Image credit: Future)

One thing that didn’t quite bowl me over was the Suite 7 Pro’s look. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a nice-looking system overall and I appreciated its display, but the H7 bar itself does look a bit basic, lacking the sleek, modern look of a Sonos model or the eye-catching luxury of a bar like the Marshall Heston 120.

I did quite like the curved W7 sub, though, which can stand upright or lay flat. It's not the smallest, but that’s to be expected for a model that reaches down to 25.9Hz and packs a maximum power output of 220W. The mighty M7 wireless speakers are pretty appealing too, and their customizable downward lighting really won me over. On top of that, the included remote feels as if it's built to a very high standard, and it's highly responsive.

What I was a little disappointed by, however, was the lack of HDMI passthrough. See, when you use a soundbar system like this, you already have to sacrifice your TV's eARC port for enhanced sound. And given that many modern TVs only have two HDMI 2.1 ports, this means you can be pretty limited there – if you’ve got a couple modern consoles, say, then that may prove to be inconvenient. That’s something where the Samsung HW-Q990F outdoes the Suite 7 Pro, given that the former supports 4K 120Hz passthrough.

It would be remiss of me not to mention price, too. The H7 soundbar is priced at $999 / £899, with the W7 sub costing $599 / £599, and the M7 speakers coming in at $399 / £399 a piece. That means you’ll be fronting almost $2,400 / £2,300 for the Suite 7 Pro.

Sure, this is an almighty system, rammed with 21 speaker units, a swathe of height channels, game-changing FlexConnect technology, and excellent all-round audio. And given that we’ve tested models like the Yamaha True X Surround 90A, which comes in at $3,499 / £2,199 — a model with fewer channels and no FlexConnect — I don’t think the price is totally unwarranted.

But when you can grab a sensational system like the aforementioned Samsung Q990F for almost $1,000 / £1,000 cheaper, the Suite 7 Pro’s price could prove to be a difficult pill for some to swallow.

With that said, the LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro is certainly something special. It uses Dolby Atmos FlexConnect tech to great effect, its audio performance is very admirable indeed, and the speaker configuration opens up exceptionally immersive movie watching.

Yes, the lack of HDMI passthrough is a shame, and it comes at a very premium price, but if you’re looking for a system that’s designed to suit your specific needs, then this is about as good as it gets.

(Image credit: Future)LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro review: price and release date

• Sound Suite H7 soundbar priced at $999 / £899 (about AU$1,400)
• Sound Suite W7 sub costs $599 / £599 (about AU$840)
• Sound Suite M7 speakers are $399 / £399 (about AU$560) each
• Whole system will set you back approximately $2,400 / £2,300 (about AU$3,400)

The LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro is pretty pricey, coming in at about $2,400 / £2,300 (around AU$3,400) in total. The individual components of this system got a price drop ahead of release, making it pretty competitive over the likes of Sonos, which also offers different parts of its system individually.

You can connect up to four of the M7 or the cheaper LG M5 speakers up to the Suite H7 soundbar, or connect speakers directly to your TV if you have a compatible model, like the LG G5 or LG C5.

LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro review: specs

Dimensions

Soundbar: 47.2 x 2.5 x 5.6 inches / 1200 x 63 x 143mm; Sub: 16.1 x 16.3 x 7.6 inches / 410 x 415 x 194mm; Surround speakers: 7 x 9.4 x 7 inches / 177 x 238 x 177mm

Speaker channels

9.1.6 (H7 soundbar), 2.1.1 (M7 speakers)

Connections

1x HDMI eARC, USB, Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / No

Sub included

Yes

Rear speakers included

Yes

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

Dolby Atmos FlexConnect is excellent, hi-res streaming, but no HDMI passthrough or DTS.

4 / 5

Performance

Amazing Atmos, unrivalled flexibility, powerful bass, clear dialogue.

5 / 5

Design

Soundbar not the prettiest, but convenient and sleek sub and M7 speakers are excellent.

4.5 / 5

Setup & usability

Had to recalibrate a couple of times for best accuracy, but wireless setup is easy and straightforward.

4.5 / 5

Value

A pretty pricey overall package compared to some rivals, but FlexConnect makes it a standout, and overall quality is very high.

4 / 5

Buy it if…

You want a system with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect
Is your room not best suited for a traditional sound system setup? No problem. Dolby Atmos FlexConnect means that you can place the Sound Suite’s various speakers in whatever position suits your space best, but you still get well optimized audio for mesmerizing viewing experiences.

You want top-tier performance
Not only does FlexConnect work like a dream, but Dolby Atmos is awesome on this system in general. The Sound Suite 7 Pro whips up a wide spatial impression with stellar height effects and mapping. More generally, audio quality is exceptional, with rumbling bass, clear dialogue, and expressive treble.

Don't buy it if…

You need HDMI passthrough
If you need a soundbar with HDMI passthrough, then the H7 – which sits at the core of this system – might not work for you. If you have multiple devices that use HDMI 2.1 but your TV only has a couple of these ports, then you’re going to be left feeling a little underserved.

You want a system that supports DTS audio
The Suite 7 Pro does not support DTS audio formats, which really is a shame. That means you don’t get access to DTS:X spatial audio, among other variants — something that the two rival models supply below.

LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro review: also consider

LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro

Samsung HW-Q990F

JBL Bar 1300MK2

Price

$2,400 / £2,300 (about AU$3,400)

$1,999 / £1,699 / AU$2,099

$1,699 / £1,299 / AU$2,299

Dimensions

Soundbar: 47.2 x 2.5 x 5.6 inches / 1200 x 63 x 143mm; Sub: 16.1 x 16.3 x 7.6 inches / 410 x 415 x 194mm; Surround speakers: 7 x 9.4 x 7 inches / 177 x 238 x 177mm

Soundbar: 48.5 x 2.8 x 5.4 inches / 1232 x 70.8 x 138 mm; subwoofer: 9.8 x 10.0 x 9.8 inches / 249 x 251.8 x 249 mm; surround speakers: 5.1 x 8.0 x 5.5 inches / 129.5 x 201.3 x 140.4mm

Soundbar: 40.6 x 2.3 x 5.4 inches / 1030 x 58 x 136mm; subwoofer: 12.4 x 10.9 x 10.8 inches / 315 x 277 x 275mm; surround speakers: 8 x 2.3 x 5.4 inches / 202 x 58 x 136mm

Speaker channels

9.1.6 (H7 soundbar), 2.1.1 (M7 speakers)

11.1.4

11.1.4

Connections

1x HDMI eARC, USB, Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi

1x HDMI eARC, 2x HDMI 2.1 in, digital optical, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3

1x HDMI eARC, 3x HDMI in, digital optical, USB (playback US-only), Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3 (surround speakers use 5.4)

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / No

Yes / Yes

Yes / Yes

Sub included

Yes

Yes

Yes

Rear speakers included

Yes

Yes

Yes

Samsung HW-Q990F
It’s hard to think of a better value surround sound system than the Samsung HW-Q990F. It comes with impeccable performance, a boat-load of features, HDMI passthrough at 4K 120Hz, and a regularly discounted price tag. There’s no FlexConnect here, of course, but it’s still an excellent option. Read our full Samsung HW-Q990F review.

JBL Bar 1300MK2
The JBL Bar 1300MK2 is an almighty soundbar system with 29 drivers and a maximum power output of almost 2,500W. Its battery-powered rear speakers are versatile and compact, it supports Dolby Atmos as well as DTS formats, and it's priced pretty generously to boot. Again, no FlexConnect here, but it’s an excellent pick. Read our full JBL Bar 1300MK2 review.

How I tested the LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro

(Image credit: Future)

• Tested across the course of a week
• Used at our TV testing space at Future Labs
• Played 4K Blu-Ray, streamed movies and streamed music over Wi-Fi

I spent a week testing the LG Sound Suite Immersive Suite 7 Pro, using it alongside the LG G5 OLED TV via HDMI eARC. I tested the system using various configurations, and tried the system with the wireless speakers across many parts of our TV testing space at Future Labs.

During my testing time, I viewed and listened to a wide variety of content. I began by throwing on some movies via Netflix Premium, as well as higher-quality 4K UHD Blu-rays, which I played using the Panasonic DP-UB820. I also connected my phone up to the Suite 7 Pro and listened to some tracks via Tidal Connect, using both Dolby Atmos and stereo formats.

Of course, I made sure to exhaust the Suite 7 Pro’s various features as well. I listened using all of the different sound modes, messed around with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, and tried out the Sound Follow feature.

More generally, I've tested a load of soundbars here at TechRadar, and have tried out everything from ultra-cheap models like the Sony HT-SF150 through to luxurious alternatives like the JBL Bar 1300MK2. My experience testing rival models means that I know exactly what it takes for a soundbar system to stand out, in what is a highly competitive market.

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

Norton has long been a household name for antivirus software, yet despite launching its first VPN, Norton WiFi Privacy, in 2017, it's never achieved the same pedigree status in the space. Its original iteration, Norton Secure VPN, offered little to shout about, though a recent revamp seems to have set the service on a much more promising path.

Although not yet rivaling the likes of NordVPN, Norton VPN offers surprisingly quick speeds, a super-friendly interface, and a great array of features you’d expect from a top VPN service. While some gaps in the service remain, it’s clear the Norton VPN team is striving to bring the same security pedigree seen on its antivirus software to its VPN, and pretty quickly, too.

We’ve put this new and improved service to the test. Both in day-to-day scenarios and more rigorous, proprietary tests, we’ve uncovered where the service has made great strides, and where it should look next to ensure it reaches the heights it's aiming for, all to help you decide whether Norton VPN is the choice for you.

Features

Norton VPN’s recent revamp has seen a host of expectable but mightily important features arrive across several platforms. Plus, it continues to improve its fundamentals – even if some areas still have some work to do.

As far as VPN protocols go, Norton offers OpenVPN, WireGuard, IPSec, and Mimic, its proprietary protocol designed for obfuscation.

iOS and Mac users had previously been limited to only IPSec and Mimic, which was disappointing given OpenVPN and WireGuard’s improved capabilities. Luckily, Norton has now announced that WireGuard is available across all Apple platforms. This is a huge win for iOS users, since although IPSec can be fast, WireGuard offers a faster, less device-intensive experience.

Commenting on the addition, Paul De Lange, Lead VPN Engineer, said:

"WireGuard was a highly requested addition, and we’re excited to deliver it on Apple platforms. This upgrade brings faster performance and modern security, while continuing to support key Norton VPN features like Pause VPN and Advanced servers, ensuring customers never have to choose between speed and protection.”

Users on iOS and macOS had previously been limited to only IPSec and Mimic protocols — making WireGuard a more than welcome addition (Image credit: Future)

As for extra features built into Norton VPN, there aren’t any particularly unique choices, though each is beneficial and often seen among top VPNs. Wi-Fi detection allows you to auto-connect to the VPN when connecting to public Wi-Fi. On macOS, it also auto-connects on “compromised networks”. It’s unclear how Norton decides if a network is compromised, but all wireless networks are considered public by default.

Norton also offers ad and tracker blocking. Tracking is blocked at a DNS level to reduce the risk of your data being used for targeted ads while you browse online, and can be turned on by simply toggling the option. Although the tracker appeared to work, its ‘Trackers Blocked’ counter seems to run on a delay, rather than in real time, so while we know 50 trackers were blocked across a period of our testing time, we don’t have any indication of when each was blocked.

Ad blocking is undertaken by a browser extension. Although this means another download and sign-in process, we did find the ad blocker to be effective – even if not quite as effective as dedicated ad-blocker services. Scoring 77% in our tests, it is definitely worth turning on should you use Norton VPN, though don’t expect a flawless display. NordVPN and Surfshark only achieved 84% in our latest tests, and ExpressVPN only achieved 90%, so there isn’t far for Norton VPN to go before leading VPNs in this field.

A key area of improvement has been in Norton VPN’s security-focused features. Firstly, Norton VPN offers a simple-to-use kill switch, ensuring your internet traffic stops immediately when you lose connection to the VPN, preventing you from broadcasting unencrypted traffic over public Wi-Fi networks. If you’d prefer, you can choose whether you’d like to keep your access to local devices over a LAN even when the kill switch is active. The kill switch isn’t enabled by default and requires you to dig through a few menus to set it up, but if you’re on macOS, Norton gives you an easy set of guidelines to follow so you can quickly set it up.

The new Norton VPN app houses all of its improved features in an easy-to-use design resemblant of other Norton products (Image credit: Future)

Outside the kill switch, Norton VPN has added an array of features. In April 2025 alone, Norton VPN gained Double VPN, IP Rotation, Pause VPN capabilities, and the ad-blocking browser extension mentioned above.

Double VPN is available across 8 servers. While your connection options are fixed, for example, USA via Canada, they are bi-directional, and give you access to Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. While it’s not completely customizable, like Surfshark’s Nexus technology allows, its 8 locations put it only two behind NordVPN, which offers 10.

IP rotation also features, something not even NordVPN can say. Only Surfshark also offers IP rotation among the best VPNs. While Norton’s offering isn’t quite as expansive, it does offer servers in the US, Japan, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany to use. What’s more, Norton’s offering is much simpler to access and connects in almost no time at all, no matter the server you pick. In our testing, our IP seemed to change every few seconds, meaning it should be good enough to give you a new IP for every website you visit.

Pause VPN is the final feature worth mentioning. Overlooked by the likes of PIA and ExpressVPN, pause VPN gives you the choice to temporarily end your VPN connection for a set time, with the VPN reactivating once the time ends. This is a great tool should you briefly wish to search for something or use an app outside of the connection without risking forgetting to turn your VPN back on. Norton VPN’s implementation is extremely simple to use, and is easily accessed, though it’d be great to see a minimum pause time shorter than 15 minutes as, frankly, most times when we’ve needed it we’ve been finished in five minutes rather comfortably.

Features score: 7/10

Server Network

Norton VPN’s server network isn’t up there with the very best VPNs quite yet, but it’s seen massive expansion in recent months. Since our last review, Norton VPN has expanded from servers in 29 countries to servers in 65, with 104 total locations. For comparison, Norton VPN now has more locations than Mullvad, which offers 89, and only a few less than Windscribe, which offers 112.

What’s good is the spread Norton VPN offers. 25 locations in the US are great for streaming enthusiasts, plus 6 countries in South America and 5 countries in Africa is superb given the lack of coverage these areas traditionally recieve. Asian coverage is weaker, with only 12 countries, though the most popular locations are included among these.

Given Norton VPN’s rate of increase, it wouldn’t surprise me if its country spread increased further over the coming months. If so, it’d be good to see the service fill the various gaps left in Asia and, since it already has a strong presence in South America and Africa, bulk out its presence in Europe and the US to account for key sites and services located in currently omitted regions.

Server network score: 7/10

Norton VPN's global coverage is especially impressive in South America and Africa, though its Asian coverage could be better (Image credit: Future)Apps

Norton’s VPN app is available for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It’s also available on Apple TV and Android-based smart TVs. For Android TVs, you need version 10 or later, whereas Apple tvOS requires version 17 or later.

Notably, there’s Linux support, so if you need to cover your Ubuntu or Linux Mint install, Norton won’t cut it quite yet - there’s not even support for a command-line VPN. Norton does not offer configuration files for OpenVPN or WireGuard either, so there’s no way to use Norton with an unsupported device.

Thankfully, Norton VPN has recently announced support for Fire TV devices (running FireOS 8 or later). This was previously another hole in Norton's app support. Speaking on the addition, Himmat Baines, Norton VPN Product Lead, said:

“Supporting Fire TV is about meeting our customers where they stream. With Norton VPN on Fire TV, we’re extending trusted privacy and security into the living room — without compromising performance or simplicity.”

It’s worth mentioning that Norton VPN’s apps have several instances of feature disparity. As highlighted already, iOS and macOS users already lack OpenVPN, but these platforms also lack split tunneling and some auto-connect functionality.

Otherwise, there’s nothing really to dislike about Norton VPN’s apps on any platform. They’re simple to look at, easy to navigate, and look so unapologetically Norton-like that anyone new to VPNs who’s familiar with its antivirus tools will quickly gain the sense of security often felt when using other Norton tools.

Apps score: 8/10

Ease of use

Norton VPN is a breeze to install, likely thanks to the years of experience Norton has with its other products in making complex systems simple to introduce.

Once you’re in, the experience is impressively simple, though at the expense of a couple of handy extra tools. The menus aren’t overcomplicated with features, settings, and data – though the option to set favorites or see the best servers at any time would be nice – the settings are all explained in simple enough terms for beginners, and there’s easy access to any extra tools you might have in your plan, or guides you may need to help set up your VPN connection how you’d like it.

In true Norton fashion, the experience you have is as close to identical as possible across any device you might have, too. This makes Norton VPN a superb choice should you be new to VPNs and looking for easy, quick access to the settings you need, without worrying that your usual server, connection type, or setting may be hiding somewhere new.

Even Norton VPN’s Advanced Servers, meaning its P2P-optimized, double VPN, and IP rotation optimized servers, are easily accessed. With dropdown menus giving you the information you need to understand where you’re connecting to, and any additional routing your connection might take.

Ease of use score: 9/10

Speed and performance

Norton’s speeds are its biggest area of improvement since our last round of testing. Starting with the headlines, we recorded an average speed of 909Mbps download using WireGuard from our testing server in the UK, rivalling the likes of NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Proton VPN as a result.

Our connection to the US wasn’t quite as impressive, as we only recorded speeds of 463Mbps, which is around the middle of the pack. It’s still more than enough to watch multiple 4K streams simultaneously, but it’s a sizeable dropoff compared to our initial UK tests.

How we perform speed tests

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

We test from two different virtual PCs, one in the UK and one in the US. We’re expecting big things out of NordVPN, as both of these servers have a 1 Gbs connection. You can find out more in our VPN testing methodology.

As for OpenVPN performance, Norton didn’t do as well. Our average speeds were around 260-275Mbps, whether connecting to the UK or US, which is also more than enough for most internet activities, but pales in comparison to the speeds we’ve seen elsewhere.

Our latency recordings were roughly what we’d expect for a top-tier VPN connecting to UK servers. In Norton’s case, 3.5ms. Most of the providers we’ve tested clock in around the 2-5ms mark, which is barely perceivable. One or two milliseconds' difference won’t make a difference to most internet apps or online gaming sessions.

As for the US connection, Norton tops our list in terms of low latency at 66.6ms, just barely beating out NordVPN to take the top spot. If you’re gaming or running a video call and want your connection to be as responsive as possible while connected to the US, Norton is the ideal solution.

Speed and performance score: 8/10

Unblocking

We’ve tested Norton VPN works with them with loads of your favorite streaming services, and it worked with them all! Netflix is cracking down on VPNs, but we were able to watch Netflix US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan all from our local testing centers. The same goes for Amazon Prime and Disney+; however, we weren’t able to access US YouTube.

As for regional providers, it’s a mixed bag but mostly positive results. We were able to access BBC iPlayer, ITV, Channel 4, 7Plus, and 9Now, but TVNZ+ intermittently failed, and we couldn’t access 10Play at all.

Norton VPN does have P2P capabilities, and our testing showed it works reasonably well. It’s worth mentioning that Norton doesn’t support port forwarding, which means that you won’t get incoming requests for sharing when torrenting, limiting your connectivity.

Norton only has two P2P servers, one in the Netherlands and one in Dallas. It’s a far cry away from the full P2P connectivity of a provider like PIA, but even Avast’s competing SecureLine VPN offers eight P2P servers.

On the plus side, Norton does allow you to connect automatically when you boot up a supported P2P app, but you’ll have to enable this option from the settings menu first.

Unblocking score: 8/10

Privacy and security

Norton is clearly taking the necessary steps to ensure its VPN is secure and private. Its no-logs policy is extensive yet clear, outlining the data collected by the VPN app at any instance, your browsing data is never stored on their servers, including DNS requests, which are instead served by a private DNS server run by Norton, preventing ISP spying, and it’s had its no-logs policy audited to ensure trust.

In August 2024, VerSprite audited Norton’s policy, noting two issues that could result in sensitive user information being disclosed. Norton took the necessary steps to address these issues, and once remedied, VerSprite agreed that the no logs policy was both accurate and implemented correctly.

However, Norton does collect some anonymized information from the VPN client. This includes connection timestamps, platform details such as OS and timezone, and crash logs. They also aggregate overall data transmission for network planning. So, if you’re extremely concerned about your privacy, Norton might collect slightly too much information for comfort. As it stands, Norton’s acceptable for day-to-day browsing, but you might consider Proton VPN instead if you need rock-solid privacy guarantees.

Norton is clearly taking the necessary steps to ensuring its VPN is secure and private."

Rob Dunne - VPN Editor, TechRadar

Something that may ease some privacy concerns would be if Norton VPN implemented RAM-only servers. These servers wipe when rebooted, meaning you cannot store any data on them, thus eradicating the risk of any user data being available should a data request be submitted by authorities. Not having RAM-only servers isn’t an issue as such, though it adds a layer of trust for users, and is becoming increasingly common among top VPNs.

Given its privacy focus, we wanted to know more about Norton VPN’s proprietary Mimic protocol. In addition to offering obfuscation, Mimic is powered by TLS 1.3 ciphers (AES-256 and ChaCha20), as well as CRYSTAL-Kyber-512 for post-quantum cryptography. It’s good to hear that Norton is already thinking ahead when it comes to quantum security, which puts them significantly in front of most of the VPN industry.

Meanwhile, Norton's standard VPN protocols, OpenVPN and WireGuard, use AES-256-GCM and ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption, respectively. These are considered the top encryption methods used by all of the best VPNs, a strong demonstration, therefore, of Norton’s intent to found its service on strong privacy staples.

Privacy and security score: 8/10

Track record

Gen Digital, Norton’s parent company, is headquartered in the USA and the Czech Republic. It’s the result of a merger between Avast and Norton in 2022, and now owns other big-name brands, including Avira, AVG, and CCleaner.

Despite the merger, Norton continues to be run as a separate company with their own range of products. Norton has decades of experience in providing digital security products, but until now, the VPN offering has lagged behind the industry standard.

The merger with Avast seems to have been a kickstarter to the impressive changes we’ve seen in the product in recent months. Norton claims the merger has prompted progress that “combines our ‘best of breed’ technologies to provide safer, faster, and more reliable performance for the customer,” with Norton VPN being the first product to benefit from this work.

The current iteration of Norton VPN is a substantial upgrade from versions we’ve seen in the past."

Rob Dunne - VPN Editor, TechRadar

In the past, Norton VPN had suffered from DNS leaks and a nearly non-existent feature set, both of which have been fixed since. The current iteration of Norton VPN is a substantial upgrade from versions we’ve seen in the past, but it still has some way to go.

It should be noted that the service has now also undergone a no-logs audit, and users can read the in-depth executive summary report at their leisure. Plus, if you’re concerned about the kinds of requests no-logs policies help protect against, Norton now publishes transparency reports. These reports, updated twice per year, outline all the requests Norton receives from authorities for user data, and explain why Norton is unable to comply with them since its no-logs policy means there’s nothing to provide.

Track record score: 9/10

Customer Support

Norton’s customer support staff are very helpful. There’s a community forum where you can post issues you’re having with Norton VPN, where other members and support staff can pitch in with their own advice. From the interactions we’ve had, they’re very knowledgeable and quite prompt in returning with information.

However, the support materials on the site are a different matter. When you search for help topics on Norton’s website, you’re immediately given an AI prompt for your search, which looks like it’s powered by Gemini. It’s not totally useful when you’re trying to find specific help on a topic, and you have to scroll past it to get to the actual results.

As for the knowledge base, it’s not particularly in-depth - most of the articles consist of bullet point lists and some are thinly-disguised marketing material. If you want help with Norton, we’d stick to contacting their customer support directly through the forum or over the phone. There’s also a 24/7 helpdesk upgrade if you need around-the-clock customer service.

Customer support score: 7/10

Pricing and plans

Norton offers three tiers of pricing. The standard VPN package starts at $39.99 for the first year, which works out at roughly $3.33 per month. After the introductory offer is over, it renews at $79.99 per year. That makes Norton one of the cheapest VPNs we’ve see.

However, there’s one major limitation: you’re only allowed five device connections (or worse, only one if you’re in some regions, including the UK), significantly under the 8-10 you’ll find from most other providers. Surfshark and PIA both go even further, offering unlimited device connections on their cheapest subscription plans. It should also be clarified that Norton’s device limit isn’t a traditional simultaneous connections limit. Instead, Norton’s five-device limit refers to the number of devices with the VPN installed. Should you wish to install on a sixth device, you’d instead be asked to remove one of the previous five devices, rather than merely disconnecting from the VPN.

Upgrading your subscription costs an extra $10 per year, making your subscription cost $4.17 per month initially and $109.99 every year after that. There’s no meaningful change to the VPN, but you get extra features from Norton’s security suite, including virus protection, password management, dark-web scanning, 10GB encrypted cloud storage, and AI-powered scam detection.

The Ultimate subscription package will set you back an extra $20 per year, making it $5 per month initially and $129.99 per year after the first. In addition to extra family-safety features for monitoring your child’s devices, the device count is bumped up to 10, so you can take full advantage of Norton’s security features on most of your household’s devices, and you get 50GB of secure storage (or 150GB should you activate auto-renewal).

To its credit, Norton offers an above-average 60-day money-back guarantee and a true 7-day free trial when you sign up. We love 7-day free trials as an entry point into VPNs, as they offer a ‘try before you buy’ solution, without some of the hassles caused by a 30-day money-back guarantee. Seeing Norton VPN be one of the first to offer this, then, puts it in good standing to be among the best VPNs for beginners in the future.

Switching from its current install-based device limit also seems like an easy win that Norton VPN could take advantage of. While increasing the device limit with more premium plans does help this slightly, removing the confusion of registering and removing devices is an easy way to make the service more accessible to newer users and takes away the sting of the small device limit on the standard plan.

Pricing and plans score: 7/10

Should you use Norton VPN?

Norton VPN is a rapidly improving VPN. In the space of a few months, it’s brought in a spread of features you’d expect to see in a top VPN, alongside some features some top VPNs don’t think to include. Its performance has risen to a point where it can rival top VPNs like Surfshark and NordVPN, it has apps simple enough for anyone to use, and it brings Norton-pedigree security to make anyone trust its privacy guarantees.

That said, there are several areas it still needs to address. Primarily, sorting the device install limit will add to its already high-value package by reducing connection roadblocks for users. Outside of this, expanding the feature pool, adding Linux support, and eradicating the feature disparities for macOS and iOS users will quickly put Norton VPN among the best value VPNs available if done right.

For many, now might not be the right time to pick up Norton VPN due to any one of the limitations mentioned. That said, it’d be wise to keep an eye on Norton VPN over the coming year or so, as, from what we’ve seen already in 2025, it looks as though the provider could quickly become a high-value, high-security VPN from a name renowned for its security capabilities.

Total score: 78/100

Norton VPN alternatives

1. NordVPN – The best VPN overall
NordVPN combines security, speed, and usability in a single VPN package that can’t be beat on value. In addition to lightning-fast servers, NordVPN offers some unique features like Threat Protection Pro, which integrates anti-virus, anti-phishing, and ad-blocking capabilities into a single product. Try it today with a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

2. Surfshark – get the 7-day free trial
When you buy a Surfshark subscription, you get unlimited simultaneous device connections, 100+ countries to connect to, and advanced IP rotation features powered by their own Nexus software-defined network. It's perfect if you need to cover a household full of devices. Try Surfshark risk free with a 30-day money-back guarantee or a 7-day free trial.View Deal

3. ExpressVPN – The best secure VPN
ExpressVPN consistently ranks as our most secure VPN thanks to its forward-thinking security features, like quantum-resistant encryption. It's all thanks to their proprietary Lightway VPN protocol, designed from the ground up for mobile-first support. The ExpressVPN app is perfect for beginners with a simple interface across all platforms, plus 24/7 support on hand to walk you through setting it up. Express also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

GMKtec NucBox K16: 30-second review

GMKtec has been on something of a roll lately, churning out mini PCs with genuine gusto. Where some of its stablemates have leaned on older or obscure silicon, the NucBox K16 takes a different approach, reaching for the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS. This chip has been quietly powering a decent slice of the mini PC market since 2023, and it also made an appearance in some laptops.

The 7735HS is essentially a Rembrandt Refresh, which is a Zen 3+ architecture part built on TSMC's 6nm node. It is not, let us be clear, a cutting-edge processor. AMD has since moved on to Zen 4 and is now very pleased with itself about Zen 5. Yet the 7735HS remains a competent and well-understood chip, and crucially, one that GMKtec has used before in the K2 model.

Here it's connected to 32GB of DDR5 memory, not its fastest possible option, but enough to feed its Radeon 680M GPU, and dual 2.5GbE LAN ports.

The chassis is a step up from the plasticky boxes that characterised this segment not long ago. A CNC-machined aluminium C-frame with a sandblasted anodised finish gives the K16 a premium, almost Zen-like quality on the desk.

As NUCs go, this one is extremely compact, being 107 x 111 x 56 mm and yet packs an astonishing amount of connectivity into its footprint.

The headline connectivity act is the combination of OcuLink and USB4, both of which can be used to attach external graphics. OcuLink, running at 64 Gbps over PCIe 4.0 x4, is the faster of the two and the better choice for an eGPU enclosure. USB4 at 40 Gbps provides a more broadly compatible, if slightly slower, alternative. The dual 2.5 GbE LAN ports and Wi-Fi 6E round out a networking suite that would embarrass many a budget desktop.

The main caveat, and it is a rather substantial one, is the price. At launch, the K16 starts at $679.99 (£541) for the 32 GB + 512 GB configuration, with the 1 TB variant pushing to $729.99. For a machine built on a Zen 3+ platform, that is an assertive number, particularly when newer Ryzen 8000-series mini PCs are circling at similar or occasionally lower prices. Those later designs, like the 8040, have an integrated NPU, which this chip can’t match.

Due to the age of the hardware and the choice to use regular DDR5 rather than LPDDR5X, this design is not among the best mini PC systems we've tested, but it's perfectly serviceable for less demanding roles.

GMKtec NucBox K16: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $680/£540/€620
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from GMKtec and via online retailers

The K16 is available direct from the GMKtec website, alongside online retailers like Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

There are two configurations available, both with 32 GB of soldered DDR5 RAM. The base model ships with a 512 GB SSD at $679.99, whilst the 1 TB variant commands $729.99. Both launched at a discount from their listed MSRPs of $899.99 and $949.99.

Normally, MSRPs should be ignored, but for those buying via Amazon.com, that’s about the price you are expected to pay, worryingly. UK Amazon.co.uk prices are equally outrageous, starting at £809.96.

Because of this discrepancy, I’d recommend buying directly from GMKtec, and there is another reason for doing this. GMKtec is bundling a 8-in-1 USB Hub Dockign station with every purchase, which is a thoughtful touch..

The increased cost of DDR5 memory is impacting all pre-built systems, altering the competitive landscape. This is impacting new products coming to market, like the K16, that must contend with cheaper units built before the recent price hikes for components.

The Bosgame M4 (see my review here) in a comparable 32 GB + 1 TB configuration was available for around $579.99 at launch. Rival mini PCs based on the Ryzen 7 8845HS, a Zen 4 part with meaningfully superior iGPU performance, hover in a similar or only modestly higher bracket. GMKtec's counter-argument is the premium chassis quality and the OcuLink port, which not every competitor offers at this price point.

However, on Amazon.com, I found the Minisforum UM880, which uses the Ryzen 7 8845HS, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage for just $749, and it also has OCuLink.

As in my previous review of the K13, there are questions here about the cost of this equipment and how the rising cost of memory and storage is distorting the pre-built PC market.

• Value: 3 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)GMKtec NucBox K16: Specs

Item

Spec

CPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS (8C/16T, up to 4.75 GHz, Zen 3+)

GPU

AMD Radeon 680M (RDNA 2, 12 CUs, up to 2200 MHz)

NPU

None

RAM

32 GB LPDDR5 6400 MT/s (soldered, non-upgradeable)

Storage

512 GB or 1 TB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 (default)

M.2 Expansion

1x additional M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 (up to 8 TB per slot; 16 TB total)

Display Outputs

1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB4 (DP 1.4) — triple display support

Front Ports

1x OcuLink, 1x USB4 Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 3.5mm audio, power button

Rear Ports

2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, 2x 2.5 GbE RJ-45, DC power

Networking

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

Performance Modes

Silent 35W / Balanced 45W / Performance 50W

OS

Windows 11 Pro (pre-installed); Linux supported

Dimensions

107 x 111 x 56 mm

Weight

Approx. 0.65 kg

Included Accessories

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

GMKtec NucBox K16: Design

• Premium aluminium chassis
• Dual-fan active cooling
• Easy access

The NucBox K16 marks a notable step forward in build quality from the broader GMKtec catalogue. The CNC-machined aluminium C-frame chassis, finished with a sandblasted anodised treatment, lends the machine a solidity that others lack.

At 4.21 x 4.37 x 2.20 in (107 x 111 x 56 mm), the K16 is compact without veering into the sort of extreme miniaturisation that sacrifices sensible port placement. The front panel is well considered: the OcuLink port and USB4 Type-C sit alongside two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and the 3.5mm audio jack, with the power button tucked neatly at one end. The logic of placing OcuLink at the front is debatable, but it is a cosmetically minor quibble.

The rear panel is rather busier, accommodating dual 2.5 GbE LAN ports, HDMI, DisplayPort, two more USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and the DC power input. Hot air exits through the rear vents, which is a tidier thermal arrangement than some competitors that exhaust downwards or sideways across connected cables.

If you didn’t notice, there has been a trade-off here. This machine only has one USB4, with the bandwidth that might have provided another is used for the OCuLink presumably.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Cooling is handled by a dual-fan arrangement with copper heat pipes that’s a more serious thermal solution than the single-fan setups found in cheaper mini PCs. GMKtec has also included three selectable performance modes: Silent at 35W, Balanced at 45W, and Performance at 50W.

These can be toggled via the BIOS or a dedicated utility, which is the kind of user-facing flexibility that working professionals will appreciate when they need to dial back noise during a video call or unleash full performance for a render job.

As with most of GMKtec's recent output, the K16 ships with a VESA mounting bracket, allowing it to be affixed to the rear of a compatible monitor. There is also a Kensington lock slot for environments where the temptation to pocket a small, premium-looking PC might prove too strong for some colleagues.

Access to the inside is extremely easy. The four feet unscrew to release the silver shroud, and then four small screws are revealed that hold a fan bracket in place before you can get to the storage layer.

One of the two M.2 2280 slots is occupied by the provided SSD, leaving the other entirely free. Both slots are PCIe 4.0, enabling up to 7500 MB/s with appropriate drives.

What there isn’t any sign of is the memory, since this is soldered to the other side of the mainboard. That’s one of the disappointments of this design, but in most respects, it's nicely engineered and easy to upgrade.

• Design: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)GMKtec NucBox K16: Hardware

• AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS
• 32 GB DDR5 6400 MT/s
• Lacks an NPU

The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U is a mobile processor featuring eight cores, launched in April 2022 as an offshoot of the Ryzen 6000 series. And, the closest silicon from the core series is the Ryzen 7 6800H, a Zen 3+ (Rembrandt) architecture chip made for Socket FP7.

The AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS requires a little context. It is a mobile processor built on AMD's Zen 3+ architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 6nm process node. It debuted in 2022 as part of the Rembrandt Refresh family, and is in most practical respects extremely close to the Ryzen 7 6800H that preceded it. Eight cores, sixteen threads, a base clock of 3.2 GHz and a boost up to 4.75 GHz, entirely respectable numbers for a mini PC that is not attempting to position itself at the extreme budget end of the market.

The integrated graphics are Radeon 680M, based on the RDNA 2 architecture with 12 Compute Units running up to 2200 MHz. AMD's Radeon 680M is well understood at this point: it is meaningfully ahead of the older Vega-based iGPUs, broadly comparable to a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti in rasterised tasks.

The issue, as I’ll talk about more in the performance section, is the memory chosen and its configuration. Reading the GMKtec promotional material, it talks about LPDDR5 at 6400 MT/s. But this NUC doesn’t have LPDDR5X, it's just a low-power version of DDR5, and that means less memory bandwidth. LPDDR5X offers up to 33% higher data rates (up to 8,533+ MT/s vs 6,400 MT/s), and roughly 24% better power efficiency, but the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS doesn’t support it.

There is also an issue with the use of memory channels in this design that I’ll discuss in the performance section.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The storage situation is worth examining carefully. The K16 features two M.2 2280 slots, both of which support PCIe 4.0 x4. This is a meaningful specification advantage over mini PCs that top out at PCIe 3.0 on their secondary slot. Combined capacity is rated up to 16 TB with 8 TB per slot, a generous amount even for a creative professional workload.

The default shipped SSD is, however, a PCIe 3.0 drive. This is a slight disconnect: GMKtec has fitted PCIe 4.0-capable slots and then shipped a PCIe 3.0 drive installed, presumably to manage the retail price. Aftermarket upgrades to a PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive are straightforward given the accessible design.

The OcuLink port runs at 64 Gbps via PCIe 4.0 x4, which is the fastest external GPU interface available on a mini PC at this price point. Thunderbolt 4 eGPU connections are limited by the PCIe 3.0 x4 tunnel that Intel imposes; OcuLink sidesteps this entirely. Paired with GMKtec's own AD-GP1 eGPU dock, the K16 can act as a credible light gaming or GPU-compute machine when equipped with a suitable discrete card.

Memory is the one area that gives pause. The 32 GB of LPDDR5 is soldered directly to the motherboard, making it entirely non-upgradeable. For the majority of users, 32 GB will be more than adequate; for those running large language models locally or editing 8K video, it is a ceiling that cannot be raised.

• Hardware: 3.5 / 5

GMKtec NucBox K16: Performance

Mini PC

GMKtec NucBox K16

GMKtec NucBox M7 Ultra

CPU

AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS

AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U

Cores/Threads

8C 16T

8C 16T

RAM

32GB LPDDR5 (2x16GB)

16GB DDR5 (2x8GB)

SSD

1TB TWSC TE3420F1TO NVMe

512GB AirDisk SSD

Graphics

Radeon 680M

Radeon 680M

3DMark

WildLife

10320

9846

FireStrike

4508

4149

TimeSpy

1813

1495

S.Nomad

1634

1420

Cine24

Single

84

90

Multi

595

401

Ratio

7.08

4.47

GeekBench 6

Single

1957

2096

Multi

7170

8582

OpenCL

24105

22656

Vulkan

22401

21484

CrystalDisk

Read MB/s

3549

3558

Write MB/s

2649

2520

PCMark 10

Office

6785

6973

WEI

Score

8.1

8

Logically, the system should be compared to the GMKtec K2, since it uses exactly the same AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS. And, I have reviewed that exact hardware.

Unfortunately, I don’t have that machine to hand, and the data I have from it pre-dates the use of the CineBench24 and GeekBench6. But I will come back to the K2, I promise.

What I did have was recent data from the GMKtec NucBox M7 Ultra, which uses the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U. That’s a Zen3+ Ryzen 6000 series chip from 2022, whereas the K16 uses a 2023 Ryzen 7000 CPU that also uses the Zen3+ architecture.

As you can see from the numbers, the results are remarkably close, partly because these chips both have the same number of cores/threads, and the Radeon 680M GPU, and these limiting factors.

However, when I tested this system, something didn’t seem right. Because while I didn’t have much comparison data from the older K2, I did have 3DMark scores, and they told an entirely different story.

The Wildlife score on the K2 was 16647, whereas on the K16 it's only 9846. How?

What made this doubly odd was that, because the K16 uses LPDDR5, it should have slightly more bandwidth than the standard DDR5 used in the K2.

Digging back into my review files, I discovered that the K2 had a DDR5 memory arrangement where it used two SODIMMs of DDR5 4800 MHz, and these were 64-bit modules, used by the system as eight 32-bit channels.

So what has the K16 got? Well, it has two 16GB modules at 6400MHz, but disturbingly, these are just 32-bit LPDDR5.

The K2 with two 64-bit modules could effectively run as quad channel, where the K16 is only dual channel, thus the performance discrepancy between them.

If this arrangement had been quad channel, it would have represented roughly a 33% bandwidth increase over DDR5 4800MT/s, but because it’s only dual channel, that’s not the case.

Another interesting aspect of this system, which I discovered in the CPU-Z analysis, is that this CPU can be run with a 50W TDP, and the TDP limit is confirmed at 45W from the CPU-Z data, with PL1, PL2 and PPT all locked at 50W. Therefore, GMKtec has set this unit running at its maximum performance configuration by default.

Another takeaway from the benchmarking is that this machine has M.2 PCIe 4x4 slots, but GMKtec only used a Gen 3x4 drive, which lowered performance.

Despite these points, for general productivity such as office applications, web browsing, video conferencing, and code compilation, the K16 will feel snappy and capable. The 32 GB of RAM, even in its soldered form, is generous enough to support heavy multitasking without complaint.

Light gaming at 1080p on older titles or less-demanding current games is entirely achievable with the 680M; do not expect to push anything particularly modern at high settings without using that OcuLink port.

The three performance modes are a useful feature. Silent mode at 35W keeps the fans barely audible whilst still delivering perfectly adequate desktop performance. The full 50W mode delivers tangible improvements for sustained workloads, but at the cost of more noticeable fan noise. Balanced mode at 45W will be the sensible default for most users.

For those curious, all my benchmarks were done in Performance mode to show you what the best possible numbers look like.

While not poor, the results from the K16 reveal yet another mini PC that never reached its full potential due to some creative choices made by the makers.

• Performance: 3.5 / 5

GMKtec NucBox K16: Final verdict

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The GMKtec NucBox K16 is a machine that rewards scrutiny, though not always in the ways its marketing materials might suggest.

On paper, the specification reads impressively: a capable Ryzen 7 7735HS, 32 GB of fast memory, dual PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, OcuLink, USB4, and dual 2.5 GbE LAN in a premium CNC aluminium chassis. In practice, the way the memory is organised and the use of a PCIe 3.0 SSD don’t make the most of this Ryzen platform.

What the data also confirms is that GMKtec has set the K16's power limits aggressively, with PL1, PL2 and PPT all fixed at 50W. There are no conservative defaults to contend with here; instead, this machine ships running flat out, which will flatter benchmark results whilst also keeping the fans busier than a more gently tuned configuration might.

None of this makes the K16 a bad machine. The connectivity story remains excellent, OcuLink is still a class-leading feature at this price point, and the build quality is genuinely above average for the segment. But the memory specification warrants a footnote in any purchasing decision, particularly at a price point where honesty in the small print matters.

The biggest issue here is undoubtedly the price, and that might be something we’ll need to accept given the huge hole in memory and storage supplies AI has created. But with so many alternatives in the channel made before memory became stupidly expensive, new designs like the K16 might find the competitive market even more of a problem than it typically is.

Should I buy a GMKtec NucBox K16?

Value

Premium price for a Zen 3+ platform

3/5

Design

Excellent CNC aluminium chassis, well-placed ports

4/5

Hardware

OcuLink, USB4, dual 2.5 GbE, PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots

4/5

Performance

Not as quick as it should be on paper

3.5/5

Overalls

A premium mini PC let down by memory choices and its asking price

3.5/5

Buy it if...

You need OcuLink for eGPU expansion
If a discrete GPU is in your future for gaming, video transcoding, or GPU compute workloads, then the K16's OcuLink port provides the fastest external GPU interconnect available at this price point, well ahead of what USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 can typically deliver.View Deal

Dual 2.5 GbE LAN is a priority
For network-attached storage, virtualisation, or environments requiring high-bandwidth networking, the dual 2.5 GbE ports make the K16 a genuinely useful headless server or home lab node in addition to a desktop machine.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

Upgradeable RAM matters to you
The soldered LPDDR5 means you are permanently fixed at 32 GB. For most users, this is fine today, but if you expect your requirements to grow, a machine with socketed SODIMM slots provides more flexibility for the long term.View Deal

You want the latest silicon
Zen 3+ is a solid architecture, but AMD's Zen 4 and Zen 5 derivatives offer meaningfully improved CPU and GPU performance, NPU capabilities, and more modern feature support. At the K16's asking price, alternatives built on newer platforms deserve careful consideration. View Deal

Also consider

GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus 
Built on the Ryzen 7 8845HS with Zen 4 architecture and a Radeon 780M GPU, the K8 Plus offers a more modern platform at a comparable price point. It sacrifices OcuLink but gains a more powerful integrated GPU and NPU support.

Check out my GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus review View Deal

GMKtec NucBox K6
The older K6 uses the Ryzen 7 7840HS in a similar form factor to the K16 and is typically available at meaningfully lower prices. A sensible alternative if the K16's premium pricing seems hard to justify for your specific use case.

Check out my GMKtec NucBox K6 review View Deal