TechRadar Reviews

PrivadoVPN Free serves as an example of what free VPNs can, and arguably, should be more widely capable of. Unlike many of the best free VPNs, PrivadoVPN free offers not only a strong mix of locations, 13 to be exact, including 4 in the US, but also impressive speeds and even some capacity to unblock streaming content across streaming services such as Netflix.

While the 10GB data cap is a limitation, and it does lack any sort of feature offering, the performance you can expect from PrivadoVPN Free matches even some paid VPNs, making it a great entry point to VPNs should you be wary of paying. Plus, if you want to upgrade, PrivadoVPN is among the best cheap VPNs available.

The current Black Friday VPN deal means you can pick up the PrivadoVPN paid plan for a total of $30 for two years of service.

Features

PrivadoVPN Free doesn't excel at its feature offering as, frankly, it doesn't have one. That said, you do get a solid array of traditional VPN capabilities included in the free plan.

You can access OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2 protocols, you get access to a kill switch and split-tunneling capabilities, and you can use GeoJump to spoof your GPS location to the location of the VPN server you connect to.

The biggest omission from PrivadoVPN Free is Control Tower. Control Tower is PrivadoVPN's ad, malware, ransomware, and crypto blocker. It also serves as a parental controls hub, giving options to block adult content, substance-related sites, and social media sites, including Facebook, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Plus, it works to block any phishing attempts.

While full protective software is often omitted from free VPNs, PrivadoVPN's omission of Control Tower is made all the more noticeable by its lack of other features. There's no access to multihop or Onion over VPN connections, no password management capabilities, no encrypted storage, no data breach identifiers, nothing. But, this does make PrivadoVPN Free a strong option for value should you not need any of these extras.

Features score: 5/10

Server network

PrivadoVPN Free offers 13 server locations, dropping from the 67 listed as available on its paid service. Despite this, 13 locations is impressive for a free VPN service. Plus, when you consider those locations include the UK, India, Germany, Argentina, the Netherlands, Brazil, France, Canada, Mexico, and four locations in the US, you get a good spread of locations to choose from.

If you're looking for servers in the Middle East, Africa, or Asia, PrivadoVPN Free won't be a stellar choice, no, but for most unblocking needs, be that for streaming or general browsing, 13 locations more than have you covered. Especially when you consider many free VPNs won't offer more than five.

Server network score: 9/10

Apps

PrivadoVPN Free supports a good range of operating systems. It's available on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Android and Amazon Fire TVs, and Chrome. PrivadoVPN's most glaring limitation is Linux, where, instead of simply offering a Linux client, PrivadoVPN expects you to install your own OpenVPN configuration from PrivadoVPN onto a third-party client. If you're on Linux, then it's probably worthwhile looking at other free VPN alternatives.

Apps score: 7/10

PrivadoVPN Free is available on a whole host of platforms, and is consistently designed across most platforms. (Image credit: Future // Rob Dunne)Ease of use

PrivadoVPN Free is impressively simple to set up. Going through the steps to set up an account leads you to receiving an email to verify your email address and confirm your account – you're also provided with an extremely complex username which is completely unnecessary unless you were to completely lose access to the email account you use.

Once loaded into the app, PrivadoVPN Free offers little to be confused by. A large icon to connect dominates the view on mobile devices, and the desktop experience is almost exactly the same. While this does make the app impressively simple to navigate and understand, no matter what device you're on, it would be nice for the desktop experience to feel less as though the mobile app had been simply migrated over.

Finding the few customisations you can make is simple enough, icons direct you towards the necessary settings and options, and anything you need can be changed via toggles or selection boxes, making for quick and easy optimisation depending on how you intend on using the service.

Ease of use score: 9/10

PrivadoVPN's Windows app bears many resemblances to its mobile apps, notably lacking any kind of full screen mode. (Image credit: Future // Rob Dunne)Speed and performance

PrivadoVPN Free's performance is one of the biggest factors in its rise to the top of our best free VPN rankings. In our latest round of testing, PrivadoVPN Free was easily the fastest of all the free VPNs. We recorded an average local download speed of 564 Mbps.

That's down a little on last time's speed snapshot of 671 Mbps but still considerable faster than Windscribe Free (430 Mbps) and Hotspot Shield Basic (385 Mbps)

While it's likely these speeds won't consistently remain at these heights forever, achieving this puts PrivadoVPN Free among the fastest VPNs we've tested, including across paid providers.

So, if you're looking for the fastest free VPN available right now, PrivadoVPN Free is the clear winner.

Speed and performance score: 10/10

Unblocking

PrivadoVPN Free has a greater unblocking capacity than most free VPNs, mainly because it can manage it at all. On the free plan, we were able to access Netflix in the US and the UK. We had mixed results accessing Disney+, with some occasions of access and others without.

We were more successful accessing BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, and ITV, but had no success whatsoever with the likes of Amazon Prime Video, 9Now, or 10Play. Given that free VPNs often outright fail to unblock any streaming services, this result is seriously impressive.

It also proved to be pretty effective for torrenting. However, the combination of high-speed servers and a 10GB data cap means it’s pretty easy to churn through your allotted bandwidth for the month, so be careful how much you download.

Unblocking score: 8/10

Privacy and security

PrivadoVPN Free's biggest letdown is its lack of a third-party audit. Yes, it has a strong no-logs policy, and yes, it's in a privacy-focused jurisdiction, but the lack of a third-party audit means none of this can be wholly trusted quite yet.

Something that does come to its aid is that its no-logs policy is the same across both its paid and free options. This means PrivadoVPN isn't doing what many free VPNs do and uses its free status to find ways to monetize your data to cover the costs of running the service.

If you want to learn more about PrivadoVPN’s overall stance on security, you can check out our PrivadoVPN review here.

Privacy and security score: 8/10

Track record

Given that PrivadoVPN only entered the VPN space in 2019, there isn't a huge deal to talk about in terms of negatives, which is a good thing. So far, the service hasn't experienced any security breaches, nor has it had any concerning interactions with law enforcement, or had any serious flaws found.

The next step to solidifying this for PrivadoVPN will be the completion of a third-party audit and the publication of any kind of transparency report that can shed light on user data requests they may be receiving.

Track record score: 9/10

Customer Support

Customer support options for PrivadoVPN Free aren't extensive. While there is a live chat system, it's not staffed all day, meaning you can be left using its, admittedly extensive, knowledge base to try and find answers you might need.

Should this not give you the answers you seek, there's also the option for email contact with a support agent, which proved to be equally effective during testing.

Customer support score: 6/10

Pricing and plans

PrivadoVPN Free offers an impressive amount of value compared to its free plan. While you are limited to a single connection and you only get 10GB data per month, you can still use the service past this limit, just at 1 Mbps speeds rather than over 950 Mbps.

The biggest feature PrivadoVPN Free misses out on compared to its paid plan is Control Tower, which, as mentioned previously, serves as a protective measure and parental control hub for devices connected to PrivadoVPN. Alongside that, you also gain access to unlimited simultaneous connections, all 67 server locations, and the full suite of connection customisation options.

In reality, getting those added features from only $1.11 per month is a very good deal, but given how much you get with the free plan anyway, PrivadoVPN Free proves itself to be an impressive value for no money.

Pricing and plans score: 8/10

Should you use Privado VPN Free?

It's difficult to flaw the performance of PrivadoVPN Free as a free VPN service. Were it not for its 10GB data limit, PrivadoVPN Free would sit a a clear margin above other free VPNs, especially given its proven capacity to unblock some streaming services, which is a rarity among free VPNs.

If you're likely to go through 10GB quickly, the 1 Mbps throttled speeds thereafter should be something of a concern, even if it's welcome to know that you won't be cut off completely, but this does leave PrivadoVPN Free short of the likes of Proton VPN Free which offers a truly unlimited connection.

That said, PrivadoVPN Free stands above free VPN competition despite these flaws. Plus, the few features you miss out on mean realistically there's an audience of VPN users who could genuinely use PrivadoVPN Free day-to-day, without noticing its limitations, and without feeling insecure in a way often felt when using other free VPNs.

Total score: 79/100

PrivadoVPN Free alternatives

NordVPN – from $2.99 per month
The best VPN overall
NordVPN is one of the most well-rounded VPN services on the market, offering a combination of top-tier security, blazing-fast speeds, and advanced features. It's been fully audited multiple times to confirm both their no-logs policy and the safety of their apps, and alongside a suite of extra security features, it makes NordVPN one of the best choices for keeping your data safe. You can give it a shot yourself with a 30-day money-back guarantee. View Deal

Surfshark – from $1.99 per month
The best cheap VPN (and also the fastest)
Surfshark is a budget-friendly VPN that doesn’t skimp on quality, offering unlimited simultaneous connections on a single subscription. It also comes with advanced privacy tools like Alternative ID, which allows you to generate new identities on the fly. While it doesn’t have a free VPN tier, it’s priced on par with PrivadoVPN at $2.49 a month when you buy in for two years. You can try it out now with a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

ExpressVPN - from $3.49 per month
A beginner-friendly VPN package
ExpressVPN has built a reputation as one of the most reliable and secure VPN providers which is well deserved. It’s a slightly more expensive VPN than most of the other top-tier providers, but in return, you’re getting access to a high-speed server network that spans 148 locations in 106 countries. It’s particularly effective at unblocking streaming platforms, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and HBO Max, and works in countries with restrictive internet policies.View Deal

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

NordVPN is currently the best VPN we’ve tested. It has long been known for its features, high speeds, and extensive server network, and our tests not only proved that this is true, but arguably truer than ever.

Despite this, NordVPN isn't perfect. It’s not the best cheap VPN we test, its apps could use some TLC on platforms like Fire Stick, and, although it's not NordVPN's main purpose, its antivirus and antimalware tools could be improved significantly. So, let’s dive into why all that still doesn’t stop NordVPN from ranking as the top VPN provider currently available.

Features

While NordVPN’s vast feature array isn’t instantly apparent when loading it up on any device, it doesn't mean the tools aren't there. Clicking through the left-hand panel on computers, both MacOS and Windows, or tapping along the bottom of your Android or iOS phone reveals the breadth of offerings NordVPN provides.

For a start, if you want to add an extra layer of protection to your standard VPN connection, NordVPN offers both Double VPN, which acts as NordVPN’s multihop solution, and Onion over VPN, which combines your NordVPN connection with the Tor network for improved online anonymity.

Onion over VPN proved to be the more temperamental of the two in testing. Still, given its immense security, this is understandable. We found the Netherlands-based entry point was a more effective way to access the network without massively impacting speeds than the alternative in Switzerland. In fact, the route was only slightly slower than a standard NordVPN connection.

Double VPN was more reliable with only minimal load time delays, regardless of which server we connected to.

One of NordVPN’s biggest selling points outside the core VPN product is Threat Protection Pro, an additional security suite available on Plus plans and above. Included in this is malicious and phishing domain blocking, ad and tracker blocking, malware and vulnerability scanning, scam and fraud alerts, and URL cleaning – and there are even more tools listed in the fine print.

Image 1 of 1

NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro is one of the VPN's key features, adding to its value. With a wide array of tools to keep you secure while searching, downloading, and streaming online. (Image credit: Future)

In daily use, we found it to be reasonably effective, though it did, somewhat humorously, try and block certain assets and links from loading on competitor VPN sites.

Outside of this, while it thankfully didn’t find any risks on our test machines, it did a good job of tracking any files we downloaded and scanning links to ensure safety, though the tool as a whole did seem to use a tad more processing capacity on our Windows 11 desktop machine than we’d have liked.

Meshnet is the final unique tool in NordVPN’s arsenal. By creating a secure local area network (LAN), Meshnet enables easy, secure access to other devices added to the network from wherever you are. This means you can retrieve and share files or images, and even play games with friends, with up to 60 devices able to connect at a time.

In testing, Meshnet proved simple to set up, especially since it can be downloaded for free on any compatible device, and we were able to use it quickly to transfer images and files between our Windows testing desktop, an iPad, and an Android phone.

Features score: 10/10

Server network

NordVPN’s server network is broad, but not massively superior to its closest competition. It currently boasts over 8,000 servers across 127 countries, which puts it comfortably among the best VPNs in terms of country coverage.

Despite this, it falls short in certain regions like the Middle East and Africa. Here, Proton VPN's coverage is more extensive despite spanning fewer countries overall – even if only by one at the time of writing.

As with most VPNs, NordVPN doesn’t have servers in high-censorship regions such as Russia and China, so we can’t dock points for that.

Server network score: 9/10

Apps

NordVPN’s apps are among the best available, though that doesn’t mean they’re flawless. In terms of coverage, NordVPN is available across everything from major platforms such as Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android to smaller platforms such as Fire TV Stick and Apple TV.

You can also access NordVPN directly in your browser with extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

Across the majority of platforms, NordVPN's apps are well-designed and intuitive. We found that layout to be simple enough for any beginner to understand without feeling overwhelmed, although they're not as straightforward as ExpressVPN's apps.

Plus, as we will detail later, many apps share similar user experiences, allowing for easy transitions between devices.

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The NordVPN home screen on Windows presents everything you need in a layout simple enough for most people to use without issue. Image 2 of 3

Threat Protection Pro can be accessed via the main menu or the side panel, and gives you instant access to the various tools at your disposal. Image 3 of 3

NordVPN's settings menu is both clear and informative, giving you the information you need to quickly find the setting you want to adjust.

The biggest letdown for NordVPN is its Linux client. NordVPN for Linux still lacks a GUI, meaning you’re left using command lines to use the VPN rather than experiencing the much simpler systems accessible elsewhere.

Alongside this, depending on your generation of Fire Stick, you may encounter a more rudimentary version of NordVPN, which, while entirely functional and effective, looks nowhere near as clean.

NordVPN’s latest improvement to its apps came to its Firefox extension. We were pleased to see the update give the extension a complete overhaul, adding extra features, such as location spoofing, to its functionality, as well as improving overall security.

Despite this, you’ll likely find, as we did, that the experience is still a tad slower than you’d get across mobile or desktop devices.

Apps score: 8/10

Ease of use

As mentioned, NordVPN’s apps are simple enough, though they're not our top choice for VPN newbies.

On our Windows 11 test desktop, we found the setup process impressively simple, thanks to NordVPN’s setup wizard. This was, usefully, replicated on macOS.

Once loaded, NordVPN greets you with several key features: the VPN, Threat Protection, and Meshnet. Navigating to other features is done via the icons on the left-hand side of the app, and we had no difficulty checking out the kill switch, split tunneling, and VPN protocols.

Mobile presents a similarly balanced experience; setup is as simple as downloading NordVPN from the respective app store and either signing in or signing up. The majority of what you see will directly correlate with the experience on a computer, be that Windows or Mac, with a quick connect option and the option to scroll through specific servers.

However, Meshnet is presented in a much smaller fashion among the server list, and Threat Protection doesn’t appear at all on your initial menu.

Accessing NordVPN features on mobile is as simple as clicking through the buttons at the bottom of the screen. (Image credit: NordVPN)

NordVPN's browser extension experience mirrored the experience we had when testing its mobile apps: quick to connect, reactive, and clutter-free.

Plus, despite missing out on some features, as we’ve already mentioned, it works similarly enough to mobile that we had no issues switching between platforms without feeling confused.

Using NordVPN on your TV, be that via the TV app store or a Fire Stick, Apple TV, or similar device, presents a slightly different layout. Opting for something simpler and closer to that of ExpressVPN, which is a definite win, and we found it to be impressively effective and easy to navigate, even when finding features outside the basic VPN.

We encountered some stumbling blocks when using the older Fire Stick interface, which, perhaps understandably, presents a more convoluted interface than its more modern counterparts.

Ease of use score: 8/10

Speed and performance

NordVPN has long been among the fastest VPNs we’ve tested, and our latest round proved no different.

Using NordLynx, NordVPN’s WireGuard-based VPN protocol, we recorded average download speeds of 1256 Mbps to our nearest VPN server and 626 Mbps to a server on the other side of the Atlantic.

That's not bad at all but it's still pretty comfortably bettered by Proton VPN (1521 Mbps / 1242 Mbps) and ExpressVPN (1479 Mbps / 1374 Mbps), although it's important to note that ExpressVPN's quoted speeds are through using the Lightway Turbo protocol which is only available using the ExpressVPN app for Windows.

How we perform speed tests

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Our testing setup uses a cloud PC with a 10 Gbps connection. We use this to record VPN speeds between its Dublin location and a given VPN server. Then, to calculate the averages, we use multiple speed testing sites at different times of the day while connected to the various protocols of each VPN. You can find out more in our VPN testing methodology.

NordVPN's OpenVPN speeds are arguably the best of all, though. They're certainly the most consistent, with the local download average recorded at 974 Mbps and long distance at 857 Mbps. Only ExpressVPN (1038 Mbps / 808 Mbps) managed better but only by a fraction.

Compare that to Surfshark (978 Mbps / 430 Mbps), which dropped by half over long distance, and Proton VPN (240 Mbps / 173 Mbps) which did not fare well with OpenVPN speeds at all.

Speed and performance score: 9/10

Unblocking

Putting NordVPN to the test in unblocking scenarios was, as ever, successful. We used NordVPN with Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, 10Play, 9Now, iPlayer, and Channel 4. We even stretched our testing across Netflix libraries in the US, Japan, Canada, the UK, and Australia.

NordVPN performed flawlessly across all our tests. Regardless of the device we used, including our Windows 11 test desktop, Fire Stick, iOS, and Android, we had no issues accessing any streaming services, nor did we encounter any sudden VPN detection warnings. Full marks there, then.

Plus, as we’ve already mentioned, NordVPN’s speeds were superb. This meant we never encountered slow loading times or buffering, even when connecting across different countries.

Unfortunately, NordVPN only offers a handful of server locations that are P2P-friendly. Plus, while speeds are impressive, the lack of port forwarding capability means you can't make the most of any torrents you're seeding. If that's a problem, it's worth checking out Proton VPN.

Unblocking score: 10/10

Privacy and Security

NordVPN’s security capabilities are built from the ground up. It supports two protocols, OpenVPN and NordLynx, NordVPN’s proprietary protocol built on WireGuard.

OpenVPN is the industry standard for a high-security connection, while WireGuard, and specifically NordLynx, is built for speed and usability with mobile devices, but is also impressively secure.

The encryption methods partnered with these protocols are AES-256 on OpenVPN and ChaCha20 on NordLynx. Against current technologies, these methods are some of the most trustworthy and secure available.

If you're worried about quantum computing, NordVPN is already on the case. Post-quantum encryption was introduced to the NordLynx protocol in September 2024, and NordVPN continues to secure itself further in preparation.

Alongside its secure protocols and encryption methods, NordVPN employs a strict no-logs policy, meaning no browsing data is logged by its servers.

This policy was most recently audited by Deloitte at the end of 2024, and the results, as always, were positive. Deloitte did not find any issues or concerns. As NordVPN's fifth overall no-logs audit, the provider is clearly committed to transparency, proving that you can trust it not to keep logs.

What’s more, being headquartered in Panama means NordVPN isn't subject to data retention laws, meaning it wouldn’t have any data to hand over should it face an unavoidable warrant.

Threat Protection Pro offers one of the best VPN antivirus soltutions currently, despite some issues. (Image credit: Future)

Within NordVPN itself are several additional security features. Firstly, the provider offers a kill switch and DNS leak protection. Thankfully, finding the killswitch takes a matter of seconds within the apps, and should you have any concerns surrounding DNS leaks, you can use NordVPN’s free DNS Leak Checker to settle doubts.

We’ve mentioned NordVPN’s Onion Over and Double VPN capabilities already, and, while our testing environment isn’t exactly the environment they’re intended for, we were successful in using both connections to access data in a timely manner.

Threat Protection and Threat Protection Pro are the final security functions NordVPN has up its sleeve. Both aim to provide the same added layer of protection; however, standard Threat Protection works via DNS blocking and requires a VPN connection, while Threat Protection Pro is a standalone system with more advanced capabilities.

This differentiation manifested in testing, as Threat Protection only managed to block 24% of malware links and 34% of phishing links, whereas Pro blocked 79% of malware links and 87% of phishing links.

In practice, we’d always recommend you use a dedicated antivirus software alongside anything a VPN provides, but either way, Threat Protection Pro’s results are a solid foundation to build upon.

As mentioned already, when we put it to the test, we were pleasantly surprised with how it performed, despite a couple of interesting site block attempts and an unusually high demand on our processing power. It was simple to set up and forget about.

Privacy and security score: 10/10

Track record

NordVPN’s track record is nearly flawless. Its most recent misstep came in 2018 when it was discovered that one of its Finnish servers was compromised through an undisclosed remote access management system.

Despite being left by the data centre providers rather than NordVPN, it prompted a complete overhaul of how NordVPN approached security.

Since this overhaul, no further issues have occurred, with NordVPN continuing to invest in improving the core service, server network, and security. As already mentioned, NordVPN has undergone numerous security and no-logs audits, both before and since the incident.

This, therefore, serves as strong evidence of the work NordVPN has put in and provides reassurance that no such issue might recur.

Track record score: 8/10

Customer support

NordVPN offers a whole host of ways to get in touch if you run into roadblocks. The first port of call is typically the 24/7 live chat manned by an AI chatbot.

This live chat was useful to a degree, but is only really capable of directing you to relevant support articles or escalating your case to a human support agent.

The limitations of the chatbot were apparent during testing while trying to troubleshoot issues we encountered with our connection, but thankfully, human support agents were quick to identify and resolve the problem.

Should you require a different avenue of support, NordVPN also offers an email ticketing system, though, as you’d expect, replies tend to be slower.

If you'd rather do your own problem-solving, you can sprawl through a wide array of support articles, video guides, and FAQs, all of which we found pretty helpful throughout testing, to find the answers you need.

Customer support score: 9/10

Pricing and plansNordVPN pricing

- 1-month plans: $12.99/month (Basic) $13.99/month (Plus) $14.99/month (Complete – US-only) £12.09/month (Ultimate – non-US) $17.99/Prime (US-only)

- 12-month plans: $4.59/month (Basic) $5.49/month (Plus) $6.49/month (Complete – US-only) £5.99/month (Ultimate – non-US) $8.49/Prime (US-only)

- 24-month plans: $2.99/month (Basic) $3.89/month (Plus) $4.89/month (Complete – US-only) £4.79/month (Ultimate – non-US) $6.89/Prime (US-only)

NordVPN is one of the best cheap VPNs available, though it doesn’t quite beat Surfshark when it comes to value for money.

Plans start from $2.99/month, but as with most VPNs, the cheapest plans are billed upfront, so you'll pay $71.76 immediately. This does include three months free as a bonus right now, however. If you’re in the UK, this deal is £2.29/month, or £61.83 (plus VAT) upfront.

The issue NordVPN's plan have is that they vary by country – an issue shared by ExpressVPN. If you're in the US (or elsewhere in the world), your plan options differ from those available in the UK.

So, in the US, the best subscription you can buy is the NordVPN Prime plan, costing $6.99/month ($165.36 upfront). Whereas in the UK, your best choice is the Ultimate plan, costing £4.79/month (£129.33 upfront, plus VAT).

The difference between these plans is that while the Prime plan in the US gives you everything NordVPN offers, plus the full NordProtect suite, the Ultimate plan gives you Cyber insurance covering scam loss and ID theft.

Luckily, its best-value plan, the Plus plan, is available on any side of the pond. Costing $3.89/month ($93.96 upfront) in the US and £2.89/month (£78.03 plus VAT upfront) in the UK, which includes all of NordVPN’s VPN features, Threat Protection Pro, and NordPass with data breach scanning.

So if you’re looking for the best subscription to start your NordVPN journey with, this is the one we’d recommend.

Pricing and plans score: 8/10

Should you use NordVPN?

Yes, you should use NordVPN. It ranks as our best VPN for a reason - it doesn’t have any major weak points that dent its armour or give us reason to be concerned about its security or capabilities. Its speeds are superb, its unblocking capabilities are flawless, and it’s got a full suite of airtight security measures.

That said, in some specific circumstances, you might look elsewhere. Want the absolute best speeds out there? Check out Surfshark. Want security that no one comes close to matching? Look for ExpressVPN. Want server coverage in underserved locations? Proton VPN is your bet.

What makes NordVPN special, however, is that if we couldn’t recommend these providers, for whatever reason, NordVPN would provide a near-identical experience that, to most, would leave you wondering what the difference truly is.

Overall score 89/100

1. NordVPN – from $2.99 per month
The best VPN overall
Our latest testing proves that NordVPN continues to lead the pack in terms of providing the best VPN experience possible. Offering a superbly quick and secure VPN, alongside privacy tools designed to safeguard your sensitive data, NordVPN offers an impressive package for a surprisingly low cost.View Deal

NordVPN alternatives

1. Surfshark – from $1.99 per month
The best cheap VPN (and also the fastest)
Surfshark is a more budget-friendly option, offering unlimited simultaneous connections and similar speeds to NordVPN. There’s also a security suite called Surfshark One, which offers features you won’t get anywhere else, such as an identity generator and Surfshark’s private search engine. Try it risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

2. ExpressVPN – from $3.49 per month
The best VPN for beginners and the most secure
ExpressVPN offers comparable speeds and security features to NordVPN, with a slightly higher price tag. In return, you get access to a worldwide network of VPN servers powered by an in-house VPN protocol designed to obfuscate your connection so ISPs can’t disconnect you from the internet. ExpressVPN’s unblocking capabilities are practically unparalleled, and you can trial them yourself with a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

3. Proton VPN – from $2.49 per month
A superb all-round VPN and online security alternative
Proton continues to provide one of the most widely known (and respected) security suites available. Offering features such as secure emailing, a password manager, and, of course, a VPN, Proton offers a solution for almost any online security dilemma you may have. View Deal

NordVPN FAQsIs there a NordVPN free trial?

No, currently NordVPN doesn’t offer a free trial. Instead, you can take advantage of a 30-day money-back guarantee should you want to give NordVPN a trial before committing to it long term.

Is NordVPN good for streaming?

Yes, NordVPN is currently the best VPN for streaming. In our testing, it successfully unblocked services, including Netflix (In the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Japan), Prime Video, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, 9Now, 10Play, and more.

Can I use NordVPN on multiple devices?

You can use NordVPN on up to 10 devices simultaneously. Should you need more devices than this, we’d recommend looking at Surfshark, which offers unlimited simultaneous connections.

Two-minute review

The Echo Show 8 (2025) is the fourth-generation model of Amazon’s second-smallest smart display, offering a great canvas for hallways, living rooms, offices and beyond. Announced in September 2025 alongside the Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio (2nd-generation) and the Echo Show 11.

Adopting a similar design language to the Echo Show 10 (2020), the Echo Show 8’s speaker is now the base for a floating, thin display, rather than the slightly clunky wedge shape design of previous generations. It’s a lovely change that makes the speaker feel far less utilitarian in the home like many of the best smart displays it's competing against, but there’s a casualty; there’s now no physical camera shutter. You can still mute and blind the Echo Show 8 with a button on the device, or fully switch off the camera in the app (or, of course, cover it with a sticker), but it’s an unfortunate loss for those who want that extra layer of built-in privacy and peace of mind.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

The new 8.7-inch screen is wonderful to use with minimal lag, and the speakers are pretty accomplished. Everything, from reading recipes to Alexa queries, is zippy thanks to the new AZ3 Pro chip, topped by a great streaming experience. There’s also a great array of smart home features, including the Omnisense technology as well as Thread, Matter, and Zigbee support.

Overall, it's a powerful boost for Amazon's second-smallest smart display, and if you can get past the lack of a physical privacy shutter and the slightly cluttered interface, it's a real crowd-pleaser, and easily one of the best Alexa speakers available today.

(Image credit: Future)Echo Show 8: Specs

Echo Show 8 (4th-gen, 2025)

Size

21 cm x 15 cm x 13 cm (W x H x D)

Display

8.7-inch HD touchscreen with 1340 x 800 resolution

Camera

13 MP with auto framing

Audio

1x 2.8-inch woofer and 2x full-range drivers

Connectivity

Zigbee, Matter & Thread Border Router, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Processor

AZ3 Pro with AI Accelerator

Sensors

Ambient Temperature Sensor, Presence Detection, Camera

Privacy features

Microphone & camera enable/disable button, dedicated physical and in-app camera controls, voice recording management – but no physical camera shutter.

Echo Show 8: Design

• Fresh redesign akin to the Echo Show 10 (2020)
• Bright and beautiful floating display
• No physical camera shutter

The Echo Show 8 gets a fresh new look, modeled after the Echo Show 10 (2020) with a round, pill-shaped speaker base and a floating thin screen. It’s a much more sophisticated look than the Echo Shows of yore, and doing away with the chunky wedge shape is drastically improves the smart display’s appeal. It does, however, make the whole thing a little more space-consuming at 21 cm x 15 cm x 13 cm (W x H x D).

Its speaker base is clad in a mesh fabric, following the suit of other newer smart speakers and similar to the materials used in Apple’s HomePod and Google’s new Home Hub speakers. Inside are housed two full-range, front-facing drivers for spatial sound and a 2.8-inch woofer.

The screen is an all-around upgrade; it measures 8.7 inches (versus the previous generation’s 8 inches) with a resolution of 1,340 by 800 pixels, (versus 1,280-by-800). It’s fully attached to the base, meaning you can’t adjust the height or the orientation; a slight missed opportunity, but the price jump doesn’t quite cover such engineering, perhaps. It's a shame, though, as the Echo Show 10 offered this function, but neither the new Show 8 nor 11 could fit it in.

(Image credit: Future)

Centered at the top of the screen is the 13 MP camera with auto framing; of note is that there’s no more physical privacy shutter, presumably to allow for that lovely thin screen, but that does mark a downgrade for the privacy-conscious. While settings in-app and the on-device mute button do cancel the camera feed, you can just as easily grab an affordable stick-on shutter or use a bit of tape.

On the right side of the screen are the mute buttons and volume rocker, and the rest of the controls are touch-based on the screen.

You win some, you lose some in the world of tech, and the victims of a lovely, more sophisticated design are unfortunately handy screen-adjusting mechanisms and a physical camera shutter. For a lot of customers, neither will be missed, but both are nice to have in a pinch.

• Design: 4.5/5

• Design: 4/5

Echo Dot Max next to an Echo Dot (5th-gen) (Image credit: Future)Echo Show 8: Performance

• Zippy and responsive touch screen, decent audio
• Sensors are accurate and genuinely useful
• User interface a little cluttered

In performance, the Echo Show 8 is broadly the same as the Echo Show 11, owing to the components being the same; however, the screen experience differs somewhat.

Starting there, the display is vibrant, clear and plenty bright, making it easily visible from a few meters away unless you need to make out detailed text. The smaller screen real estate means it suffers a little more under the weight of Amazon’s suggested content (i.e. the recipes, TV shows and products it wants you to engage with) than its 11-inch sibling, but I found setting up a photo album for the Echo Show to shuffle through reduced the amount of advertising and recommendations.

Otherwise, the user interface (UI) was easily operated, responding quickly to touch controls. Widgets do feel a little squashed in places, and some buttons within apps can be awkwardly small, but it’s nowhere as bad as trying to do anything more than adjusting volume and brightness on the Echo Show 5.

Every now and then, there’s a slight stutter to an animation, with some customers reporting mild to moderate issues with input delay. I did find that to be the case with the Echo Show 11 I tested, but the Show 8 was very reliable for me on test. You can swipe down the control center to quickly toggle settings and access various hubs, and swipe left on the screen for your customizable widgets. Just be mindful that the screen is an absolute fingerprint magnet when you’re liberally swiping around.

(Image credit: Future)

The speaker on the Echo Show 8 is the same as the Echo Show 11, but I ran the same tests in case the larger screen impacted the sound quality. As long-time Amazon speaker users will know, audio quality is never the main selling point for Echo devices; the performance is often admirable for the size and price, but not one for the audiophiles (though the Echo Studio and Echo Dot Max buck that trend somewhat).

I streamed lossless tracks from Spotify to test the audio quality, starting with Luafey’s Falling Behind. Her jazzy vocals came through warmly with great clarity, underpinned by the lively but slightly dulled staccato of an acoustic guitar. Older tracks began to show the cracks, however. Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain was muddy, with the vocals sinking further into the track than usual; however, the bass was still nice and punchy.

That drive isn’t consistent, though, and some tracks suffer more from the muddiness. Portishead’s Glory Box was flat all around, losing that breathy quality to the vocals and flattening the usually well-rounded bass, and Jeff Buckley’s rich, haunting vocals are thoroughly buried in the higher layers of Last Goodbye. Still, at this price and size, it’s a pretty accomplished speaker, and Amazon has done well to create a truly room-filling sound out of this smart display.

(Image credit: Future)

Inside the Echo Show 8 are a range of sensors that can be used to set up Routines with Alexa and help you monitor your home. There’s an auto-framing 13MP camera centered at the top of the screen, just like in the last generation, and the onboard microphones are great for clear audio on video calls or drop-ins. Also housed in the Echo Show 8 are temperature, motion and brightness detectors, all of which worked well in my testing, as did the facial recognition and personalization features that underpin the seamless Alexa experience.

Alexa and VegaOS generally run well, and the Echo Show 8 is fantastically responsive thanks to the AZ3 Pro chip. Queries are rapidly responded to (sometimes prematurely), with Alexa delivering suggested recipes, playing music and summoning your favorite TV shows and movies in double time. I had a few hiccups trying to watch shows on Netflix and YouTube on the Echo Show 11; but the Echo Show 8 worked perfectly out of the box, and Alexa has come on leaps and bounds when it comes to searching and playing your requested media.

We don’t yet have Alexa+ access in the UK, but we’ve got a full Alexa+ review coming soon that will give the full low-down about its performance on a range of Echo devices.

• Performance: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)Echo Show 8: Price and availability

• List price: $179.99 / £179.99 / AU$349
• Announced September 2025, released November 2025

Announced in September 2025, the Echo Show 8 costs $179.99 / £179.99 / AU$349 and is available in black and white. Of note, this marks a $30 / £30 / AU$100 price increase versus the last generation, which sold for $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$249.

Broadly, this cost increase is due to the design overhaul, which greatly modernizes Amazon’s second-smallest smart display. It’s not a huge jump in price, and it feels somewhat justified given the improvements to the performance and display. There’s also an optional (and stylish) stand, which will set you back $39.99 / £34.99 / AU$69.95.

Still, it's worth highlighting the value of the device depends in part on whether or not you're bothered by Alexa+. Right now, its early access programme is exclusively available in the US, and this device automatically enlists you for that service, but elsewhere in the world we're effectively losing a selling point for the same price for the foreseeable future.

• Value: 4/5

Should I buy the Echo Show 8?Buy it if...

You’re upgrading from older Echo Shows

Especially if you want Alexa+ to work at peak performance, the Echo Show 8 is a must-have; but the refreshed design, zippy AZ3 chip and lovely display also mark significant improvements.

You make good use of smart home features

From its omnisense technology to its smart home connectivity, the Echo Show 8 is fully equipped with clever features to make your home work for you.

Don't buy it if...

You want a physical camera privacy shutter

Sure, you can mod this yourself or disconnect the feed in the app, but some people will just want absolute privacy out of the box.

You’re on a budget

With its new price point, the Echo Show 8 isn’t affordability-first anymore; it’s by no means premium, either, but you could buy a very capable older smart display for less.

Amazon Echo Show 8: also considerScorecard

Value

4/5

Price increase versus older models, but in line with redesign and feature additions.

Design

4/5

Big design upgrade versus the Echo Show 8 (3rd gen)

Performance

4/5

Sound is decent enough, especially for the size of room this display is best-suited for

If you're not sure the Amazon Echo Show 11 is the right Alexa smart speaker for you, here are further options to consider from Amazon:

Echo Show 8 (4th-gen, 2025)

Amazon Echo Show 15 (2nd gen)

Echo Show 5

Price

$179.99 / £179.99 / AU$349

$299 / £299.99

$89.99 / £79.99 / AU$129

Size

21 cm x 15 cm x 13 cm (W x H x D)

410 x 260 x 36mm (W x H x D)

147 x 91 x 82 mm (W x H x D)

Display

8.7-inch HD touchscreen with 1340 x 800 resolution

15.6-inch HD touchscreen, 1920 x 1080 resolution

5.5-inch touchscreen, 960 x 480 resolution

Camera

13 MP with auto framing

13MP wide angle camera with shutter

2 MP

Audio

1x 2.8-inch woofer and 2x full-range drivers

2x 2-inch woofers & 2x 0.6-inch tweeters

1x 1.7-inch driver

Connectivity

Zigbee, Matter & Thread Border Router, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Zigbee, Matter & Thread Border Router, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Matter, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Processor

AZ3 Pro with AI Accelerator

AZ2 neural engine

MediaTek's 8169 B chip

Sensors

Ambient Temperature Sensor, Presence Detection, Camera

Camera, presence detection, ALS RGB, Accelerometer

Camera, presence detection

Privacy features

Microphone & camera enable/disable button, dedicated physical and in-app camera controls, voice recording management – but no physical camera shutter.

Microphone and camera enable/disable button, dedicated physical and in-app camera controls, voice recording management, physical camera shutter.

Microphone and camera enable/disable button, dedicated physical and in-app camera controls, voice recording management, physical camera shutter.

Echo Show 15

If you’d rather have a wall-mounted solution and the added benefit of a Fire TV remote, the latest Echo Show 15 is an excellent option. It has fewer sensors but functions more as a small TV or household management display than it does an entertainment center.

For more information, check out our full Echo Show 15 review.

Echo Show 5

For a smaller option that just covers the basics, the 3rd-generation Echo Show 5 offers a lot of the core functions from the Echo Show product line, but it’s less technically advanced and feature-filled.

How I tested the Echo Show 8 (4th gen, 2025)

• I used it pretty much non-stop for a week
• I tested its smart home features and sensing
• I performed our standard audio and movie streaming tests

To put the new Echo Show 8 through its paces, I used all of the advertised features over a week of testing. I tried setting up automations that use its various sensors and connectivity options to ensure everything worked seamlessly, and used Alexa for my everyday household tasks.

I also tested the speakers using a variety of tracks in different genres to see how well the speakers can replicate music for a wide range of customers, and used streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, as well as Amazon Prime Video both to assess the display’s performance and the general user experience.

I’ve been testing smart speakers for four years, and use an Alexa-based smart home setup every day. I’m well-acquainted with the system and its features, but I’ve also spent a lot of time in other ecosystems to learn the pros and cons of each.

Two-minute review

The Echo Show 11 is Amazon’s latest mid-size smart display, releasing alongside the latest Echo Show 8, Echo Studio and the new Echo Dot Max. It’s a new screen size for Amazon’s smart displays, but it’s technically the successor to the Echo Show 10 (2020) with a slightly larger screen.

That being said, its positioning isn’t quite as secure as some of its siblings, nor its predecessor. It lacks some of the features we loved from older generations (and in particular from the Echo Show 10 (2020)), and it’s largely packing the same specs as the Echo Show 8, with the main difference being the larger screen.

Still, it’s far from a bad smart display, and still sees improvements over older devices; it’s powered by the latest AZ3 Pro chip, the screen is now 1080p, audio performance is decent, and there are ample smart home features and connectivity benefits, including the addition of Matter and Thread support.

(Image credit: Future)

The refinements to the Echo Show 10’s floating display design are small but mighty, making the whole speaker feel more sleek and less clunky. That is, of course, barring the removal of the rotating screen and a physical camera privacy shutter – but these two features might just be the deciding factor for some customers when choosing the best smart display.

As of writing, it’s also worth noting that there seem to be some software issues when it comes to streaming. I tested the Echo Show 8 alongside the 11 and had no such challenges, so it seems like a bug, albeit one I have seen a fair few consumers complain about online. Still, it’s early days for the product, and I’d expect this to be ironed out within the coming weeks.

Overall, it’s a great option for kitchens and offices, and I’m delighted to see Amazon paying more and more attention to aesthetics with its newer smart speakers. I just wish that didn’t come at the expense of utility.

(Image credit: Future)Echo Show 11: Specs

Product name

Size

26 cm x 18 cm x 13 cm (W x H x D)

Display

11.95-inch HD touchscreen with 1920 x 1200 resolution

Camera

13 MP with auto framing

Audio

1x 2.8-inch woofer and 2x full-range drivers

Connectivity

Zigbee, Matter & Thread Border Router, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Processor

AZ3 Pro with AI Accelerator

Sensors

Ambient Temperature Sensor, Presence Detection, Camera

Privacy features

Microphone & camera enable/disable button, dedicated physical and in-app camera controls, voice recording management – but no physical camera shutter.

Echo Show 11: Design

• Refines on Echo Show 10 (2020) design
• Bright and beautiful floating display
• No physical camera shutter

Much like the Echo Show 10, the Echo Show 11 sees a thin and light display mounted on a rounded speaker stand. While the Echo Show 10 may have introduced Amazon’s newer floating display design language, the Echo Show 11 refines it, squashing the height of the speaker a little into a pill shape and expanding the screen to a lovely 11.95-inches. These subtle changes make an impact, making the latest Echo Shows much more appealing for the home versus the older wedge-shaped devices.

The net size is still pretty minimal at 26 cm x 18 cm x 13 cm, comprised of the mesh fabric-covered speaker base and affixed screen. This marks a slightly negative departure from the Echo Show 10, which allowed you to adjust the screen for optimal viewing; it’s an important feature if you’re often using the device in your kitchen and don’t want to stoop down every time you need to check a recipe.

Otherwise, the screen is a solid upgrade; as well as the size boost, the screen now offers a resolution of 1920 x 1200 (versus the Echo Show 10’s 1280 x 800 pixels). In use, the color HD display is rich and bright, easily enjoyed even from wider viewing angles.

At the center of the top of the screen is its 13 MP camera with auto framing, but there’s no physical privacy shutter this time. This is likely due to the design constraints of thin screens, but privacy-conscious buyers might not like the change. You can kill the camera feed in-app or use the on-device mute button, but you can also just as easily grab an affordable stick-on shutter or a bit of tape.

Located on the screen’s right side are the mute buttons and volume rocker, and the rest of the controls are touch-based on the screen. The speaker houses a 2.8-inch woofer and two front-facing, full-range drivers that can deliver spatial audio.

Overall, it’s a great all-around upgrade for Amazon’s mid-sized screen, and I doubt anyone will disagree that it’s a much-needed improvement, visually. The whole unit feels a lot more premium and of better build quality, but it’s taken a long time for Amazon to come this far. It’s a shame that two really useful, functional design features had to come at the cost of a fresh look, too.

• Design: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Echo Show 11: Performance

• Zippy and bright touch screen, decent audio
• Sensors are accurate and help with home automation
• Streaming features didn’t work very well

So we know the Echo Show 11 looks good, but how is it in use? In short, it’s fast, facile and feature-filled, but it doesn’t always stick the landing.

Let’s start with the display. It’s bright and beautiful, perfect for enjoying TV and movies up close or to glance at your calendar or reminders from across the room. It is, of course, cluttered with suggested content a lot of the time, but that’s par for the course with Echo Shows (as well as other smart displays), and it becomes far less of a problem if you set up an album of your favorite photos to display throughout the day.

The user interface (UI) is generally quite clean and easy to navigate, with widgets rendering nicely on the large canvas screen. Recipes are easy to follow, video content is bright and vibrant, and animations are pretty slick, barring the occasional stutter.

Touch controls are quick and responsive most of the time, though I have had to reboot it a few times after it becomes unresponsive. Some users have also reported some mild to moderate issues with input delay; however, I couldn’t replicate these issues myself. Interestingly, I’ve not faced these issues on the Echo Show 8 I tested in parallel to the 11-inch model, so I have to assume it’s an issue with the UI’s screen optimization. The touch interface is easy to navigate, though; swipe down for the control center and left for your widgets. The screen hasn’t got any smudge-proofing, though, so it becomes grubby rather quickly with regular use.

(Image credit: Future)

Audio performance follows suit with other Amazon Echo devices I’ve tested; it’s not one for audiophiles (those would be better off with the Echo Studio or even the new Echo Dot Max) but the performance is nonetheless decent for its price category.

I tested the speakers by streaming lossless tracks through Spotify, starting with Laufey’s Falling Behind, which was rendered warmly through the Echo Show 11’s speaker base. It had lost some of the crunch from the bossa nova-style acoustic guitars, but Laufey’s voice shone through with great clarity. Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain was muddy, losing the vocals a little more than usual, but still packed a good punch with clear highs.

Overall, it lacks drive, and some tracks make that clearer than others; Jeff Buckley’s haunting vocals get lost in the weaving higher layers of Last Goodbye, while Portishead’s Glory Box felt flat overall, compressing those wonderfully breathy vocals and the big fat bass into a thoroughly clipped mid-range. Still, the clarity and volume are impressive, especially at its size and price point, and the speakers really are room-filling; I had to stand a good 5m away before I felt the volume drop become noticeable.

(Image credit: Future)

The Echo Show 11 houses a range of sensors, too. The camera, centered at the top of the screen, is the same as the last generation; a 13MP auto-framing peeper that works as described, accompanied by microphones that offer great, clear audio pickup for video calls or quick drop-ins to check on your pets and loved ones. Elsewhere, its temperature, motion and brightness detectors all work as expected, and can be used for Alexa Routines. Facial recognition, personalization and screen scaling all work smoothly in the background, just the way all smart devices should.

As always, the range of compatible software and services is great, with a native app for Netflix and Prime and browser-based access to most of the more popular streaming services. For some reason, however, the Echo Show 11 I tested had an issue with launching and searching on streaming services via voice control at first. Using the control center to manually open apps worked fine, so I had to perform a hard reset before I could summon streaming apps hands-free.

Speaking of Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa is faster than ever with the AZ3 Pro chip on board, and replies come incredibly quickly – once or twice, before I’d even finished speaking. Asking for recipes elicits lightning-quick responses, music loads quickly even through third-party services, and all of Alexa’s standard commands work as expected. I’m based in the UK, so I couldn’t test Alexa+, but we’ll have a full separate review soon.

• Performance: 4/5

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)Echo Show 11: Price and availability

• List price: $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$429
• Announced September 2025, launched in November.

Priced at $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$429, the Echo Show 11 is the middle child of Amazon’s smart displays inbetween the Echo Show 5 and 8 and the larger, wall-mountable Echo Show 15 and 21. It’s available in black or white, and there's also a stylish optional stand, which costs $34.99 / £34.99 / AU$69.95.

The Echo Show 11 largely packs the same specs as the smaller Echo Show 8, rather than carrying over some of the defining features from the Echo Show 10 such as its rotating screen. That does make it marginally more affordable than the Show 10 ($249.99 / £239.99 / AU$399.99), but it’s still $40 / £40 / AU$80 more than the latest Echo Show 8.

I’m not entirely convinced that the larger screen alone justifies the price difference between the Show 8 and Show 11; I'd have hoped to see one or two extra premium features exclusive to this slightly larger screen to convince me it has a reason to exist beyond offering more real estate (often swallowed up by suggested content in standby mode). Plus, the price drop from the Echo Show 10 comes at the expense of features I’d really like for this more functional screen. Still, fundamentally it’s still a relatively affordable smart display and a huge upgrade if you have a 5+ year-old Echo Show 5, 8 or 10.

Value: 3.5/5

• Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Echo Show 11?Buy it if...

You’ve got an older Echo Show

Whether you just fancy a change or specifically want one that makes you more Alexa+ ready, the Echo Show 11 is a solid purchase that brings some much-needed attention to design and performance.

You use a lot of smart home features

Packing in a range of smarts from Omnisense technology to its smart home connectivity, the Echo Show 11 is well-equipped to help you automate and monitor your home.

Don't buy it if...

You want a physical camera privacy shutter

For peace of mind, that physical shutter is a must-have, and while you can mod your own, it’s a shame to see this dropped from the design.

You don't desperately need the screen size

You can save some money by opting for the slightly smaller Echo Show 8, which packs pretty much identical features and perforance barring the screen size.

Amazon Echo Show 11: also considerScorecard

Value

3.5/5

Despite being cheaper than the Echo Show 10 it replaces, it's slightly less feature rich, and can't step out of the better value Echo Show 8's shadow.

Design

4.5/5

Refines the Echo Show 10's floating display design, great improvements to the screen, but removes the privacy shutter.

Performance

4/5

Muddy but powerful, room-filling audio with a decent enough streaming experience once you work around slight software bugs.

If you're not sure the Amazon Show 11 is the right Alexa smart display for you, here are further options to consider from Amazon:

Echo Show 11

Amazon Echo Show 15 (2nd gen)

Echo Show 5

Price

$219.99 / £219.99 / AU$429

$299 / £299.99

$89.99 / £79.99 / AU$129

Size

26 cm x 18 cm x 13 cm (W x H x D)

410 x 260 x 36mm (W x H x D)

147 x 91 x 82 mm (W x H x D)

Display

11.95-inch HD touchscreen with 1920 x 1200 resolution

15.6-inch HD touchscreen, 1920 x 1080 resolution

5.5-inch touchscreen, 960 x 480 resolution

Camera

13 MP with auto framing

13MP wide angle camera with shutter

2 MP

Audio

1x 2.8-inch woofer and 2x full-range drivers

2x 2-inch woofers & 2x 0.6-inch tweeters

1x 1.7-inch driver

Connectivity

Zigbee, Matter & Thread Border Router, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Zigbee, Matter & Thread Border Router, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Matter, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Processor

AZ3 Pro with AI Accelerator

AZ2 neural engine

MediaTek's 8169 B chip

Sensors

Ambient temperature sensor, presence detection, camera

Camera, presence detection, ALS RGB, Accelerometer

Camera, presence detection

Privacy features

Microphone and camera enable/disable button, dedicated physical and in-app camera controls, voice recording management – but no physical camera shutter.

Microphone and camera enable/disable button, dedicated physical and in-app camera controls, voice recording management, physical camera shutter.

Microphone and camera enable/disable button, dedicated physical and in-app camera controls, voice recording management, physical camera shutter.

Echo Show 15

If you’d rather have a wall-mounted solution and the added benefit of a Fire TV remote, the latest Echo Show 15 is an excellent option. It has fewer sensors but functions more as a small TV or household management display than it does an entertainment center.

For more information, check out our full Echo Show 15 review.

Echo Show 5

For a smaller option that just covers the basics, the 3rd-generation Echo Show 5 offers a lot of the core functions from the Echo Show product line, but it’s less technically advanced and feature-filled.Echo Show 15

If you’d rather have a wall-mounted solution and the added benefit of a Fire TV remote, the latest Echo Show 15 is an excellent option. It has fewer sensors but functions more as a small TV or household management display than it does an entertainment center.

For more information, check out our full Echo Show 15 review.

Echo Show 5

For a smaller option that just covers the basics, the 3rd-generation Echo Show 5 offers a lot of the core functions from the Echo Show product line, but it’s less technically advanced and feature-filled.

How I tested the Echo Show 11 (2024)

• I tested it at home for a week
• I tested its smart home features and sensors
• I performed our standard audio and movie streaming tests

To test Amazon’s Echo Show 11, I tried all of the advertised features over a week of testing, from Alexa queries to Omnisense monitoring and automations to streaming.

I played music from a variety of genres, as well as the spoken word, to test the speakers and examine how well the Echo Show 11 replicates sound, and also watched movies and TV through streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, as well as Amazon Prime Video to test out the display’s performance and general user experience.

I’ve been testing smart speakers and other smart home devices for years, and my home runs on an Alexa-based setup. While well-acquainted with Amazon’s system and its features, I’ve also tested other ecosystems to learn the differences, strengths and weaknesses.

Proton VPN is one of many internet privacy products developed by Proton, the team of scientists and privacy advocates behind Proton Mail. The suite Proton offers is certainly impressive, but how does its VPN hold up against dedicated VPN providers like NordVPN and ExpressVPN?

The answer is pretty well. The completely free tier is something no other competitor on our top five list offers. With no ads and the same privacy guarantees as paid accounts, it’s an ideal way to trial the service. The paid version?

Starting, currently at $2.49 per month, it’s about the average for a top-tier VPN. Stay with me and I’ll go into whether the paid features are worth paying for, as well as how Proton VPN stacks up to the rest of our top five for speeds, unblocking capabilities, privacy, and overall value for money.

Features

There are lots of extra features built into Proton VPN’s paid version of the app, most of which are designed to either enhance your privacy or make the VPN harder to block.

For example, there’s Secure Core, which sends your VPN traffic through an initial hardened, physically owned VPN server in a high-security location before sending it on to a second endpoint VPN server. This secures the traffic you’re sending twice, so you can connect to locations without worrying that the endpoint server you use might be hacked, exposing your IP. Although it’s overkill for everyday use, it’s useful if you’re connecting to countries where VPNs are being heavily monitored by the government.

At the other end of the spectrum, there’s Alternative Routing. When enabled, this routes your VPN traffic along a route provided by external third-party servers such as AWS. While this does allow servers outside of ProtonVPN’s remit to see your home IP, it also allows you to connect to services that are otherwise blocking access from Proton VPN’s servers. You’re not going to get past an ISP’s DPI monitoring with this, but it’ll get you access to some sites that would otherwise detect you’re using a VPN.

As you can see so far, Proton VPN provides expert features that fit specific use cases. The same is true of the VPN over Tor feature, which allows you to access the Tor network directly from certain Proton VPN servers. Not everyone will need to access the Tor network, but if you’re a journalist or whistleblower, it might be the standout feature here when you need the extra anonymity.

Not everything is about privacy, though. Proton VPN uses a technology called VPN Accelerator, which uses multithreading and advanced TCP routing to provide you with better speeds when connecting to servers on the other side of the planet. It doesn’t do much when you’re connecting to servers you have a good connection with, but in situations where there’s high latency or excessive packet drop, it allows you to keep a significant portion of your bandwidth where you’d otherwise be slowed to a crawl by network instability.

Of course, there are all the conveniences here too. The VPN also includes a NetShield Ad-blocker, which blocks ads, trackers, and malware, enhancing both privacy and browsing speed. There’s also a kill-switch and split tunneling across all its apps, as well as DNS leak protection thanks to Proton VPN’s own private encrypted DNS servers.

Features score: 8/10

Server network

Proton VPN’s server network is impressive, to say the least. While the rest of our top 5 (barring Surfshark) offer more locations, Proton VPN is right up there for countries to choose from, offering a staggering 126. Although this leaves it just one short of NordVPN (127) when it comes to country coverage, there are some significant differences in terms of where they cover.

What sets Proton VPN apart is the focus on serving areas of the world that have been traditionally underrepresented by VPNs, such as Africa (with 26 locations) and the Asia (with 44 locations), both of which are more than any other provider on our top five list.

Of course, if you’ve already started doing the numbers, you’ll realize that this comes at the cost of offering less impressive coverage in Europe and North America than its competitors. This isn’t to say that Proton VPN doesn’t offer an acceptable range of locations, but if you need state-by-state coverage across the US, you’re better off looking at Private Internet Access instead. Similarly, ExpressVPN has you covered if you want in-depth access to Europe.

Server network score: 8/10

Apps

There’s a Proton VPN app for every major platform, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux. There’s some feature disparity between versions of the app, but you can expect roughly the same experience from all of them, including the Linux app, which is a full GUI program. It’s roughly on par with the Windows version, whereas the macOS version doesn’t offer OpenVPN or split tunneling. Not ideal, but all of the security features are available across every platform.

There’s an interesting quirk in Proton VPN’s desktop app design that sets it apart from the rest of the apps in our top 5. When you unfurl the home menu, it displays a map of every VPN location you can access. It’s a very cool piece of design flair, which, when combined with the pleasing purple and black color scheme Proton VPN has going on, results in a piece of software that looks like something out of a spy film.

Proton VPN recently unveiled a major revamp to some of its apps, including its previously less appealing mobile apps. This update has improved not only the customisability of the service, but also how intuitive it feels to use across different platforms, since the apps now match almost entirely across all major platforms.

The Chrome version is rated significantly lower than the other browser extensions from our top 5 VPNs, but it seems a little unfair. With a score of 2.4 on the Apple App Store, many reviews seem to focus on the lack of a free version of the browser add-on. This isn’t the case anymore, as ProtonVPN has recently released a free version of all its browser apps. Some of these complaints are a little more valid, though. While I haven’t noticed it myself while testing the Chrome extension out, there are a lot of complaints about it requiring multiple log-ins to keep connected, which is an easily avoided frustration for users.

Apps score: 8/10

Ease of use

There’s nothing very difficult about the install process, and once you’re logged in, Proton VPN is easy enough to deploy. There’s a guided tour you can take to check out some of the more advanced features, but it’s easy to ignore if you just want to get started. You click the quick connect button, and you’re connected to the nearest server.

For everything else, Proton is functional if a little intimidating for new VPN users. The world map interface lets you plot out your Secure Core connection by hand, giving you a much better idea of how each location will impact your overall connection path. It’s a great way to optimize your connection speed, but it's a little more involved than just clicking a button and closing the app.

Ease of use score: 8/10

Speed and performance

Our latest testing across Proton’s protocols indicates an overall increase in its average speeds.

Over its fastest VPN protocol, WireGuard, Proton VPN (1521 Mbps) was second only to Surfshark (1615 Mbps) when connecting to our nearest VPN server.

What's more Proton VPN (1242 Mbps) maintained that excellent performance over a transatlantic server connection far better than Surfshark (355 Mbps). Proton VPN (1242 Mbps) was second only to ExpressVPN's Windows-only Lightway Turbo protocol (1373 Mbps) this time.

Our latency and jitter readings didn’t pick up anything particularly alarming either.

How we perform speed tests

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Our testing setup uses a cloud PC with a 10 Gbps connection. We use this to record VPN speeds between its Dublin location and a given VPN server. Then, to calculate the averages, we use multiple speed testing sites at different times of the day while connected to the various protocols of each VPN. You can find out more in our VPN testing methodology.

Sadly, Proton VPN's OpenVPN speeds are less than we’d hope, only measuring 240 Mbps (local) and 173 Mbps (long distance). Compare that to ExpressVPN (1038 Mbps / 808 Mbps) and NordVPN (974 Mbps / 857 Mbps) and it's quite a difference.

To be clear, these are all speeds that will completely suffice for almost all your internet activity. If you’re on fibre, you might struggle a little to get the most out of your connection while you’re downloading, but otherwise, it’ll handle 4K streaming without any issue at all.

Speed and performance score: 7/10

Unblocking

Given Proton VPN promotes itself as a privacy-first VPN, you'd be forgiven for thinking streaming might not be a strong suit. However, that’s thankfully not the case. We’ve tested the servers against a wide range of streaming services, including regional variants of Netflix (US, UK, Japan, Canada, and Australia) as well as other streaming giants like Amazon Prime and Disney Plus.

In all cases, the Proton VPN servers provided instant access to the services we tested. All you have to do is pick the location you want to watch from and get streaming.

We also tested Proton VPN with more regional services such as BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, ITVX, 10Now, and 9Play, all of which were easily accessible from Proton VPN.

As for torrenting? It’s a breeze. Proton VPN supports port forwarding, so you can easily connect to other peers in a P2P network. There are also a few P2P optimized servers available on Proton VPN, which allowed me to fully connect to the rest of the swarm when downloading Linux ISOs to test.

Unblocking score: 10/10

Privacy and Security

Like every other tool from the Proton team, Proton VPN has been built from the ground up for privacy and security. Depending on which platform you’re using Proton VPN on, you’ll have the choice between OpenVPN, WireGuard, and its proprietary Stealth protocol. OpenVPN and WireGuard have both been stress-tested a thousand times over by real-world deployments and audits, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally choosing an insecure protocol when setting up the service.

WireGuard is built to always use the most secure encryption by default, while Proton has set up its OpenVPN deployment to use AES-256, which is about as secure as can be.

Stealth is an obfuscated version of WireGuard that runs over TLS, making it look like normal encrypted browsing data to anyone who’s trying to analyze your traffic to spot a VPN in use. It’s mainly useful for ducking past enterprise rule-based firewalls, but your mileage may vary in how well it works on DPI-based firewalls that ISPs in countries with harsh internet restrictions use.

Of course, Proton has a strict no-logs policy, which has been verified by multiple independent audits, most recently from Securitum in July of 2024. This marks its third consecutive annual no-logs audit, all of which are available to see on Proton VPN’s website without registering for an account.

Most providers, including ExpressVPN, will ask you to sign up first, but Proton VPN is demonstrating a commitment to transparency that few VPN providers can match.

While Proton VPN doesn’t use RAM-only servers to run its service, they do employ full-disk encryption on all of its servers, which essentially achieves the same thing. None of your browsing or connection data is ever written to disk, and anyone who attempts to remove one of the servers by force would be completely unable to decrypt the hard disk without an encryption key. Not that they’d find anything useful, anyway.

Proton VPN’s Secure Core architecture adds an extra layer of protection by routing traffic through multiple servers in privacy-friendly countries, effectively defending against network-based attacks. Forward Secrecy is implemented, generating a new encryption key for each session to ensure that even if a key is compromised, past browsing history remains secure.

I can’t say Proton VPN’s malware blocking was particularly good, though. To test it out, we picked 100 brand-new phishing URLs from the anti-phishing experts at OpenPhish and connected to each one with Proton VPN open to see how they’d do. At 11% of malware sites blocked and only 19% of phishing results, Proton VPN could do far better.

Privacy and security score: 8/10

Track record

When you claim that you’re a privacy-first company, you’re going to get a lot of eyes on you. Proton VPN is no exception, which means that some privacy issues from related products tarnish its reputation slightly. In 2019, ProtonMail was forced to log the IP address of a climate activist after a law enforcement request, which significantly undermined its perception as a private email provider.

However, Swiss law works slightly differently for VPN providers. They cannot be compelled to carry out bulk surveillance by either foreign law enforcement or the Swiss government, so Proton VPN as a product is significantly less vulnerable to the same sort of requests.

As for individual accounts, Proton VPN has to comply with legally valid cases brought forth by the Swiss courts, even if these are made by a foreign entity. However, Switzerland has no official ties to EU, NATO, or US intelligence sharing pacts, and tends not to recognize law enforcement requests from countries with a poor judicial reputation.

Track record score: 9/10

Customer support

More so than other VPNs in our top 5, Proton VPN feels like it expects you to do a bit of reading to get the most out of your VPN. There’s an incredibly comprehensive knowledge base that very clearly outlines how the whole app works, as well as offering a ton of solutions for common troubleshooting problems. The live chat is only for paying customers, so if you have any trouble signing up, you’ll have to email them or send a support ticket.

Speaking of, its live support isn’t 24/7, unlike NordVPN. Instead, you’ll need to get in touch with a support representative between 9 AM and 5 PM CET. While my interactions with the Proton VPN support staff have been useful, if delayed a little bit (there’s a 24-hour turnaround on any issue when you open a ticket), there have been some poor interactions that resulted in a 2.4 score on Trustpilot.

Customer support score: 7/10

Pricing and plans

Proton VPN starts at $2.49 a month with the currently Black Friday VPN deal. That makes it a very good offer, right now, coming in significantly lower than NordVPN Basic ($2.99) and ExpressVPN Basic ($3.49).

A Proton VPN subscription protects 10 devices on a single plan. Upgrading your plan to Proton Unlimited won’t remove this restriction, but it will give you access to Proton Drive, Mail, Calendar, and Pass for another three dollars a month. If you’re trying to migrate all of your data away from another provider like Google, this is a truly great deal.

There’s also a free version that only offers 10 locations (The US, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Poland, Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Canada, and Japan) but does so with no ads or restrictions whatsoever.

You won’t get access to all of the premium features, such as Multi-Hop or Secure Core, but it’s functional enough if you need a secure VPN to cover a single device without paying for it.

Pricing and plans score: 10/10

Should you use Proton VPN?

If you’re looking for a free VPN, get Proton VPN. With an unlimited bandwidth policy, no time-outs, and no ads, Proton VPN is just about the best free VPN you can get today. As a paid VPN? You could do a lot worse. Proton VPN will satisfy just about everyone who uses it, but it falls short in a few key areas where other VPNs simply work better.

It’s fast when it counts, but Surfshark and NordVPN both consistently outdo Proton VPN. All the rest of our top five perform better than Proton VPN at both European and North American locations, especially ExpressVPN and PIA, respectively. Still, these are minor complaints at best. Proton VPN has an extensive list of privacy-focused features, and you can try all of them for yourself with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Overall score: 83/100

Proton VPN – from $2.49 per month
A great pick for small businesses

Proton offers a huge package for an impressively low cost. Offering services such as email, a password manager, and, of course, an impressive VPN, Proton offers a close competitor to Surfshark in terms of breadth of offering and value. Despite falling short in some areas of our testing, it's a surefire solution to anyone's day-to-day security concerns and offers speeds and security more than good enough to put your mind at ease.View Deal

Proton VPN alternatives

1. NordVPN – from $2.99 per month
The best VPN overall

A VPN with a focus on security, NordVPN not only offers a high-speed VPN but also a built-in antivirus, URL safety checkers, additional server protection with Double VPN, and an ad-blocker using their encrypted DNS solution. It’s slightly more expensive than Surfshark but offers a VPN service second to none. View Deal

2. Surfshark – from $1.99 per month
The best cheap VPN (and also the fastest)
Don't be fooled by the price tag. Surfshark isn't just cheap, it's a full-blown privacy suite with the best value-for-money toolkit I've seen in the market so far. Beyond its great features and even better pricing, it's also the current champion in our speed tests, and has been for a while. Check out this budget-friendly privacy demon with a 30-day money-back guarantee and see how it compares to ExpressVPN.View Deal

3. ExpressVPN – from $3.49 per month
The best VPN for beginners and the most secure

With its lightning-fast speeds and excellent unblocking capabilities, ExpressVPN is one of the best choices out there if you’re willing to pay a premium for performance. Its apps are incredibly polished, and its custom VPN protocol, Lightway, combines high speeds with obfuscation to allow you to connect from anywhere on the planet. View Deal

Proton VPN FAQsHow does Proton VPN keep your data safe?

Proton VPN is based in Switzerland and adheres to a strict no-logs policy, verified by independent audits. It also employs strong encryption standards in addition to security features like Secure Core.

Does Proton VPN work with Netflix?

Yes, Proton VPN successfully unblocks Netflix in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan. Its speeds are also more than enough to watch 4K content, which makes it a good choice for streaming.

Is Proton VPN good for torrenting?

Proton VPN supports P2P file sharing on dedicated servers. They also use a combination of powerful encryption techniques and audited privacy practices, ensuring your IP won’t be leaked while torrenting.

Two-minute review

Amazon announced its new Echo Dot Max alongside the new Echo Studio, Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 in September 2025, heralding a new generation of its mid-range smart speakers and smart displays with a focus on better audio, Alexa+ compatibility, smart-home connectivity and a fresh new design-led look that brings them closer in terms of appearance to competitors from Google and Apple.

Although its name suggests that it succeeds the 5th-generation Echo Dot released in 2022, technically, the Echo Dot Max model replaces the 4th-generation Echo speaker, which is quietly phasing out across global markets. Regardless, Amazon is pitching the Max as more of a ‘Pro’-grade improvement to the Echo Dot than a direct follow-up, and it's gearing up to be one of the best smart speakers in Amazon's current line-up.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

So, what does the ‘Max’ moniker get you versus the standard model? According to Amazon, a two-way speaker system that offers three times the bass, faster processing thanks to the new AZ3 chip, and a stylish re-fit – oh, and it’s twice the price.

Broadly speaking, these upgrades all pay off in one of the best Alexa speakers I've tested: music is noticeably more bassy and carries more weight, Alexa is quick to respond, and the design looks more chic than the rather basic base model. Each of these points comes with a caveat, though: yes, the audio is decent with some smart features for home theatre fans, but still not enough to satisfy audiophiles, and I wouldn’t argue that audio is always strictly “better” than the regular Echo Dot. The speaker’s processor is clearly superior, but without Alexa+ to put it to the test, that difference is hard to notice. The redesign is lovely, but the front-facing controls are a little awkward to use.

All in all, given that the Echo 4th-gen offers a solid audio experience and is only marginally larger, and that Amazon didn’t bring back the 3.5mm jack it removed between the 4th and 5th-generation Echo Dot, calling this Echo Dot a ‘Max’ model feels only partially justified, and it’s hard to tell quite who Amazon has made this speaker for at times.

If ‘Max’ denotes its Alexa+ compatibility, well, that service is still in Early Access and exclusively available in the US as of writing, with no firm plans for global rollouts. From what we do know so far in the US, reception has been mixed. If ‘Max’ denotes audio performance, then yes, the speaker is impressive for its size, but it's still far from audiophile-approved.

Still, I enjoyed my time with the Echo Dot Max, and it's exciting to see this new direction for Amazon's smart speakers take form.

(Image credit: Future)Echo Dot Max: Specs

Echo Dot Max

Dimensions

4.27 x 4.27 x 3.9 inches / 10.8 x 10.8 x 9.9cm

Speakers

0.8-inch tweeter and 2.5-inch woofer

Processor

AZ3

Connecivity

Zigbee, Matter, Thread Border Router, eero

Voice assistant

Alexa

Weight

17.8oz / 505.3g

Echo Dot Max: Design

• New, more premium materials
• Neat and petite
• Control placement isn’t great

The Echo Dot Max, along with the new Echo Studio, features a new design language – a chunkier knit-fabric exterior, new front-facing controls, and a slightly larger frame than the standard Echo Dot.

Star Wars fans will surely delight in this Death Star-esque design refresh, but if you regularly use touch controls on your Echo speakers you might not love the new button placement. Prodding the controls leads the speaker to scoot across the surface, so you have to hold onto it during use – not a deal-breaker, but a little annoying.

The iconic blue Alexa ring has also moved to surround the control panel, and as with some more recent Echo speakers, it can also show the volume percentage and provide other status cues like notifications, connectivity issues and mute mode. Under the hood, the Echo Dot Max packs a 0.8-inch tweeter and 2.5-inch woofer as well as the new AZ3 chip.

On the rear is a single power port, and just like the last-generation Echo Dot, there’s no 3.5mm jack on this model. That feels like a slightly more glaring omission; this is a really useful utility for streaming music through a better home audio system via the Echo, and while its removal from the 5th-gen Echo Dot could just about be excused given its price and positioning, it’s unfortunate that it hasn’t made a return in this pricier model.

While I do like the new fabric-mesh coating and control panel, overall the Echo Dot Max redesign ends up being more inconvenient in manual operation, and it really is a shame that Amazon opted not to include the 3.5mm jack. The heavier, more robust Echo Studio suits the new form factor quite nicely, but the Echo Dot Max, especially in the purple colorway I tested, isn’t quite as convincing in its Death Star-ness.

• Design: 4/5

Echo Dot Max next to an Echo Dot (5th-gen) (Image credit: Future)Echo Dot Max: Performance

• New two-way speaker system
• Decent audio features and performance
• Alexa is zippy

Amazon’s new Echo Dot Max is a solid all-rounder, with iterative upgrades to the 5th-gen Echo Dot, but it generally comes in just below the 4th-gen Echo base model.

The Echo Dot Max is the first Echo Dot from Amazon with a two-way speaker system. There’s a single 20mm tweeter and a 6cm woofer, meaning your favorite playlist will fill the room better than ever before. However, it’s marginally less powerful than the 1.73-inch speaker found in the 5th-gen Echo Dot, and the Echo 4th gen’s 3-inch woofer and two 20mm front-firing tweeters offer a better all-around audio experience. It’ll be a matter of taste, in some cases, as well as positioning that determines if the Echo Dot, regular Echo or the Echo Dot Max is technically ‘better’ for your audio needs, but it’s nonetheless impressive.

The Echo Dot Max can be surprisingly loud, with lovely clear vocals and highs. Laufey’s Falling Behind is plenty warm and rounded, and while you lose the crispness on the syncopated acoustic guitar hits, the vocals still poke through well. Tracks with less complexity in the rhythm and bass come out quite cleanly, and at times fare better than when played on the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 I tested alongside the Echo Dot Max. Jeff Buckey’s Last Goodbye is an excellent example of this, with his dulcet tones ringing out gorgeously, and Bowie’s vocals are also beautifully clear on Heroes, even as the intensity amps up throughout the track.

Other tracks feel far flatter through the Dot Max, which can’t always deliver a rounded, powerful bass; Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain is missing the punchy drive of the drums and feels weaker all round, and the same goes for Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush, where what should be the driving, insistent rhythm lacks the force to lift the emotion of Bush’s chirping vocals. Glory Box by Portishead is far less muddied and clipped than when I played it on the Echo Show 11 and 8, though it still feels compressed too much into the mid-range, and can’t deliver the nicely rounded bass I love in the track. For its size and price, it’s still impressive, and I can forgive its weaknesses, but I wouldn’t say it quite delivers the ‘Max’ experience I’d expect based on audio quality alone.

However, the Echo Dot Max redeems itself with the audio smarts it packs under the hood, including Lossless High Definition and Automatic Room Adaptation. In practice, that means the speaker is able to adapt its audio to wherever it’s placed, and it’s the first time we’ve seen this tech in an Echo Dot. I really value immersive sound over and above a speaker’s power, so these audio smarts make the Echo Dot Max much more to my liking.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Soon, the Echo Dot Max will gain another feather to its audio cap; you’ll soon be able to connect up to five Echo Dot Max or Echo Studio speakers plus an optional Echo subwoofer to 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. Simply set it up using the Alexa app and Amazon’s voice assistant will automatically configure the placement and tune the sound using its spatial awareness sensors for an immersive surround sound experience. This setup will support Dolby Atmos from selected streaming services, and you’ll be able to control volume with voice commands or a Fire TV remote.

The Echo Dot Max has the same temperature and ultrasound motion sensors as the Echo Dot (4th gen), but also adds a new Wi-Fi sensing capability. All of these worked well on test, and are great for setting up even smarter Alexa Routines. For instance, I set up an automation that turns on my smart lights when I enter a room as well as one that turns on my electric heater when the temperature drops too low for my liking.

When it comes to the more standardized Alexa features, the Echo Dot Max performs as expected. If you’ve used more recent Echo devices, you likely won’t really feel the speed boost from the AZ3 chipset, but it’s a marked difference compared to older models. Alexa responds in rapid fashion, pulling up information and executing commands quicker than ever; it’s unlikely that the base version of Amazon’s voice assistant can actually get much quicker without pre-empting your query – and given that Alexa on the Dot Max actually cut me off once or twice, we should be careful what we wish for here.

Of course, all that new computing power is really in service of powering Alexa+, which, at the time of writing, is not available in the UK, where I’ve been testing the Echo Dot Max. We’ve got a full review of Amazon’s agentic AI platform coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that or check back here for updates.

Personally, I enjoyed my time with the Echo Dot Max. Along a similar vein to my verdict on the design, I'm not sure its performance improvements justify the price increase, and the fact it won't quite be good enough for audiophiles yet still offers better audio makes it hard to place in Amazon's line-up of Echo Speakers.

• Performance: 4/5

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)Echo Dot Max: Price and availability

• List price: $99 / £99 / AU$199
• Released November 2025

The Echo Dot Max sits in the mid-range of Amazon’s Echo family, positioned as a step up for Echo Dot fans who want a slight boost to audio, and better AI experiences when Alexa+ is eventually available to them. It’s available in black, white, and a bold purple colorway.

It’s $50 / £50 / AU$100 more expensive than the 5th-generation Echo Dot, which for the foreseeable future, is still available for purchase. For that extra cost you do get some decent improvements, but it still can’t beat the 4th-generation full-size Echo for audio, which sold at a similar price point.

For me, the differences between the Echo Dot and Max models aren’t quite enough to justify the jump in list price; and especially not when one of the key selling points – that being Alexa+ compatibility – is only available in Early Access the US at the time of writing, and costs more on top – unless, of course, you have an Amazon Prime subscription. I probably wouldn’t buy this at list price, but as we all know, Amazon loves a juicy discount around sales events.

• Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Echo Dot Max?Buy it if...

You want room-filling audio

While I’m 50/50 on whether or not the Echo Dot Max’s audio performance can be considered truly “better” than the regular Echo Dot, it’s certainly better at filling a space thanks to the addition of Lossless High Definition, and Automatic Room Adaptation.

You’re upgrading from an older Echo speaker

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

Don't buy it if...

You are an audiophile

It’s impressive what the Echo Dot Max does within the boundaries of its size and price point, but the speaker is still far from perfect and won’t render your favorite tracks perfectly.

You don’t like Death Stars

I’m being a little tongue-in-cheek here, but the design won’t be for everyone - especially if you’re a fan of using the manual controls, which, when pressed, can push the speaker across surface.

Amazon Echo Dot Max: also considerScorecard

Value

3.5/5

Far from pricey, but doesn't quite live up to its premium positioning or price point

Design

4/5

New design shape may be divisive, control panel a bit annoying, but lovely build quality

Performance

4/5

You win some, you lose some; smart, both in sound and home automation, but not quite powerful enough.

If you're not sure the Amazon Dot Max is the right Alexa smart speaker for you, here are further options to consider from Amazon:

Echo Dot Max

Echo Dot (5th-gen)

Echo (4th-gen)

Dimensions

4.27 x 4.27 x 3.9 inches

3.53 inches x 3.94 inches x 3.94 inches

5.7-inch x 5.7-inch x 5.2-inch

Speakers

0.8-inch tweeter and 2.5-inch woofer

1.73-inch front-firing speaker

3.0" (76.2 mm) neodymium woofer and two 0.8" (20 mm) front-firing tweeters with Dolby Audio support

Processor

AZ3

AZ2 Neural Edge

AZ1 Neural Edge

Connecivity

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

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.

Weight

505.3g

328g

970g

Also consider Echo Dot (5th-gen)

The 5th-gen Echo Dot is the predecessor to the Echo Dot Max, and while its audio specs aren’t quite as adaptable, the sound quality will be slightly better for some owing to the slightly more powerful speaker.

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 Show 15 (2024)

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

I tried all of the advertised features of the Echo Dot Max (barring Alexa+, which is not currently available in the UK) to examine its value for money, performance and how successfully Amazon’s redesign accounts for user experience.

In addition to using Alexa for a variety of tasks like browsing, searching and connecting to third-party apps and services, as well as controlling smart home devices, I also used my Echo Dot Max as a speaker for lossless tracks streamed through Spotify. I tested a range of genres of music and different moods to see how well it represented some of my favorite tracks and testing playlist.

I’ve been using Alexa speakers for years, and professionally testing smart home devices for 3+ 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.

ExpressVPN is one of the biggest players in the game, and regularly ranks among the best VPN services. It's well known for offering impressive speeds, fantastic unblocking capabilities, and a global server network – but did you know it's also one of the most secure VPNs around?

While its security is unmatched, it's still lagging behind NordVPN and Surfshark when it comes to overall offering. So keep reading to see how Express stacks up in terms of speeds, unblocking capabilities, features, ease of use, and overall value for money.

Features

This isn’t a VPN that comes as part of a suite with other security programs. ExpressVPN is primarily a virtual private network that’s built to do the core VPN work very well, but there are a few extra features tucked away designed to make your life easier too.

Bundled with the VPN, you'll find Express Keys, which is a password manager available for iOS, Android, and Chrome. This uses the same zero-trust encryption that the rest of ExpressVPN’s architecture uses, ensuring you’re the only one with access to your key vault. It’s not quite as customizable as some of the best password managers, but otherwise, Express Keys is a perfectly functional way to share passwords between your devices.

(Image credit: Future)

If you go through the app settings, you'll find an impressive ad blocker – the best among the big-name providers in our tests. You'll also find parental controls if you're looking to install the VPN on your child's devices and stop them from accessing anything they're too young for.

There's even a built-in tracker and malware blocker that operates at a DNS level to prevent viruses and fake websites before they have the chance to strike. It's worth noting that our test showed this feature was having some serious issues with fake websites, but we're working with ExpressVPN to dig deeper and ensure the issue is resolved as soon as possible.

If there's anything you don't want going through the VPN's encrypted tunnel, you'll love the split tunneling feature that lets you pick what does and doesn't get the VPN treatment. I love using it for Android Auto because it saves me from plugging my phone in every time I get in the car.

If that's not enough, there are even dedicated IP addresses on offer, and ExpressVPN is the first and only VPN service to offer a truly anonymous IP allocation system for dedicated IPs. It leverages Amazon's Nitro Enclaves to enable provably anonymous delivery without compromising you if you refund the IP address or VPN altogether.

Features score: 7/10

Server network

With over 148 locations to choose from in 106 countries, ExpressVPN has one of the most comprehensive networks in the industry. It’s particularly strong in Europe, with 57 locations, but also does pretty well in Asia and North America.

In fact, as of July 2025, ExpressVPN now boasts servers in all 50 states across America – something only Private Internet Access could claim, previously. This is a big deal, as geo-restrictions mean content can vary massively between even neighboring states, and connecting to a nearby server can help to ensure a fast, consistent online experience.

Image 1 of 2

Plenty of servers dotted around Europe make it great for travelers. (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

There's not as much of a server spread around Asia. (Image credit: Future)

ExpressVPN covers all of the popular locations in the US and Europe, as well as areas traditionally underserved by VPN providers, like Laos, Macau, and Mongolia. We're also impressed by the coverage in Oceania – no other VPN has as many server locations in the area.

We did notice that ExpressVPN lacks servers in Russia, but this is a commonality among today's top VPNs, given the privacy concerns and global legislation.

If there's a weak spot in ExpressVPN's coverage, it's in the Middle East, with only 4 locations served. That's below the average, and might warrant some shopping around if you need access to a broader selection of local servers.

Server network score: 9/10

Apps

ExpressVPN's fleet of apps is available on every platform. This includes Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, and smart devices like Amazon Fire TV, routers, and game consoles.

The Windows and Mac apps are virtually identical. So, if you often switch between the two platforms, you won't notice a huge difference in the ExpressVPN environment.

In March 2025, ExpressVPN delivered a huge update to its Linux app, which, most strikingly, finally replaced the command line interface with a full Graphical User Interface (GUI). Although the new Linux app is still in beta testing, it's a huge step up that brings the Linux experience in line with ExpressVPN's other offerings visually and allows Linux users to navigate through the VPN's tools and servers with more ease.

Considering that Proton VPN and Private Internet Access already have fully-fledged Linux GUIs, however, it's fair to say that ExpressVPN is behind the trend here.

We're also glad to see that the new Linux upgrade includes core VPN features, including a kill switch and split tunneling functionality.

ExpressVPN has brilliant apps that are easy to use (Image credit: Future / Express)

On desktop, it’s pretty easy to get started. There’s a small quirk of the install process where you’ll have to enter login credentials you get from the ExpressVPN dashboard instead of your email, but once you’ve found and entered them everything else is business as usual. One-click connect from the home screen enables your VPN, and that’s it.

Switching over to its mobile apps, the interface is just as intuitive and uncluttered, perfect if you need to dive into the app quickly while you’re on the move. The mobile apps also include a “shortcuts” feature that allows you to create quick access to specific apps after connecting to the VPN, further streamlining your use.

ExpressVPN is also available on both its in-house AirCove router and certain Netgear, Linksys, and Asus routers. You will have to flash your router firmware to upgrade to Aircove, which isn’t a difficult task but could potentially brick your router if it goes wrong. I was pleasantly surprised at how much control AirCove gives you over your ExpressVPN connection. The real standout here is Device Groups, which lets you manage completely different VPN settings for groups of devices connected to your router.

Apps score: 8/10

Ease of use

It feels like ExpressVPN’s apps have been built to be particularly user-friendly. The app UI itself is pretty self-explanatory: Click connect to get the nearest server, or choose the location dropdown for more choices. It’s a perfect VPN if you’ve never used one before, whereas some providers like Proton VPN can overwhelm you with options. Because of this, Express finds itself at the top of our best VPN for beginners guide.

Of course, for the more advanced VPN user there are also your VPN protocols and split-tunneling hidden behind a separate menu should you need them. Express has even gone a step further in recent months, letting you further customize your cipher between AES256 and ChaCha20, and setting up NAT heartbeats. I'd only recommend toying with these settings if you know what you're doing – otherwise, you'll increase your battery consumption needlessly.

Ease of use score: 10/10

Speed and performance

In our testing, ExpressVPN proved itself to be able to provide an impressively fast service, with low latencies throughout. While it still may not be the fastest VPN overall, the quality of the network meant we rarely saw buffering as a result of the VPN when testing with streaming services, but we'll talk more about this later.

How we perform speed tests

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Our testing setup uses a cloud PC with a 10 Gbps connection. We use this to record VPN speeds between its Dublin location and a given VPN server. Then, to calculate the averages, we use multiple speed testing sites at different times of the day while connected to the various protocols of each VPN. You can find out more in our VPN testing methodology.

ExpressVPN's Windows-only Lightway Turbo Dual Tunnel is an excellent performer. It came in third in our local connection download speed test at 1479 Mbps, only a short way behind Surfshark (1615 Mbps) and Proton VPN (1521 Mbps).

What really stands out, though, is that Lightway Turbo got close to maintaining those speeds even over long distance connections. Our transatlantic test for ExpressVPN clocked in at 1374 Mbps with Proton VPN at 1242 Mbps and Surfshark much reduced at 355 Mbps.

Of course, it's important to remember that Lightway Turbo is not available on all devices unlike Proton VPN and Surfshark's fastest VPN protocols.

Interestingly, though, ExpressVPN scored very well using OpenVPN – a protocol which all top VPNs and devices support.

We recorded local download speeds of 1038 Mbps and long distance at 808 Mbps. Compare that to Surfshark (978 Mbps / 430 Mbps) and Proton VPN (240 Mbps / 173 Mbps). Only NordVPN (974 Mbps / 857 Mbps) gets close to that kind of speed and consistency.

That's quite the improvement for OpenVPN on ExpressVPN which we last recorded at a paltry 160 Mbps.

The bottom line here is that ExpressVPN has come on leaps and bounds for speed. It shouldn't hold you back for performance, whatever you're trying to use it for.

Speed and performance score: 8/10

Unblocking sites and content

ExpressVPN has set consistently high expectations in unblocking geo-restricted content and it continues to perform here, albeit with a few inconveniences. We test all our VPNs by attempting to access some of the biggest streaming sites, such as Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, iPlayer, 10Play, and a whole bunch more. This includes regional variants so we end up checking Netflix in the UK, Canada, Japan, and Australia as well as the US. ExpressVPN allowed me to stream in each case, but for both the Japanese and Australian variants I had to swap servers to get access.

We also check some more regional sites, such as BBC iPlayer, ITV, Channel 4, 9Now, and 10 Play. Most sites performed fine the first time, but once again I had to shop around to be able to access 10 Play. On the plus side, all of ExpressVPN’s servers are optimized for streaming, so as soon as you find one that works you’ll be in for the best experience possible. If you're ever stuck, just ask ExpressVPN's customer support, they're always quick to give you a server that's sure to work.

Because of this, it's a great VPN for unblocking your favorite content, but it's not quite at the top of our list for the best streaming VPN.

Although the MediaStreamer DNS service ExpressVPN offers isn’t a VPN and doesn’t offer the same privacy benefits, it’s a great way to access content from devices you can’t install a VPN on, such as older smart TVs.

They’re all enabled for P2P too, making ExpressVPN an okay choice for torrenting. The only issue is that ExpressVPN’s servers don’t allow for port forwarding, making it so you won’t be able to accept incoming requests in a P2P service. Essentially, you’ll be getting slower torrenting speeds on ExpressVPN because you can’t connect to some peers in the swarm.

Content, streaming, and torrenting score: 9/10

Privacy and security

ExpressVPN is one of the most well-tested VPNs out there. Even paranoid privacy purists like myself will be impressed by Express’ extensive audit history, which includes several separate audits of its no-logs policy and overall security. Most recently, in May 2024, the results of ExpressVPN’s 18th audit reaffirmed that its TrustedServer technology ensures no data is retained, as all servers run on volatile RAM, meaning every reboot wipes any stored information.

What is TrustedServer technology?

TrustedServer technology is ExpressVPN's approach to ensuring your data remains completely safe. By using RAM-only servers which are reinstalled weekly, there is little damage an attacker could do thanks to the regularity of updates and data wipes being performed. However, if you ever got inside an Express server, you'd net yourself a tidy $1 million bug bounty.

While you’ve got access to both OpenVPN and IKEv2, ExpressVPN also uses its proprietary Lightway protocol, which is built from the ground up as a mobile-first solution with speeds far beyond what OpenVPN can provide. It’s open-source and rigorously audited, so you won’t have to compromise on security to use it. Personally, we think it's a super-safe and speedy replacement for OpenVPN nowadays, and ExpressVPN is going above and beyond to make it the protocol of the future – partnering with the amazing WolfSSL to give it maximum security.

We're also glad to see that ExpressVPN has finally embraced the WireGuard protocol. In fact, the provider has taken an extra step by combining the protocol with the next-generation encryption algorithm, ML-KEM, making it quantum-secure. So, although ExpressVPN has no plans to ditch Lightway, it's great to see the provider giving users more choices and standing behind its implementation of post-quantum protection.

ExpressVPN uses AES-256 encryption, alongside a hybrid 4096-bit RSA and quantum secure 1000-dimension ML-KEM key exchange and Perfect Forward Secrecy. Even if your data was captured by a third party, ExpressVPN uses encryption so strong that it’d take thousands of years to decode with today’s computing power. Perfect Forward Secrecy guarantees that your encryption keys are rotated regularly, so even if a key is compromised, it won’t affect past or future sessions.

The built-in kill switch is a key security feature, immediately severing your internet connection if the VPN drops to prevent your real IP address from being exposed. ExpressVPN also offers DNS leak protection, ensuring your DNS queries are routed securely through their servers, further protecting your browsing data. Express' team was the first to identify and categorize a type 2 DNS leak, and now protects against needless DNS requests that won't resolve. Just in case anyone's keeping track.

Perhaps my favorite security feature is Shuffle IP, which allocates a random IP address for every site you visit, meaning you don't have a correlation between your online activity, so it's even harder to track your online activities, where a poorly-configured rotating IP would create a pattern of waves, making you stand more. It's a little detail, but one that's indicative of the sheer attention to detail that goes on behind the scenes.

With all that said, I would like to see ExpressVPN improve its malware and phishing protection. This is where it falls behind competitors like Surfshark and NordVPN. To test out ExpressVPN’s anti-phishing protection, we tried to open 294 brand-new malicious URLs from anti-phishing experts OpenPhish.

(Image credit: Future)

Unfortunately, it didn’t work at all for us. We’re currently investigating why our block rate is so low alongside ExpressVPN, but for now, I have to say that ExpressVPN completely failed to block any phishing or malware sites. It’s a pity, especially considering its ad-blocking score sits at the highest of any of our providers at a 90% success rate.

Still, if you want a VPN that is as secure as can be, ExpressVPN is the one I'd stake my life on. The level of ingenuity that goes into securing the VPN itself is unmatched anywhere else in the industry. However, until it improves its supporting antivirus features, you may want one of the best antivirus apps to help boost your protection.

Security score: 10/10

Track record

ExpressVPN has had its fair share of controversies, but none of them are particularly pressing to discuss at the moment. The biggest issue is that ExpressVPN was purchased in 2019 by a VPN brand, Kape Technologies, which has a bit of a reputation problem. Kape previously traded under the name "Crossrider", and gained notoriety for selling potentially unwanted apps that many deemed malware. It's not fair to hold this against Express, especially since Kape has kept a fairly clean record since its rebrand.

Thankfully, ExpressVPN has always been very diligent in scheduling multiple third-party audits to demonstrate and prove its no-logs policy is legitimate. At last count, it's commissioned 18 separate audits of its apps, architecture, and privacy policy. The most recent of these is a privacy audit from KPMG, showing that TrustedServer does what it says on the tin.

(Image credit: ExpressVPN)

Audits are a regular part of ExpressVPN's operations and a testament to its commitment to protecting users. A thoroughly audited no-logs privacy policy is a fantastic indicator of a VPN you can trust.

On June 13, 2025, ExpressVPN was hit with a class action lawsuit accusing the provider of allegedly "illegal" auto-renewal fees. The crux of the case boils down to transparency and clarity - the lawsuit claims that ExpressVPN failed to gather "affirmative consent" from consumers before enrolling them in auto-renewal payment systems. It's too early to tell how the suit will resolve (and it's the same for NordVPN's class action issue), it could spark a wider discussion about auto-renewing plans and, ultimately, a switch to something more granular.

Track record score: 9/10

Customer support

ExpressVPN charges a premium but, we're glad to say, it's justified when it comes to the customer service experience. 24/7 live chat is always available if you run into any roadblocks or have a burning question, and we received responses within ten minutes or so.

When we pivoted to email and reached out to ExpressVPN, the replies landed in our inbox after 12 hours, though you might get a quicker response.

All in all, we were impressed by the friendly, knowledgeable ExpressVPN staff, and their willingness to troubleshoot some of our more technical queries. At no point did we feel brushed off or simply redirected to a bare-bones FAQ page. Ideally, in the future, ExpressVPN will invest in a direct phone line, too, but the live chat is responsive enough to act as a decent replacement.

If you prefer to do your own problem-solving, you'll be glad to learn that ExpressVPN's library of support content is excellent. It boasts an extensive library of guides and tutorials covering everything from installation to protocol and port selection. If we had to pick out a flaw, we'd like to see more content focused on Aircove, but it's not a deal breaker.

Customer support score: 9/10

ExpressVPN cost and pricing plans

ExpressVPN used to have some of the steepest prices in the industry but things look a lot more reasonable since it restructured its prices with a tiered plan system in September 2025.

Now, a single-month subscription can be as low as a more competitive $3.49 per month on the ExpressVPN Basic plan. Basic includes the VPN and not much else.

Advanced is the next plan up. That's the VPN plus password manager ExpressVPN Keys, and the Advanced Protection package which includes advert, tracker and malicious site blocking for $4.49 per month.

Top of the tree is ExpressVPN Pro which adds monthly credit reports, dedicated IP, and data removal services for $7.49 a month.

The recent change to the price tiering system put ExpressVPN much more on a par with NordVPN, although it's still a few cents more. You'll have to try the likes Surfshark, PrivadoVPN or PIA for cheap VPN.

As with any VPN service, you'll save money by signing up for a longer period and paying up-front, but ExpressVPN is still one of the most expensive of our top five.

There isn’t a free plan for ExpressVPN, but a 30-day money-back guarantee means you'll never risk a penny – so long as you refund your subscription within the period.

Pricing score: 7/10

Should you use ExpressVPN?

If you need a VPN that doesn't pull punches when it comes to safeguarding your online security, or if you need a service that's nice and simple to set up and use, you won't find better than ExpressVPN. The price may deter some potential users, but the overall attention to detail and quality of features more than make up for it.

Overall score: 86/100

Try ExpressVPN – from $6.67 per month
The best VPN for beginners and the most secure
ExpressVPN is an easy-to-use service that takes all the hassle out of protecting your digital privacy. If you need a VPN you can stake your online life on, this is the one we recommend. Although ExpressVPN is undeniably pricey compared to the likes of NordVPN and Surfshark, a 30-day money-back guarantee gives you plenty of time to try before buying.View Deal

ExpressVPN alternatives

Wondering if ExpressVPN is the right choice? Here are our three top alternatives to consider:

1. NordVPN – from $2.99 per month
The best VPN overall
NordVPN is our #1 pick overall and awesome value for money. In addition to a stacked roster of tools and reliably quick speeds, NordVPN works like a charm across all platforms and with all major streaming services. It's a complete package (and much cheaper than ExpressVPN). See how NordVPN stacks up against ExpressVPN with a handy 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

2. Surfshark – from $1.99 per month
The best cheap VPN (and also the fastest)
Surfshark's prices might be rock-bottom, but that doesn't mean the overall quality of the service is, too. It's one of the best providers on the market today and the best budget-friendly option in our opinion. In addition to a full-blown privacy suite, Surfshark boasts unbeaten speed testing results, making it a stellar streaming and gaming VPN, too. Interested? See how Surfshark can level up your digital privacy with a 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

3. Proton VPN – from $2.49 per month
A great pick for small businesses
Proton VPN is another superb alternative for anyone who puts their online security first. It's a committed advocate of digital rights and, to prove that it walks the walk, comes packed with tools designed to keep your identifiable data out of the hands of snoopers and oppressive regimes. So, if you really want to fly under the radar, it's well worth checking out Proton VPN's 30-day money-back guarantee.View Deal

ExpressVPN FAQsIs ExpressVPN good for streaming?

ExpressVPN is one of our go-to recommendations for streaming. It's able to access sites like Netflix, Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer with no issues. Plus, ExpressVPN lives up to its name with speeds that can handle HD and 4K streaming – so you're not left watching your content buffer endlessly.

ExpressVPN's MediaStreamer feature allows users to access streaming content on devices that don't support VPNs natively – like smart TVs and gaming consoles. During our testing, we found that MediaStreamer effortlessly unblocked every streaming service we threw at it.

Does ExpressVPN keep logs?

No, ExpressVPN does not keep logs. It adheres to a strict no-logs policy and undergoes regular audits by third-party auditing firms. ExpressVPN doesn't store any identifying information about how you use the service while connected to one of its VPN servers.

Can I use ExpressVPN on multiple devices?

Yes. ExpressVPN gives users eight simultaneous connections per subscription – which means you can use the VPN concurrently across eight separate devices. ExpressVPN is also compatible with all major platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Smart TVs, and even routers.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Shark Glam: two-minute reviewProduct info

There are a few bundle options, with different accessories included.

US:
Shark Glam HD6051S
Shark Glam HD6052S
Build your own bundle HD6000

UK:
Shark Glam HD6051SUK
Shark Glam HD6052SUK

For this review, I tested the UK version. There may be minor differences between models offered in different countries.

The Shark Glam is a does-it-all styling tool that combines a tube-shaped hair dryer and various attachments for creating curls, waves, straight styles and anything in-between. The USP is two new tools that have heated ceramic elements, which work alongside the airflow to lock in styles and eliminate frizz. Named the "Silki" (the straightener attachment) and the "Glossi" (the round brush), both are designed to be used on either wet or dry hair.

It's an innovative idea that could have been a game-changer... if only Shark had provided a way to turn each one off. Surely, using hot plates on wet hair is likely to cause damage? Shark insists it's fine, because the ceramics drop to a cooler temperature when the Glam is in Wet Hair mode, but they're still too hot to touch, so I'm not convinced. Similarly, when using the Glam in Dry Hair mode, I could have done without air blowing my already-dry hair all over the place as I tried to create some shape with the Glossi round brush the day after wash day.

It's a shame that, in my opinion, this fundamental part of the Glam concept is flawed, because on other levels this tool is excellent. The dryer itself feels pleasingly compact, well balanced and comfortable to use, and it delivers powerful airflow. I was also impressed with the other accessories – the auto-wrap curl barrels work very well, the diffuser has adjustable prongs for different lengths of hair, and the double-walled concentrator feels a cut above average, too.

There's a lot to like about the Glam; but, unfortunately, it isn't the parts that are exclusive to this styler. This means it won't be knocking the Shark FlexStyle off our list of the best hair stylers any time soon. Read on for my full Shark Glam review.

(Image credit: Future)Shark Glam review: price & availability

• List price: from $399.99 / £369.99
• Launch date: September 2025
• Available: US and UK

The Shark Glam launched in September 2025, and is currently available widely including the US and UK (although not yet in Australia). There are a few bundle options available, with most including the dryer, Silki straightener attachment, Glossi heated brush attachment, and auto-wrap curl barrels; but beyond that they have different accessories.

In the US, you can opt for the HD6051S bundle, which includes a concentrator and FrizzFighter finishing tool. Alternatively, if you have natural curls or coils, you'd be better off with the HD6052S bundle, which has a wide-tooth comb and diffuser. Both of these options cost $449.99.

Alternatively, you can build your own bundle (HD6000) for $399.99. With this option, you get the Silki and Glossi attachments and choose two further accessories (the curl barrels are an option, but not included as standard).

In the UK, it's the HD6051SUK bundle, which comes with a FrizzFighter finishing tool, or the HD6052SUK, which swaps the finishing tool for a diffuser. Both cost £369.99.

Given the sheer variety of accessories and tools included here, the Shark Glam isn't a bad price. It's especially strong value if you'll be using all the attachments – buying an individual set of straighteners, dryer and hot brush would cost far more. However, if you don't need all the attachments, there are simpler muti-stylers available that will cost far less.

If you don't want the integrated ceramic plates (which I wouldn't personally pay extra for), you have many more options. The older Shark FlexStyle has a list price around $279.99 / £269.99. The Dyson Airwrap i.d. is notably pricier $599.99 / £479.99 – but it feels like a more premium option, and boasts a better auto-wrap curling system.

• Value for money score: 3 out of 5

Shark Glam specs

Wattage:

1,500W

Temperature settings:

3 + cool shot

Speed settings:

3

Cord:

CHECK

Size w/ no attachments (L x W x H):

CHECK 4.3 x 4.1 x 27.4cm

Weight w/ no attachments:

~338g (no cord)/ 740g (with cord)

Airflow:

Not provided

Shark Glam review: design

• Compact, tube-shaped dryer with lots of styling attachment options
• Two attachments – Glossi and Silki – combine hot air and ceramic plates
• Wet and dry modes, but no way to turn off air or ceramic plates in either

The Shark Glam is what I'd describe as the Swiss Army Knife of hair tools. The base machine is similar to that of any modern breed of multi-styler: a tube-shaped dryer, with a top section that twists to sit at 90-degrees to the handle, for easier drying. Where things get a little more exciting is in the accessories. The two most notable additions are the Silki and Glossi attachments.

(Image credit: Future)

The Silki is a straightener attachment for creating sleek, straight styles. It delivers a directed blade of air (à la Dyson Airstrait) to dry hair, alongside hot ceramic plates of the type included in a traditional straightener, to smooth and remove frizz.

The Glossi is a round (or, more accurately, teardrop-shaped) brush tool. This, too, includes ceramic elements for smoothing. The asymmetrical shape is designed to enable you to get closer to the root of the hair.

(Image credit: Future)

These tools can be used in Wet Hair or Dry Hair mode, but the hot plates and the air will be on in both modes. Shark's instructions state that the hot plates will be at a lower temperature when used in Wet Hair mode, which makes the presence of settings to adjust the windspeed and temperatures manually even more baffling. Overall, the settings are confusing – even if you leave on the sticker that explains what each button does.

(Image credit: Future)

The other attachments are more standard. You get a pair of curl barrels that attract the hair, wrapping it around the barrel and setting it into curls as it finishes drying it. One barrel wraps clockwise, while the other wraps anti-clockwise; the Dyson Airwrap is still the only hair tool that offers both directions on one barrel (even the best Airwrap dupes can't manage this).

There's a variety of other compatible accessories available for the Shark Glam, but which you get will depend on the bundle you choose. Accessories include a FrizzFighter finishing tool for taming flyaways, a concentrator, a diffuser with extendable pins, and a wide-tooth comb.

(Image credit: Future)

The off-white and gold colorway of my review model looks stylish, but is ruined slightly by the bulky, somewhat ugly-looking plug. You'll also need to earth it by pressing two buttons simultaneously before each use (this is for the UK version; I'm not sure what the situation will be in other countries). My review model came in a soft carry case.

• Design score: 3.5 out of 5

Shark Glam review: performance

• Attachments feel secure, and airflow is powerful
• Silki straightener is a bit unwieldy and can't get right to the root
• Concerns about heat damage from using hot plates on wet hair

While I like the idea of combining hot air and ceramic plates in one do-it-all tool, I'm baffled that there's no way to turn either element off. Shark assures me that the hot plates won't cause damage when used on wet hair, but I remain unconvinced. In Wet Hair mode, the plates are meant to drop to a lower temperature; but this temperature is still too hot to touch with your fingers. Similarly, when used for a second-day touchup, I don't really need the Shark Glam to be blowing hot air onto my already-dry hair. It's just annoying.

During the review period, I also found the controls confusing. It isn't clear if the Wet Hair / Dry Hair mode slider switch overrides the manual controls or vice versa.

(Image credit: Future)

My experience with the Silki straightening tool was mixed. One side of the straightener is much chunkier than the other, which makes it feel a little unwieldy if you're coming from using traditional straighteners. It also means that on one side of your hair, the chunky bit will be next to your head, and you won't be able to get close to your root (worth flagging that we had the same complaint with the Dyson Airstrait; the other major wet-to-straight option on the market). However, it did leave me with fairly smooth, straight locks once I was done.

(Image credit: Future)

It was a similarly mixed experience with the Glossi brush tool. The ceramic elements are tucked in on one side, and again you can't get right up to the root, despite the teardrop shaping. When used on wet hair, I found this setup did help deliver a smoother final look compared to using just a hot brush. However, when used on the day after washing, the hot air blasted my dry hair around and made styling tricky.

(Image credit: Future)

In terms of the basics, things are much more positive. The dryer itself is lightweight and comfortable to hold, and delivers strong airflow and a good range of temperatures at which to style hair. The attachments clip on and off securely, and I like the way the top section of the dryer can be twisted and redirected for more comfortable use.

I could also tell that a good amount of thought had gone into the design of the other attachments (the ones that don't have ceramic elements). The diffuser, for example, has pins that can be made longer or shorter to suit your hair length. And although the bubble-shaped curl barrels look a bit odd, they work perfectly well in practice.

(Image credit: Future)

Overall, though, I'm struggling to get on board with the Shark Glam because of my earlier complaint. Without the ability to switch off the air and heated elements on and off independently of one another, I can't see myself reaching for the Shark Glam as my preferred styling tool in any situation. I'd use it with the curl barrels attached as an Airwrap alternative... but that part is the same as the (cheaper) Shark FlexStyle.

• Performance score: 3 out of 5

Should you buy the Shark Glam?

Attribute

Notes

Rating

Value

You're getting a lot of tech for your money, but there are cheaper options if you don't want the ceramic elements.

3 / 5

Design

The decision to combine air and heated ceramics is innovative, but it's baffling that you can't use each one independently. Otherwise, well-designed and built.

3 / 5

Performance

Decent results, but using hot plates on wet hair surely isn't great for long-term hair health, and it's annoying to have air blowing at dry hair. Good results from the other tools, including curl barrels.

3 / 5

Buy it if...

You want the most versatile multi-styler

To my knowledge, this is the only multi-styler on the market to offer both hot plates and airflow in one tool. There's no style that the Glam couldn't (theoretically) create.

You struggle with frizz

The ceramic elements help smooth out frizz in a way that air alone can't do.

You spot a great deal

Although I wouldn't pay a premium to get the Glossi and Silki tools, if I spotted a deal I'd be very tempted – the basics are great here, including the auto-wrap curl barrels.

Don't buy it if...

You're worried about hair health

There's no way to switch off the ceramic plates on the Silki and Glossi tools, even in Wet Hair mode. Shark says it's fine, but I can't see how that wouldn't cause heat damage.

You already have a straightener

The Silki attachment is a little unwieldy – and considering you can't turn off the hot plates and just use the directed airflow, if you already have a pair of straighteners, then you might as well use them.

How I tested the Shark Glam

I used the Shark Glam as my main styling tool over the course of several weeks. I have frizz-prone, armpit-length wavy hair with some particularly curly patches. I tested the Glam in Wet Hair mode and Dry Hair mode (on wet and dry hair), and used all the different attachments, including the Glossi and Silki. I compared the results to what I could achieve with other multi-stylers I've tested, including the Dyson Airwrap i.d., the Shark FlexStyle and the Dreame AirStyle Pro.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed November 2025

EasyWP isn't a web hosting brand like others. EasyWP is the Managed WordPress hosting solution offered by Namecheap. What you get here is an opportunity for a smooth journey into the world of convenient, high-powered web hosting. The key is that EasyWP runs on Namecheap's Cloud infrastructure, giving it a leg up in performance and reliability.

• Want to try EasyWP? Check out the website here

Pricing and plans

EasyWP offers a simple pricing system and a choice of three subscription durations. (Image credit: Future)

EasyWP plans are straightforward: Starter, Turbo, and Supersonic. These follow a tiered pricing system that offers more resources (CPU, RAM, storage) as you progress through the price tiers. On the two higher tiers, you also get Brizy PRO, a website builder plugin for WordPress.

SSL certificates and CDN are also free, but most other hosts offer that as well, so it's not a significant consideration.

For subscription duration, you can choose between monthly, yearly, or two-year plans.

Like most other web hosts, there are significant incentives for longer subscriptions. Savings vary by tier and duration, with the steepest being a 44% price cut.

My advice, however, is to treat that price cut as the short-term bonus it is. Once the honeymoon period is over, you'll be paying full price anyway.

The only problem I see here is the lack of transparency around system resources. Aside from storage space, you have no idea how much CPU and RAM you're getting. For example, all EasyWP mentions are vague intangibles, such as "1.5x more CPU."

Regardless of which plan or duration you choose, however, you essentially get a one-month free trial. You pay nothing up front for the Starter plan on a monthly subscription. For the other plans, you get a one-month money-back guarantee.

Use

EasyWP's custom dashboard offers quick access to hosting management and analysis tools. (Image credit: Future)

Getting on board with EasyWP is a seamless experience. It's similar to most website builders that prompt you for some information as you build your site. Ultimately, it boils down to two choices: Are you starting a new WordPress website, or moving to EasyWP from another host?

The former is what you should choose if you're starting from scratch or if you intend to perform a manual site migration. If you choose this option, EasyWP immediately creates a clean WordPress installation for you.

If you're performing a migration from another host, EasyWP asks for your hosting details so that it can move your entire site on your behalf. It's a hands-off experience that should suit most newbies.

EasyWP's custom dashboard is also impressive. It offers quick access to most of the tools you need to manage your hosting account. From here, you can also jump quickly into your WordPress admin dashboard or access your database via phpMyAdmin.

The user experience as a whole here is positive. The dashboard is comprehensive enough that you get most of what's necessary. At the same time, it's not excessively overwhelming for new users. It's a difficult balance to challenge, but EasyWP has managed it admirably.

Note: Usability in this case comes at the cost of some control over your server. For example, you can't choose the PHP or database version, nor can you easily toggle or restart individual services.

Speed and reliability

When it came to testing, I was at first somewhat apprehensive. I'd signed up for a starter plan and had no information on resources, apart from the 10GB of storage space. Rather than overpromising and underdelivering (or vice versa), EasyWP took the easy way out and simply omitted such information.

Anyway, the show had to go on. For testing, we have a WooCommerce website and database that we upload to all web hosts. This helps us standardize things and evens the playing field between web hosts.

WordPress benchmark testing

CPU & Memory

Operations with large text data

9.25

Random binary data operations

7.27

Recursive mathematical calculations

4.91

Iterative mathematical calculations

7.08

Floating point operations

6.96

Filesystem write ability

8.63

Local file copy and access speed

8.94

Small file IO test

9.53

Importing large amount of data to database

1.82

Simple queries on single table

5.57

Complex database queries on multiple tables

3.65

Object cache

Persistent object cache enabled

0

Wordpress core

Shortcode processing

4.86

Wordpress Hooks

7.64

Wordpress option manipulation

7.29

REGEX string processing

5.87

Taxonomy benchmark

6.86

Object capability benchmark

7.44

Content filtering

5.26

JSON manipulations

4.78

Network

Network download speed test

10

Overall

Your server score

6.4

Our core server performance tool is a WordPress benchmarking plugin. This tests the server's performance on a one-off basis and provides a score for vital areas such as CPU and memory, database, and other related metrics.

It was here that I got my first surprise. Despite not listing resource details, EasyWP did remarkably well in CPU and storage performance. Operations with large text data, for example, clocked in at 9.25, which is one of the best results I've seen so far.

The problem is that EasyWP's database operations were quite poor. Its score for importing data was appalling at merely 1.82. Comparatively, hosts like Kinsta and Bluehost scored well over 8 for database performance. For WordPress sites, this is a significant issue since it relies heavily on database operations.

To compound the issue, I was also unable to run Siege, which is what we use for load testing. Attempts to execute the test saw constant errors. Finally, I checked with customer support and was simply told that they block all such tools.

Customer support and knowledge base

EasyWP offers several channels for customer support. That includes access to a knowledge base, how-to videos, a Telegram channel, and live chat via their website. Being the impatient person I am, my first port of call was their live chat.

It was here that the magic happened. I was connected within seconds to an autoresponder bot, and from there quickly escalated to speaking with a customer service agent. There were no loops involved in getting there, and I didn't even have to repeat my problem to the live agent.

Even better, their customer support agents were helpful and extremely problem-resolution focused. I initially had issues doing a manual website import due to server restrictions. The customer service agent offered to do it for me; all I had to do was upload the zip files.

Usage scenarios and recommendations

Here, we come to the million-dollar question: Who should use EasyWP, and why? It's never easy to recommend a specific product or brand because many of us have different needs. What works for me may not work for everyone.

Let's relook at the facts. EasyWP is priced well above most shared hosting plans, but less than premium managed cloud service providers like Cloudways. However, it's also much easier to use but does have a less-than-stellar performance.

Because of this, I'd recommend EasyWP to the following categories of users:

• Those looking to upgrade from shared hosting
• Those who want a cheaper alternative to premium managed WordPress hosting
• Those who are running small to medium-sized WordPress sites.

However, if you're planning for the long term and are more focused on performance, I'd recommend Cloudways instead. It's fast, powerful, and offers more control than EasyWP.

Final verdict

EasyWP sits at a rather unique position in the Managed WordPress hosting space. It offers those with less experience a good first glance into the world of Managed Cloud hosting at prices that don't break the bank. The newbie-friendliness is further amplified by excellent customer support that's easily accessible.

EasyWP FAQsIs EasyWP worth it?

EasyWP is a great choice if you aren't exceptionally technically inclined but want more power than shared hosting. It's also far cheaper than many managed VPS plans available today.

How do I access SFTP from EasyWP?

To access SFTP on EasyWP, you must enable the feature from your dashboard. EasyWP lets you enable SFTP for 1 hour, 12 hours, or 24 hours at a time for security reasons. It will then provide you with a username, password, and URL that you can use with an FTP client like FileZilla.

How do I migrate my WordPress site to EasyWP?

The easiest way to migrate your WordPress site to EasyWP is to use its built-in migration tool. Simply provide your existing host details, and EasyWP will automatically create a clone. You can also use a WordPress plugin to export your site and import it to EasyWP.

Is the Brizy PRO website builder useful?

From a personal standpoint, WordPress today comes with powerful page-building capabilities. It would be more useful to focus on site performance with a lightweight theme such as GeneratePress, rather than allow Brizy PRO to potentially build heavy (albeit beautiful) pages for your website.

How do I cancel my EasyWP subscription?

If you want to cancel your EasyWP subscription within the free trial period, you have to contact their support team. Otherwise, simply disabling the auto-renewal feature in your account will suffice.

• We've also highlighted the best managed WordPress hosting

Sony PS-LX310BT: Two-minute review

I'd heard of the Sony PS-LX310BT by reputation, before I'd heard it with my own ears: TechRadar’s own esteemed audio editor, consider it one of the best turntables for entry-level vinyl fans. And that’s how it ended up in the living room currently being lived in by me, a person who thought a ‘B-Side’ was just a track designed for insects.

Let's get something abundantly clear: the big selling point of the Sony PS-LX310BT is chiefly its price; this is an affordable turntable that may not offer the same sonic dexterity as pricier options, but also doesn’t cost you the same as a mid-level car to purchase it. And it's got a great rep – not just at TechRadar but among those who know about these things.

For me, the price isn’t the only factor that makes this a great entry-level position. Once you’ve set the thing up – which may take one or two missteps compared to the easiest options I’ve tested, but is still fairly simple – it’s a dream to use.

Press button to play. Press button to stop. If you love vinyl audio for its hands-on approach, you might feel redundant when it comes to this Sony deck, but turntable newbies will find it a lot less scary to operate because you'll never actually need to touch the tonearm, or lower a headshell and needle onto a delicate sliver of vinyl and potentially hear it scratch.

It’s easy to like the look of the PS-LX310BT too. Sure, it’s understated in the exact same way that almost every other turntable is, but a design like that screams ‘sonic excellence’ irrespective of price.

It goes without saying that deep-pocketed audiophiles should skip over this option; it doesn’t offer the audio nuance (or the five-figure price point) that top-end vinyl aficionados will be looking for. And some novice buyers will find that it doesn’t offer the connectivity options required for them, with Bluetooth and RCA but no simple 3.5mm out. But for most newbies, it’s a dream.

Sony PS-LX310BT review: Price and release date

• Released in April 2019
• Typically sells for $449 / £179 / AU$399
• Now available for around $199 / £179 / AU$395

The Sony PS-LX310BT was released in April 2019, so it’s not exactly one of the newest turntables on the market – although six years in analog audio isn't a long time at all. And perhaps because of this, it’s still officially ranged by Sony, as one of only two turntables on its store.

The recommended retail price of the deck is $449 / £179 / AU$399 – that’s not a typo, it’s a lot pricier in the US – although at the time of writing, it’s hard to find it for full price. Instead, I’ve found the PX-LX310BT going for roughly $199 / £179 / AU$395 in sales, which seem to happen very frequently.

It goes without saying that you should try to pick this turntable up in said sales if you can. But either way, the price marks this as a fairly entry-level turntable; it’s not the cheapest I’ve ever seen, but it’s still a more affordable option for people who don’t need audiophile-grade kit, and it still looks the business.

(Image credit: Future)Sony PS-LX310BT review: Specs

Dimensions

43 x 36.7 x 10.8cm

Motor

Belt drive

Platter

Aluminum

Phono preamp

Yes

USB

NA

Bluetooth

4.2

Speeds

33, 45RPM

Stylus

Not specified

Extras

45RPM adapter, attached RCA cable, rubber mat

(Image credit: Future)Sony PS-LX310BT review: Features

• Not the easiest set-up (but also not the hardest)
• Simple and easy to operate, though a tiny bit slow
• Some connection options, but not 3.5mm

Newbies setting up the Sony PS-LX310BT might find it a little fiddly during the set-up process; you only have to attach the platter and mat and set the pulley belt, but I somehow managed to unknowingly twist the belt during placement which took a tiny amount of deconstruction to fix. I also religiously forget to remove the stylus cover every time I want to listen, but I can’t mark Sony down for that.

At least Sony doesn’t require you to do anything to the cartridge or counterweight or anything like that, and the entire set-up process took me under 15 minutes. And once you’ve done the initial set-up, it’s really easy to listen thanks to Sony's use of an automatic system in the PS-LX310BT. Press ‘play’ to play, or ‘stop’ to stop, and the tone arm will move all on its own.

I do find the turntable a little slow to react to these button presses, and if I wanted music on quickly I’d place the arm myself – because I'm experienced in such things. Thankfully this is a valid option too, with the platter spinning automatically if the tonearm is raised.

Connections wise, there are wired or wireless options. Wirelessly, you can connect devices such as headphones via Bluetooth, and I found it a quick and reliable connection. You can connect up to eight devices this way, but I don’t know anyone who isn’t a tech journalist who owns this many wireless gadgets. Wired, you can use the built-in RCA cable which plugs into the left and right jacks of an amplifier or stereo speaker. There’s no 3.5mm jack in the turntable for you to plug in your wired headphones. In this way, it slightly limits who can use the wired connection – you need compatible tech, or at least an adaptor.

• Features score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)Sony PS-LX310BT review: Sound quality

• Energetic audio
• Some detail missing
• Avoid Bluetooth if you can

Not wanting to upset audiophiles (and being indecisive), I tested the Sony PS-LX310BT alongside multiple devices, including wired and Bluetooth.

There’s a lot of energy in music played through the turntable; evidently the understated design contrasts the music played out. The Police’s Zenyatta Mondatta felt playful and fun, and Al Stevens’ ode to the feline annum reveals the singer’s vocal range and zest well, with glissandos and harmonies far more audible than if you just listened on Spotify.

You’re sadly not getting quite the level of clarity that you would on a… well, a non entry-level setup, with some detail lost, especially in the mids. But it’s still decent for the money, and there’s a reason that cut-price music-lovers have been turning to the PS-LX310BT for over half a decade.

Note to Bluetooth users: I did find that the speaker peaked Bluetooth-connected devices on occasion, which isn’t something I’ve found as much from other Bluetooth turntables I’ve tested.

(Image credit: Future)

• Sound quality score: 4/5

Sony PS-LX310BT review: Design

• Minimal, understated look
• Buttons hidden on front edge
• Dust cover could open further

The Sony PS-LX310BT has a minimalist look, going for the black on black (on silver) look, small unadorned dials and buttons and a businesslike tonearm. I like ornamentation as much as the next guy, but this product hits that ‘audio equipment’ serious aesthetic pretty square-on.

The turntable measures 43 x 36.7 x 10.8cm, and weighs 3.5kg; it wasn’t too heavy to stop me toting it around my apartment when I wanted to connect it to various speakers and devices dotted in different rooms. That height includes the dust cover, which you don’t have to use (TechRadar's audio editor never fits them, and removes them if they're pre-fitted), but I’d recommend. My ‘tiniest-violin-in-the-world’ opinion is that it would have been nice if the dust cover would open a little wider, to make getting vinyl records onto the mat a little easier.

The almost-straight, no-nonsense tonearm was light and easy to manipulate, though some audio purists might take chagrin at the lack of a counterweight.

Sony has hidden most of the PS-LX310BT’s buttons on the front edge. This is where you’ll find the buttons to play, to stop and to move the tone arm up and down. On the top there’s only the Bluetooth pairing button,, a dial to set the vinyl speed and the speed rotary knob. There is also a little hidey-hole on the right edge for the 45RPM adaptor, something I only noticed after 10 days of the adaptor being plonked awkwardly on the turntable’s body.

(Image credit: Future)

• Design score: 4.5/5

Sony PS-LX310BT review: Value

While the Sony PS-LX310BT is priced as an entry-level device, and has a feature set to match, there are a few areas in which it stands out from the budget crowd.

The ease of use and svelte design are two such departments, but these are hardly small perks, with the aluminum platter, bespoke (though un-removable) cartridge and lightweight tonearm keeping better care of your records than some super-cheap options might.

My only small value concern is this: you either need to connect it to a Bluetooth device, or something which accepts RCA-in, so your wired headphones will need an adaptor to work. But that's hardly a deal-breaker.

• Value score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Sony PS-LX310BT?Sony PS-LX310BT score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

It's easy to use and misses some of the complications of more premium alternatives.

4/5

Sound quality

The sound is energetic and zingy, though with some missing clarity.

4/5

Design

It's understated, with a smartly-thought-out design.

4.5/5

Value

Several aspects, including the price, make it a good entry-level pick.

4/5

Buy it if…

You want a first-steps turntable
If expensive turntables put you off, this cut-price alternative will be a great option instead – and it's Sony, with all of the gravitas that name carries.

You're scared of using turntables
It's simple when you get used to it, but if you'd rather an automated way to play vinyl, then this option is great.

You have compatible pieces of audio kit (or don't mind using Bluetooth)
Hey, I don't mind using Bluetooth, but some vinyl fans turn their nose up at it. If you insist on wired connections, then you'll need something that can take RCA.

Don’t buy it if…

You want to manually operate your turntable
I've seen a few people unhappy at the PS-LX310BT because its automated process cuts them out of the vinyl playing process. I understand.

You're building an audio empire
If you're an audiophile with cash to burn, then you should put something at the center of your sound system that's a little pricier.View Deal

Sony PS-LX310BT review: Also consider

Sony PS-LX310BT

Majority Folio

Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT

Dimensions

43 x 36.7 x 10.8cm

412 x 323 x 142mm

110 x 400 x 330mm

Motor

Belt drive

Belt drive

Belt drive

Platter

Aluminum

Die-cast metal

Aluminum

Phono preamp

Yes

Yes

Yes

USB

No

Die-cast metal

No

Bluetooth

4.2

Die-cast metal

5.2

Speeds

33 1/3, 45RPM

33 1/3, 45RPM

33 1/3, 45RPM

Cartridge

Not specified

AT3600L

AT3600L

Extras

45RPM adapter, attached RCA cable, rubber mat

Dust cover, rubber mat, 45 adapter, RCA cable.

33 1/3, 45RPM

Majority Folio
This more affordable turntable has a built-in speaker, and while it's good, it makes it a better pick for first-time turntable users who don't already have a Hi-Fi set-up in place.
Read our Majority Folio review here.

Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT
Our favorite budget turntable, the AT-LP70XBT undercuts the Sony's MSRP in some countries, though costs more than its deal price. It's another solid beginner turntable with better Bluetooth transmission.
Read our Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT review here.

How I tested the Sony PS-LX310BT

(Image credit: Future)

• Tested for ten days
• Inputs included a series of vinyl records
• Outputs include headphones and a speaker via Bluetooth, and speakers via cable

The Sony PS-LX310BT review process covered ten days, not including the time it took to write the review itself. I have a decent-sized collection of vinyl which I used for this testing.

As mentioned, after running it in for 48 hours, I listened on multiple devices including a pair of speakers via the RCA connection, a smaller speaker via Bluetooth and a pair of headphones, also via Bluetooth.

I've been tested tech for TechRadar for nearly seven years, which has included many audio players and another turntable; I've also used turntables and other Hi-Fi kit outside of reviewing.

• First reviewed November 2025

The LiTime X Mini 12V battery is more than just an ordinary LiPo battery with high current and capacity.

LiTime X Mini Battery - Specification

Battery capacity: 4096Wh

Number of charge cycles: Over 4000 before 20% drop

Output power: 2560W

Fastest charge time: 2 hours

Additional features: Bluetooth, IP65

Weight: 25kg

The 4kWh type is approximately the same size as a car battery. It features an intelligent BMS, Bluetooth telemetry, self-heating capability, and durability of over 4,000 charge cycles before experiencing a 20% drop in charge. What is even more remarkable is the unit's compact size and relatively light weight, at just 25kg.

LiTime provides a slew of accessories to support the 12V battery. Users can build the best portable power station for their needs with a charging time as fast as one hour and an output power of 2.56kW.

The companion 2kW inverter is ideal for retrofitting in an RV, providing remote access to a substantial amount of power. The battery supports low-temperature operation down to -20 degrees Celsius.

LiTime X Mini Battery: Price and Availability

The 12V battery with a 320Ah capacity has an MSRP of $930 and is currently on sale for $650. A battery alone will not do much, though, and a complete system with a 720W charger and 2000W inverter adds an extra $730, which is relatively cheap, considering that similar 4kWhr/2kW stations have a $2000 price tag.

(Image credit: Future)LiTime X Mini Battery: Design

From the outside, the LiTime LiPo battery looks strikingly similar to a lead-acid battery, having an identical form factor but with smaller posts.

The battery ships with a product manual, screws, and a quick start guide. The 25kg unit measures 38cm x 19cm x 25cm. The IP65 certification protects against water ingress should the product come into contact with water.

Since the case is hermetically sealed, the plastic enclosure will dissipate heat during charging at the maximum allowed power. Two handles, one on each side of the battery, allow the unit to be transported with some effort.

The tested 12V, 320Ah battery outputs 12.8V with an internal resistance of less than 40mΩ, providing a maximum power of 2.56kW. The charging current is limited to 200A continuously, resulting in a charge time of approximately two hours.

LiTime recommends using a 20% current capacity to prevent heat build-up. Two nuts embedded in the case act as positive and negative terminals. A torque wrench set to 12 Nm secures the provided M8 bolts to cable lugs and the battery.

LiTime sells two essential accessories for lithium batteries. The AC inverter is built around a pure-sine wave generator that can output up to 3kW for the 12V model. The 2kW model we tested features four 120V AC sockets, two USB ports, a remote-control port, and a high-power terminal connector.

The second, but equally important, accessory is the battery charger. We tested an 800W unit that generates significant noise through its fan. This kind of energy storage is generally unsuitable in an office and better suited to a remote location or a garage.

(Image credit: Future)LiTime X Mini Battery: In use

A complete battery system is inherently passthrough, where the charging current passes through both the battery and the inverter, thus doubling as a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) in the event of a blackout.

The ability to adjust the setup according to the owner's usage is also a great feature that other non-modular units lack. A second inverter can be easily added, turning the system into a 240V station, or the battery capacity can be increased by connecting up to 16 batteries in parallel and in series.

The LiTime mobile app is available on both Android and iOS platforms and supports only the battery. The setup involves adding the unit via Bluetooth using a combination of QR code and barcode.

The battery’s state is available from the main menu and includes capacity, output voltage, current, and power. The app can turn off the unit’s Bluetooth module, thereby saving energy. Bluetooth is re-enabled automatically when charging the battery.

LiTime battery products feature a built-in battery management system with over 20 protection safeguards, including overcurrent and temperature protection. The LiFePO4 chemistry is also more stable than other lithium chemistries, significantly reducing the risk of thermal runaway. The battery is protected against high temperatures and is certified by organizations such as the FCC and CE.

(Image credit: Future)LiTime X Mini Battery: The competition

Renogy’s Core Mini, the closest model to the LiTime battery we tested, only supports 300Ah instead of 320Ah. Since the Core Mini is a 12V model, the net power reduction is about 16Wh, for a similar size, weight, and price. The Core Mini's output power of 1800W is also lower than LiTime's 2560W.

LiTime X Mini Battery: Final verdict

Lithium power storage cannot be more modular than LiTime’s X Mini battery and its accessories.

Upgrading the system simply involves connecting wires to additional batteries and inverters. At the same time, it can go into more places than its integrated counterpart for the same amount of energy.

The X Mini has a reasonable price, good build quality, and great online support. The Bluetooth connection is a nice addition, allowing constant monitoring of the battery’s vital signs.

The documentation could be better, with more detailed diagrams showing how to expand the system. Since only the battery supports Bluetooth, one cannot remotely control the inverter outputs or examine the overall system efficiency.

Buy the X Mini if ... you are looking to increase battery capacity or output power later.

Don’t buy the X Mini if ... DIY isn't your cup of tea.

We've listed the best rugged laptops and the best rugged phones.

Samsung HW-Q800F: two-minute review

The Samsung HW-Q800F is the 2025 edition of Samsung’s yearly Dolby Atmos soundbar-sub combo, and it proves that the South Korean giant maintains a firm grip on the home theater throne.

This 5.1.2 channel soundbar shakes things up a bit by bundling in a far more compact and sleek-looking subwoofer, which is far easier to integrate into your TV setup. Good news though – there’s been no sacrifice on power, with 400W and 11 speakers powering this combo.

And I really felt every ounce of power the Samsung HW-Q800F had to offer. I experienced truly imposing, yet agile and clean bass, which made grandiose movie scores that touch more immersive and booming sound effects even more impactful. This is also one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars I’ve tested, with precise mapping of on-screen action and expansive imaging, taking my favorite movies to the next level.

Of course, you won't get the full surround sound experience that something like the Samsung HW-Q990F will provide, solely due to that model's inclusion of rear speakers. But the Q800F comes in at a far cheaper price-point, and the option is there to add rears if you'd like. Also, the sound you do get out of the box is already highly impactful, expansive, and engrossing.

Anyway, it's not only movies the Q800F excels with. This soundbar is also fairly gifted in the music department, and supports streaming over Wi-Fi, so you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite tracks via Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect and the like. Bluetooth 5.3 is also available, alongside the regular connectivity methods like HDMI eARC and digital optical.

You’ll find an HDMI input port on the soundbar, which supports passthrough at 4K at 60Hz. As a gamer, I was hoping for this to be raised to 120Hz for 2025, though this is a fairly minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.

Beyond connectivity, there are so many excellent features to uncover on the Q800F. You’ve got some returning characters like Q-Symphony, which can integrate a compatible TV into your soundbar system, as well as SpaceFit Surround Pro for room calibration, and Active Voice Amplification for enhancing dialogue in movies or TV shows.

This time out, Samsung’s added Moderate Bass, though, which disables the sub and lets the main soundbar pick up those low frequency sounds. That’s pretty handy if you’re temporarily short on space, for example.

Combine that with an excellent array of sound modes, a nifty companion app, and support for a range of formats – of course including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X – and the Q800F offers just about everything you could want from a mid-range soundbar.

Design-wise, the real highlight is that new, compact subwoofer, but you’re also getting that typical Samsung quality, with a durable main bar that uses a classy metallic grille and LED display. Sure, the overall package isn’t as flashy as some models, but the smaller sub makes for an upgrade over 2024’s Samsung HW-Q800D (I'm not sure why Samsung skipped over E, but it did).

Set-up is sensationally straightforward – it's plug and play, with no pesky in-app requirements, no awkward pairing issues, and very few wires. The sub instantly connected to the soundbar the moment I hooked it up to the power, I didn’t even have to do anything. And there’s a physical remote included here that is as sleek and easy-to-use as ever.

At the end of it all, the Samsung HW-Q800F is a stellar soundbar that hits just about all of the right notes. It offers wonderful performance for Atmos movies and music, its new sub is a considerable upgrade design-wise and still packs phenomenal low-end output, and there are tons of features to take advantage of. It’s also regularly available at a modest price (more on that below), making it a top value option. As a result, its easily up there with some of the best soundbars around.

Samsung HW-Q800F review: price and release date

• Officially priced at $1,099 / £799 / AU$1,099
• But unlikely to set you back that far in the real world
• Launched in 2025

The Samsung HW-Q800F is the 2025 edition of Samsung’s mid-range combination of a full-length soundbar and an accompanying sub, coming one year after the HW-Q800D, which I also reviewed. It sits a level below the Samsung HW-Q990F, which comes bundled with rear speakers, but as a result, will set you back a bit more.

Initially, the Samsung HW-Q800F launched with a list price of $1,099 / £799 / AU$1,099. That’s $100 / £50 more than last year’s model in the US and UK respectively, but no different in Australia. Having said that, you’re unlikely to pay anywhere near that much now, even though this is a very recent release. I’m seeing it sell for less than $750 / £600 / AU$800 with various reputable online retailers.

(Image credit: Future)Samsung HW-Q800F review: specs

Dimensions

Main soundbar: 43.7 x 2.4 x 4.7 inches / 1110.7 x 60.4 x 120mm; subwoofer: 9.8 x 9.9 x 9.8 inches / 249 x 251.8 x 249mm

Speaker channels

5.1.2

Connections

1x HDMI input, 1x HDMI eARC, digital optical, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / Yes

Sub included

Yes

Rear speakers included

No

Samsung HW-Q800F review: features

• Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support
• Q-Symphony available with compatible Samsung TVs
• 4K passthrough, but still not at 120Hz

There’s a truly exhaustive set of features to uncover on the Samsung HW-Q800F, which builds nicely on what its predecessor had to offer. It again takes up a 5.1.2 speaker configuration, but this time offers 400W of power, as opposed to the Q800D’s 360W. There’s a new, compact sub too, but I’ll speak more about that later.

Of course, there’s full support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, alongside the usual Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby 5.1 and DTS: HD-Master Audio. You can also connect to the soundbar in a whole host of ways – through the typical HDMI eARC method, but also via digital optical, Bluetooth, or over Wi-Fi.

You’ll discover an HDMI in port on the soundbar as well, which supports 4K passthrough, but as we saw last year, only at 60Hz. Some gamers will be frustrated by the lack of 120Hz support, which can be used for silky 120fps gameplay in titles like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on Nintendo Switch 2. I hope Samsung upgrades this in 2026, but until then, gamers will have to access 120Hz via a compatible TV’s own HDMI ports.

Admittedly, that’s a pretty small con given the wide range of options available with the Q800F. SpaceFit Surround Pro can effectively calibrate the soundbar and sub combo based on your room’s acoustics, there’s a voice enhancement mode, EQ and sub level adjustments, and a bass enhancement option.

All of last year’s sound modes are back and all work brilliantly too. These include: Standard; Adaptive; Surround; and Game. If you were wondering, adaptive harnesses AI in order to assess on-screen content and deliver tailored audio – I mainly stuck with this throughout my testing time.

Something new for this generation of Samsung soundbars is Moderate Bass, which deactivates the sub and leaves the soundbar to handle lower frequencies on its own. That's useful if you’re short on space.

If you’ve got a compatible Samsung TV from 2022 or later, you’ll be able to access some features a little easier via your TV menu. But you’ll also get access to Q-Symphony, which makes use of your TV’s built-in speakers, and combines them with your soundbar and sub for an even more powerful and expansive listening experience.

• Features score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future / Aardman Animations)Samsung HW-Q800F review: performance

• Great Atmos with precise audio positioning
• New sub offers exceptional bass output
• Ultra-clear dialogue, clean treble, and impressive musicality

Much like its predecessor, the Samsung HW-Q800F is a standout performer in the sound quality department. It harnesses the might of 11 speakers and has a high maximum power output of 400W spread across the soundbar and new compact sub. And that high-power performance was incredibly evident to me, with Samsung’s combo delivering impactful, sometimes even room-shaking sound.

When I threw on The Boy and the Heron, I flicked to a scene in which a horde of fish and frogs shout “JOIN US” at the protagonist, Mahito. Throughout this encounter, there’s meant to be incredibly deep, all-encompassing bass, and the HW-Q800F replicated this to great effect, with a low-end rumble rippling through our testing space.

It was a similar story with a 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Top Gun: Maverick. The sound of jet engines firing up was truly seismic – the bass response was almost sizable enough to make me feel as if I was in the cinema. This movie is also a great test for Atmos, so I continued watching until Tom Cruise flew the jet up and overhead, and the impression of height genuinely impressed me.

Sure, the verticality you’ll get from genuine overhead speakers will take things to another level, but the up-firing speakers onboard undoubtedly performed their role to a high standard.

We recently called in one of my favorite movies of all time, The Mask, in 4K UHD, so naturally I tested that with the HW-Q800F as well. And this soundbar seamlessly nailed every task this chaotic film threw at it. The roar of thunder at the beginning came through with ferocious force, the high-pitched shatter of windows had a real bite to it, but never sounded tinny or uncontrolled, and dialogue between Stanley and Tina was unbelievably clear.

Atmos performance was again impeccable, and the general positioning of speech and other sounds was top-class. When Tina sits down at the back of Stanley’s bank to ‘open an account’, her voice is placed with pin-point precision. When some mob B-rate gangsters play air hockey in the background of a scene, the smack of the puck sounded distant yet well-defined, just as it should be.

So, when it comes to movies, you’re getting awesome performance here, but I was wondering if the same case would apply for music. I started with a couple of tracks using the Atmos format, and was not disappointed. In Dream of Arrakis by Hans Zimmer, the attack of percussion in the intro was full of intent, and swept right across the soundbar.

Deep bass, which is reminiscent of an increasingly racing heartbeat, had some real punch to it, and deeply immersed me into the track. Meanwhile, haunting artifacts weren’t lost at all, and felt well positioned in the backdrop of the track. Percussion was also incredibly well positioned, and distorted vocals had phenomenal width, demonstrating the seriously expansive sound of the HW-Q800F.

Even with basic stereo format music, the soundbar performed very well indeed. 12 O.C Riddim by M-High demonstrated the new subwoofer’s talents in the deep bass department, with agile, low-reaching performance. Even All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, I was struck by subtle percussion, tonally accurate and energized electric guitars, and clean, defined vocals. Sure, channel separation won’t compete with some of the best stereo speakers, but I still got a very enjoyable listen here.

Whatever content you’re consuming, the Q800F is well-equipped to deliver optimum quality. The SpaceFit Surround Pro feature optimized the soundbar’s sound for the acoustics of our testing space, while the various sound modes all had a clearly differentiated approach, with Adaptive my general go-to. I was partial to Surround, too, which whips up an even wider soundstage.

Of course, you won’t get the ultimate surround sound experience due to the lack of rear speakers, which would create genuine wrap-around sound. If you want those, you’ll have to splash out a fair amount more on the Samsung HW-Q990F, or separately purchase SWA-9500S speakers. Even without these, though, the Q800F plates up the expansive, deep, and well-rounded performance we’ve come to expect from Samsung’s home theater technology.

• Sound quality score: 5/5

(Image credit: Future)Samsung HW-Q800F review: design

• Soundbar looks the same, but sub is greatly refined
• Not the most aesthetically pleasing model on the market
• But build quality is undoubtedly strong

The Samsung HW-Q800D was almost indistinguishable from its predecessor, but this time around, Samsung has endeavoured to make the generational change a lot more apparent.

It's done this by bundling a new, compact subwoofer, which is so much easier to fit into your setup than the previous tall block that was included. You still get that great low-end performance too, so you don’t have to sacrifice substance for style.

The main bar itself has remained the same, and it's fairly standard stuff. It's got a nice metallic grille with an easy-to-read display on the front, but you’re getting the traditional black bar. If you want something with a little more style, the retro-style Marshall Heston 120 or sleeker Sonos Arc Ultra might be better options.

Still, you’re getting strong build quality from this soundbar and sub combo – both units have a sturdy feel and don’t look cheap or plasticky. I’m also a fan of the straightforward physical controls on the soundbar and the slim remote, which is packaged in.

• Design score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Samsung HW-Q800F review: setup & usability

• Simple wireless plug and play setup
• Easy-to-use remote and companion app
• No sub pairing problems this time out

I was delighted with how easy the Samsung HW-Q800F was to set up and use. I simply plugged the soundbar and sub into the power, and connected the main bar to the Samsung S95F via its HDMI eARC port.

There was no complex pairing process to complete, the sub was pre-paired with the soundbar, and the two worked in tandem right out of the box. I’d had some minor trouble with the Q800D, so it was satisfying to get a hassle-free setup this time out.

Unlike some rivals, Samsung is still packing a physical remote with its soundbars, and the one I received with the Q800F worked as expected, allowing easy control over volume, sound modes, sub level, and more.

I did also use the SmartThings app, though, which grants control over all of that, as well as EQ adjustment, voice amplification, and room calibration, among other things. The app was simply laid out and navigating the various menus never caused me any confusion.

Its also worth flagging that the Q800F has an inbuilt mic that can be used with Amazon Alexa or Google voice assistants – there’s even a handy button to activate or deactivate this on top of the bar.

• Setup & usability: 5/5

(Image credit: Future / Aardman Animations)Samsung HW-Q800F review: value

• Slight price bump over predecessor…
• …but widely available on sale for a great price
• A whole lot of quality right across the board

Even though the Samsung HW-Q800F has a $100 / £50 (no change in Australia) over its predecessor, I really don’t think it matters very much.

Firstly, you’re getting more power in a more compact, sleek overall package. And crucially, you’re almost certainly not going to meet the list price of $1,099 / £799 / AU$1,099.

Yes, even months after release, I’m already seeing the Q800F sell for less than $750 / £600 / AU$800, with plenty of availability too. And when you consider the fact that you’re getting a fantastic soundbar and sub combo, which packs awesome Atmos, brilliant bass, and a broad feature-set, I think you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.

Realistically, the HW-Q990F is still going to cost hundreds of dollars and pounds (etc.) more than the Q800F for some time – and although that system is the superior package for surround sound, those seeking a cheaper option will surely be satisfied with the capabilities of the Q800F.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Samsung HW-Q800F?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Features

Exhaustive sound enhancement options, Atmos and DTS:X support, HDMI passthrough only at 60Hz.

4.5/5

Sound quality

Fantastic clarity across all frequencies, epic Atmos for movies and music.

5/5

Design

Soundbar itself doesn’t quite ooze style, but the new compact sub is a hit, with a neat remote and physical controls.

4.5/5

Setup & usability

Plug and play setup, seamless soundbar and sub pairing, easy to control.

5/5

Value

Regularly on sale for a very modest price considering the overall quality available here.

4.5/5

Buy it if...

You’re looking for the ultimate value package
Considering this soundbar-sub combo is regularly on sale for a lot less than its official price, I think it's a fantastic value package. You’ll struggle to find a Dolby Atmos soundbar with this much power, this much quality, and this many features for less than $750 / £600 / AU$800.

You want awesome Atmos for movies and music
I was very impressed with the Dolby Atmos effects available through the HW-Q800F. It mapped on-screen action with incredible accuracy, made instruments sound as if they were playing in the corners of our testing room, and generally whipped up pleasingly expansive sound.

Don't buy it if...

You want the ultimate surround sound experience
Due to the lack of rear speakers – at least out of the box – the Samsung HW-Q800F won’t give you the most full surround sound experience out there. If you want the best of the best in this regard, I’d consider spending more on the spectacular Samsung HW-Q990F or purchasing rear speakers separately.

You’re after something with style
Although you get great build quality from the Samsung HW-Q800F, alongside a new compact sub, I’d be lying if I said this bundle was the prettiest thing I’ve seen. The Marshall soundbar below, and even the Sonos Arc Ultra have more going for themselves in the looks department.

Samsung HW-Q800F review: also consider

Samsung HW-Q800F

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6

Marshall Heston 120

Price

$1,099 / £799 / AU$1,099

$649 / £449 / AU$899

$999 / £899 / AU$1,799

Dimensions

Main soundbar: 43.7 x 2.4 x 4.7 inches / 1110.7 x 60.4 x 120mm; subwoofer: 9.8 x 9.9 x 9.8 inches / 249 x 251.8 x 249mm

Main soundbar: 37.5 x 2.6 x 4.4 inches / 950 x 64 x 110mm; subwoofer: 8.3 x 15.3 x 15.3 inches / 210 x 388 x 388mm

43.3 x 5.7 x 3.0 inches / 1100 x 145 x 76mm

Speaker channels

5.1.2

3.1.2

5.1.2

Connections

1x HDMI input, 1x HDMI eARC, digital optical, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3

1x HDMI eRAC, digital optical, Bluetooth 5,3

1x HDMI input, 1x HDMI eARC, RCA Stereo, RCA Mono (sub out), USB-C, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / Yes

Yes / Yes

Yes / Yes

Sub included

Yes

Yes

No

Rear speakers included

No

No

No

Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6
Although it’s missing Wi-Fi streaming and has a 3.1.2 channel configuration, the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 is a great value soundbar and sub combo. It packs in good sound quality, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, an easy setup process, and a brilliant companion app. Considering I’ve seen it on sale for less than $500 / £350 / AU$600, that’s a whole lot of bang for your buck. Read our full Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 review.

Marshall Heston 120
Here’s something different in just about every sense. Marshall’s debut soundbar is an all-in-one model, meaning it doesn’t come with a separate sub, but it sure doesn’t skimp on bass. It puts up a deep, immersive, and expansive audio performance that seriously impressed me, hence the award of a five-star rating. It offers great Dolby Atmos for movies and music, and comes with all the connectivity options you could want. It's quite pricey, especially if you want to add the Heston Sub 200 for additional low-end power, but for the premium look and audio on offer, I think it's still a top option. Read our full Marshall Heston 120 review.

How I tested the Samsung HW-Q800F

• Tested intensively across multiple hours
• Used in our TV testing space at Future Labs
• Trialled Dolby Atmos movies and music among other formats

To test the Samsung HW-Q800F, I spent hours watching movies, listening to music, and exhausting all of its available features at the Future Labs TV testing space. During this time, I had the soundbar hooked up to the sensational Samsung S95F OLED TV, which opened up a bunch of exclusive options, such as Q-Symphony.

I used the various sound modes on offer while watching movies – predominantly in Dolby Atmos via 4K UHD Blu-rays on the Panasonic DP-UB820 – but I did also watch some non-Atmos content to assess quality across the board. On top of that, I made use of Tidal Connect to assess the soundbar’s capabilities with Dolby Atmos and stereo mixes of some tunes I’m deeply familiar with after regularly testing with them.

More generally, I've tested tons of soundbars here at TechRadar – everything from ultra-cheap options like the Hisense HS214 through to pricier models like the Marshall Heston 120. Crucially, I also reviewed and lived with last year’s Samsung HW-Q800D soundbar, so I’ve personally experienced the difference made by upgrading to the 2025 edition of Samsung’s soundbar and sub combo.

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

Shark PowerPro Cordless vacuum: two-minute reviewProduct info

There are a few different versions of this vacuum, with different product codes:

US: PowerPro Pet IZ373H; PowerPro Flex Reveal IZ382H

UK: PowerPro IZ380UK; PowerPro Pet IZ380UKFDB

AU: PowerPro IZ377H; PowerPro Flex Reveal IZ380H


For this review, I tested the IZ380UK. There may be minor differences between different countries' models.

The Shark PowerPro Cordless is a capable, no-nonsense stick vacuum that prioritizes consistent performance and everyday value over flashy extras. It’s one of the most affordable cordless models we've tested, yet it comes with very few compromises where it matters. And while its build isn’t premium, it's not a barebones vacuum either: one of the key selling points is automatic surface detection, which adjusts power as you move from carpet to hard flooring. It's a very strong contender for TechRadar's best budget vacuums guide.

Despite the budget price, you also get hallmark Shark touches like an anti-hair wrap brushroll, a flexible wand for reaching under furniture, plus a floorhead with built-in LEDs that illuminate dust and dark corners. Taken together, these features – borrowed from pricier models in Shark’s line-up – make the PowerPro feel like a far more rounded tool than its price might suggest.

That’s not to say it’s flawless. In places, the no-frills build betrays its budget status. It all clicks together with solidity, but there are some plastic components that cheapen the experience – particularly the boost trigger.

The appeal here lies in the PowerPro’s stripped-back convenience. You’re getting a functional, reliable vacuum with a handful of well-executed features that are genuinely useful in everyday use.

The interface is foolproof: there are no modes to select. Instead, the Floor Detect head automatically chooses the right setting based on the surface you’re cleaning. All you have to think about is using the Boost trigger at your fingertips. It won't offer dirt detection or edge detection (as found on the best Shark vacuums in the lineup), but this floor-based adjustment is useful nonetheless.

In use, the PowerPro is balanced and maneuverable. The floorhead moves easily over different surfaces, while the hinged wand unlatches to give you flexible reach beneath beds and sofas. Switch to a handheld configuration and the PowerPro is impressively lightweight. It’s slightly bulky for tackling tighter spaces like car footwells, but the crevice attachments help to hit nooks and crannies.

While not as powerful as the Shark PowerDetect cordless, the PowerPro performed impressively well in my cleaning tests. Suction was strong on carpeted floors, lifting both visible debris and ingrained dust without repeated passes. It also handled fine dust and heavier particles on hard floors, though Boost mode was useful for picking up larger pieces. One caveat is that the brush bar sits inset within the floorhead, which means it can struggle to get right into edges along skirting boards.

Battery life is decent, too. Although there's no battery-maximizing Eco mode, in Auto mode I achieved a very decent 40 minute average when cleaning a combination of carpeted and hard flooring. At around 3 hours, the PowerPro is relatively quick to recharge, too. Because the power plugs directly into the removable battery, you could enlist a backup battery if you wanted to extend runtimes.

The Shark PowerPro isn’t the most stylish or advanced stick vacuum on the market, but it might be the best cordless vacuum for budget-conscious shoppers. But with consistently strong performance, good battery life and a few thoughtful features, it’s a strong choice for households who need a no-fuss solution for busting dust. Robust enough for daily use, the PowerPro offers excellent overall value.

(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)Shark PowerPro IZ380UK review: price & availability

• List price: $329.99 / £249.99 / AU$399.99
• Launch date: 2025
• Availability: US, UK, AU

The Shark PowerPro launched in early 2025, and is widely available from Shark and various third-party retailers. At list price, the standard model costs $329.99 in the US, £249.99 in the UK and AU$399.99 in Australia. That puts this model towards the bottom of the mid-range bracket, but at time of writing it's heavily discounted in all territories.

Based on price history, it looks like discounts are fairly common, and you shouldn't have too much trouble picking up the PowerPro for closer to $200 / £180 / AU$300 – which is firmly in TechRadar's budget price bracket, despite it offering several features found on Shark’s pricier models.

(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

There are a few bundle options around with different tools included (for example, the 'Pet' version has a mini motorized cleaner head for furniture), as well as a more advanced 'Flex Reveal' version in some territories. For this review, I tested the IZ380UK version, which ships with crevice and upholstery tools, in addition to the standard floorhead.

Based on the current discounts, the PowerPro is one of the most affordable Shark cordless vacuums, and I think its priced well for what it delivers. As a simple, effective cordless vacuum with a streamlined but useful featureset, it offers excellent value for money in its class.

• Value for money score: 4.5 out of 5

Shark PowerPro specs

Weight (handheld unit w/ no attachments):

7.6 lbs / 3.45kg

Weight (with wand and floorhead):

3.7 lbs / 1.7kg

Dimensions (H x L x W):

45 x 12.4 x 10.4in / 114.3 x 31.6 x 26.4cm

Floorhead width:

8.5in / 21.5cm

Onboard bin capacity:

0.7L

LED headlights:

Yes

Max suction:

Not stated

Max runtime:

50 mins advertised, 40 mins on test

Charge time:

3hrs 30 mins

Shark PowerPro Cordless vacuum review: design

• No-frills construction feels plasticky but sturdy
• Flexible wand and bright floorhead LEDs
• No wall mount, but locking floorhead helps it lean steady

The Shark PowerPro follows a practical design philosophy. It doesn’t pretend to be a premium vacuum, but still includes several thoughtful touches that elevate it above basic alternatives. It’s not an ugly unit either, although Shark has focused on functional choices rather than aesthetic refinement.

Out of the box, the PowerPro feels solid enough for daily use. Everything clicks together with a reassuring snap. That said, the construction leans heavily on plastics. Parts like the boost trigger and dustbin release latches feel hollow, while there’s some flex and creak in the casing, giving a clear indication of where costs have been saved. These don’t affect performance, but they do contribute to a less premium impression than pricier Shark models.

The PowerPro follows a familiar cordless stick design. There’s a tidily packaged handheld unit that attaches to a motorized floorhead at the base. Shark’s useful 'MultiFLEX / Flexology' wand is also part of the setup. A latched hinge in the middle allows it to bend, letting you reach more easily beneath furniture without crouching. It’s a feature usually found on Shark’s more expensive cordless models, so it’s a welcome presence at this price point.

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The main unit is very lightweight, and while the wand and floorhead is less so, with that attached it still sits at the lighter end of the stick vacuum market.

The simple handle design isn’t exactly ergonomic, but it’s comfortable enough to maneuver in general use, thanks in part to the lightness of the main unit. It’s slightly too bulky for very tight spaces like car footwells, but the included crevice and upholstery tools help to maximize reach. The accessory set included with the classic model is modest, but it covers most essential tasks around the house.

Controls are deliberately minimal. Because the Floor Detect head automatically adjusts suction based on whether you’re tackling carpet or hard floors, there are no settings to toggle through. There’s just a power button and the boost trigger at the tip of your index finger. Three illuminated icons on top of the handheld unit show which mode is active, while three more on the battery show the charge level. This is less accurate than a digital readout, a feature not commonly found at this price.

At ground level, built-in LEDs illuminate dust and debris on darker surfaces. In contrast to more expensive Shark models like the Shark Detect IW4621KT, these headlights aren’t reactive depending on how well-lit the area is. They’re simply on whenever the vacuum is running, which will be perfectly fine for most users.

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At 0.7L, the dustbin slightly smaller than average, although it fills less quickly than you’d expect. The design of the dustbin itself is slightly unusual. To empty it, you press a latch to remove the entire bin from the handheld unit, before releasing the bottom door via another button. This adds an extra step compared to vacuums with direct drop-bottom bins, but it does help to reduce accidental spillage.

Charging the PowerPro isn’t as neat as it could be. The position of the charging port on top of the battery pack means that the cable trails up and over the handheld unit. It would be more natural if the port were positioned beneath it, but this is a necessary compromise to make the battery removable. The pay-off is that you can disconnect the cell to charge it, unlocking the option to keep several back-up batteries ready to swap in.

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The PowerPro doesn’t include a wall mount or charging dock, which you’d expect to receive with a more expensive model. Instead, you’ll need to lean it up against a wall when you need a pause in cleaning. The unit can’t stand upright on its own at full height, but the floorhead can at least lock at 90 degrees, to stop it rolling away from the wall.

The forward-bending wand also enables you to fold the unit completely in half and lock it that way for more compact storage. These are neat practical touches for a model sold without a stand.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

Shark PowerPro IZ380UK review: performance

• Solid debris pick-up on carpets and hard floors
• Brushroll misses edges
• Automatic adjustment based on floor type works well

Performance is where the Shark PowerPro sets itself apart from other budget stick vacuums. On test, it consistently demonstrated effective debris pick-up, removing both surface-level and embedded dirt from carpet with just a single forward-and-back pass.

The Floor Detect head does much of the heavy lifting here. As you move the PowerPro from hard floor to carpet and vice versa, it automatically adjusts the power to suit the surface. The system is quick to respond to changes, with no lag to speak of. Suction is noticeably stronger on carpet, where the floorhead feels like it’s really pulling up dirt.

As a result, the PowerPro performed very well in my carpet tests. Tackling the fine, dry contents of a teabag sprinkled on a medium-pile carpet, the Shark PowerPro collected almost everything in its path with a single pass. The remnants were tidied up on the return sweep. It also dealt well with larger debris. 30g of oats were removed cleanly enough, with little in the way of snow-ploughing or scattering. This is an area where many budget cordless vacuums falter.

(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

The PowerPro didn’t just grab visible debris, either: it also pulled up ingrained dust. After a week of regular use, the bin was still filling with fine grey dust and fluff during my tests, highlighting how effectively the PowerPro can lift deep-set dirt that other vacuums have left behind.

It’s also a strong performer on hard flooring. Fine tea disappeared cleanly from kitchen vinyl, as did drill dust. Standard suction was enough to collect heavier particles like oats, though switching to boost mode did speed things up.

Unlike some vacuums, the PowerPro generally didn’t push debris around or scatter it on hard floors. For the best performance, however, you might want to consider upgrading to a Shark PowerDetect Cordless, which has an extra flap added to the floorhead that specifically enables it to clear large particles on the reverse stroke.

(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

The boost trigger deserves a special mention. While designed as a temporary power uplift rather than an always-on mode, it provides a genuinely significant increase in suction. I found it especially useful for tackling stubborn debris in carpet fibers and lifting heavier crumbs on hard floors. Running in Boost mode does cut battery life considerably, but for targeted use, it’s a welcome addition.

Edge performance is one area where the PowerPro shows some limitations. The brushroll is inset slightly within the floorhead, which means the suction window doesn’t reach right up to the bottom of cabinets and furniture.

When I scattered tea and oats along a skirting board, a thin strip remained even after a high-powered pass. This is a limitation of the head design rather than the power, and it means you’ll need to use the crevice tool for spotless edges.

(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

The Floor Detect head features Shark’s anti-hair wrap head, with built-in rubber fins designed to stop strands from tangling around the brush bar. Over several weeks of running the PowerPro across carpets where longer human hair had been shed naturally, it worked very well.

The brushroll stayed broadly free from tangles and I didn’t need to cut away any wrapped strands, which is something many cheaper sticks struggle with. It’s another feature typically found on Shark’s pricier models that works just as effectively here.

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Noise is well-controlled, too. Those rubber fins produce a low rumble on carpet as they whizz around inside the floorhead, while the handheld unit generates a relatively modest whine that only becomes pronounced when Boost mode is active.

To my ears, the PowerPro is quieter than other cordless vacuums I’ve tested. It’s not exactly hushed, but it avoids the harsh, high-pitched tones common among budget sticks. This makes it a better choice for households where noise sensitivity is a factor.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Shark PowerPro review: battery

• No Eco mode, average of 40 mins in Auto
• Boost mode reduces battery life to <15 minutes
• Battery removable, and can be charged independently

Shark quotes the PowerPro's battery life at 50 minutes. In reality, run-time varies a fair bit based on what and where you vacuum. Cleaning carpets is more power-hungry than hard floors, for example, while liberal use of the boost trigger will put a serious dent in the performance figures.

Unlike other Shark vacuums, the PowerPro doesn’t have an low-powered Eco setting. Because of this, you can’t force it to be more frugal by disabling the Floor Detect mode. Instead, it will always assess the surface it’s running over and adjust power accordingly.

As a result, you’ll get longer battery life if your home has hard floors throughout, versus one that’s clad primarily with carpet. My own home has an even balance of the two, meaning the numbers I achieved in my tests should be fairly representative of real-world performance across different surfaces.

Over several runs, I consistently netted between 35 and 45 minutes from full to flat. Taking the average as 40 minutes, that unsurprisingly comes in lower than the official number. It also puts the PowerPro a step below the best cordless vacuums when it comes to longevity – although do bear in mind that the given runtimes will almost always be for the Eco mode.

For me, 40 minutes felt like a healthy amount of time for a single stint and a competitive number for the price category. It’s certainly enough to cover a single-story home and have some charge left in the tank.

The more modest capacity also gives the PowerPro a shorter charge time than other models. Shark says it takes “approximately 3 hours” to fully charge the IZ380UK, which proved an accurate figure in my experience. While that’s hardly instantaneous, many vacuums take significantly longer.

(Image credit: Chris Rowlands)

Using Boost mode does have a considerable effect on battery life. Keeping my finger held on the trigger brought the number down to around 15 minutes. That's actually a strong runtime for a Boost mode – but it still reflects the fact that it’s intended to be used as a brief uplift for tougher debris, rather than an always-on solution for high-powered cleaning.

The PowerPro also benefits from a removable battery. The cell itself can be charged while detached from the vacuum. This means you can extend runtime by keeping a second back-up battery charged, ready to swap in when the first one runs flat.

• Battery life score: 4 out of 5

Should you buy the Shark PowerPro Cordless vacuum?

Attribute

Notes

Rating

Value

A budget vacuum that represents excellent value, given its solid performance and surface detection smarts.

4.5 / 5

Design

The no-frills build feels plasticky in places, but it’s sturdy enough. A wall-mount would make charging neater, given the vacuum can’t stand up on its own.

4 / 5

Performance

Strong pickup and surface detection works well, with Boost mode available for tackling more stubborn debris. The brushroll doesn’t get right into corners.

4 / 5

Battery

No Eco mode, but an average of 40 minutes in Auto is very decent, as is the ~15 mins in Boost. Recharge is speedy.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a great-value vacuum
With impressive suction, solid battery life and decent build quality at a competitive price, the Shark PowerPro ticks a lot of boxes for the money.

You prefer a simpler interface
With just two modes, a power button and a Boost trigger to master, the Shark PowerPro is more straightforward than many vacuums on the market.

You want a lightweight vacuum
In handheld mode the PowerPro is impressively light, and even with the (rather chunky) wand attached, it's on the lighter side for a stick vacuum.

Don't buy it if...

You need all the bells and whistles
While it has a Floor Detect head with built-in lights, you don’t get the edge detection smarts or charging dock of premium Shark vacuums.

You want premium build quality
The plastic body is robust enough to shake off bumps around the house, but the boost trigger and bin release latch feel cheaper than rivals.

You expect perfect pick-up
The floorhead does a great job of sucking up dust, it's not as powerful as the PowerDetect, and the brushroll doesn’t get right into corners either.

How I tested the Shark PowerPro Cordless vacuum

• Used as my main vacuum cleaner for a month
• Tested across hard and carpeted floors at home
• Conducted standardized tests for debris pick-up

I tested the Shark PowerPro IZ380UK over a period of several weeks. I used it as my main vacuum cleaner in my own home, which has a mix of both carpeted and hard surfaces. Before running any formal tests, I used the PowerPro for ordinary daily cleaning to get an understanding of its general performance, noise levels, maneuverability and battery life.

I then moved on to running the PowerPro through TechRadar’s standard vacuum testing protocol. To assess fine dust pick-up, I sprinkled the contents of a dry teabag on both carpet and hard flooring, then passed over the area with the PowerPro on its standard setting. For a trial with larger debris, I repeated the process with a bag of oats. I only switched to Boost mode if the floorhead failed to collect everything on the first pass.

To test edge performance, I distributed tea and oats along skirting boards then checked how much was left behind when I ran the floorhead flush along them. I also evaluated hair pick-up by running the anti-hair wrap brushroll over areas of carpet home to longer strands, to see whether any tangled around the brush bar.

I measured battery life first by charging the vacuum to full, then running it continuously across a mix of surfaces until it powered down. I then charged it fully again to confirm the recharge time, before repeating the process to get an accurate average of battery life. I also ran similar trials using boost mode to verify the higher-powered run-time.

Finally, In tested the included crevice and upholstery tools on furniture, stairs and inside a car footwell to evaluate how effectively they picked up dirt, as well as the balance and reach of the unit as a handheld tool. Throughout my tests, I also paid attention to functionality and ease of use, especially when it came to regular actions in real-world situations, like emptying the bin.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed November 2025

Analogue 3D: Two-minute review

The Analogue 3D is finally here, and it's one of the best retro games consoles available on the market. After multiple delays and what felt like a longer wait than those excruciating Christmas Eve sleeps as a kid, Analogue’s take on the iconic Nintendo 64 is in my hands, and I’ve been testing it thoroughly over the last couple of weeks.

The Analogue 3D is a modern take on the N64, allowing gamers to experience the magic and nostalgia of the home console that launched in 1996. Analogue has made a name for itself as one of, if not the, best retro game preservation company on the planet, and I don’t think it will take long for the 3D to cement itself as the definitive N64 experience, just like the company’s Game Boy hardware emulator, the Analogue Pocket.

Analogue’s approach to hardware is one of true love for nostalgia, allowing gamers to recreate the memories of their youth by playing original cartridges in 4K via an FPGA chip. This means the 3D is for the true enthusiast, someone who has a collection of N64 games and wants to experience their childhood in the best way possible.

Build quality is excellent, as you’d expect from the company that created the Analogue Pocket, and the console works with original N64 controllers as well as 8bitdo’s modern recreation, which has been purposefully built for use with the 3D.

The Analogue 3D is the quintessential Nintendo 64 experience, and is a must-buy for those looking to play the most authentic recreation of the console of their youth on one of the best OLED TVs. That said, it’s still an N64, so if you don’t have a physical collection or don’t have the necessary nostalgia to truly enjoy these often dated games, you may want to opt for a different era of retro gaming instead.

Analogue 3D: Price and availability

• List price: $249.99 / £190 / $AU 385
• Comes in two colors (white and black)
• Currently sold out

(Image credit: Future)

The Analogue 3D is now shipping via analogue.co. The 3D first went on preorder in October 2024, and while it’s now available, it is currently sold out on the Analogue website.

You can buy the 3D in Black or White, and in the box you’ll get an HDMI cable, USB-C for power, and a power adaptor. The 3D has no controller in the box, and while you can use any of your old N64 controllers, third-party company 8bitdo’s 64 controller is available for $39.99 / £32 in black and white via Amazon.

There are also no games included in the box, and no ability to play titles from other consoles with cartridge adaptors, so you’ll need to source your own physical N64 cartridges.

Analogue 3D: Specs

Price

$249.99 / £190 / $AU385

Dimensions (H x W x L)

1.9 x 9 x 7in / 49 x 230 x 180mm

Weight

29.5oz / 837g

Compatibility

Nintendo 64

Connection type

USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, SD card

Battery life

N/A

Features

HDMI Out 4K resolution, faithful CRT recreation for modern TVs, 100% compatibility with original N64 cartridges

Software

Native OS

Analogue 3D: Design and features

• Plastic but sturdy enclosure
• Looks elegant under your TV
• The best way to play N64 cartridges

(Image credit: Future)

The Analogue 3D is gorgeous, just like the other products in the company's repertoire. It feels like the N64 grew up, and while some people will be waiting patiently for limited edition color offerings, I'm a big fan of the black and white options here. There’s no toy-like plastic, no rattling parts, and no leftover design weirdness from the late 90s.

Instead, Analogue has built a console that feels dense and premium while looking great on a shelf and even better underneath a TV, where it blends in with modern consoles rather than sticking out as a relic - this definitely passes the "Can I put this in the living room?" wife test.

The finish reminds me of high-end audio equipment, with lines that are clean, subtle edges, and a color palette that is understated without losing personality. Even the cartridge slot has a satisfying firmness, and inserting a cartridge has that awesome "thunk" you used to love as a child.

Around the back, you get HDMI out, USB-C for power, two USB-A, and an SD card slot pre-installed with a 16GB card for storing screenshots, firmware, and all the other OS information. On the front are four original N64 controller ports that light up satisfyingly when you connect a Bluetooth controller.

(Image credit: Future)

The Analogue 3D provides everything you need for a modern N64 experience without clutter or additional converters. The console plays your original cartridges using FPGA hardware, which means no emulation and no guesswork. What you’re seeing is effectively the real hardware recreated with jaw-dropping accuracy.

The menu interface is simple in the best possible way. With the tap of a button, you can tweak video settings, swap filters, and overclock the performance to try and beat the abysmal framerates of the original N64. It’s clean, responsive and takes seconds to navigate.

It's worth noting, however, that save states are not available yet on the Analogue 3D, and we're not sure when they will be. On my Analogue Pocket, the save state feature is one of my favorite parts of the device, and Analogue even showed the feature on the 3D in its marketing. Hopefully, save states will be available soon, and I'll make sure to update the review as soon as they are.

Support for original controllers is a huge win, and while I didn't test one myself, I can imagine the impracticality of the original thumb stick would add to the charm of the 3D experience. Modern controllers work very well, and pairing them takes seconds. The system automatically detects what’s connected, so you can jump straight into a game, but I'd recommend waiting for 8bitdo's grey variant, which has colored buttons, as the all black N64 controller confused me at times.

Analogue 3D: Performance

• Faithful FPGA hardware emulation of N64 games
• 4K image quality with gorgeous CRT filters
• 100% cartridge compatibility

This is where the Analogue 3D earns its price tag. Playing N64 games on FPGA hardware is a completely different experience to emulation, and quite honestly the best way to experience your favorite games from the late 90s. Everything responds instantly, with no input lag, and it very much feels like a product made by Nintendo for an adult gamer wanting to relive their youth.

I tested the console on one of the best OLED TVs, 65-inch Samsung S90D OLED, which is about as far from a CRT as you can get. Somehow, the Analogue 3D handled it without exposing every flaw of the era. Colours looked vibrant, edges were cleaner than I’ve ever seen them on original hardware and the system held up beautifully whether I was playing Mario 64, Mario Party 3, GoldenEye 007 or even WCW/NWO Revenge.

But be warned, this isn’t a console that transforms the visuals into something modern. It preserves everything, flaws included, but that's where the charm lies: it's a 4k faithful restoration of the N64 and for people that love the awkward console, the 3D is a must-buy. Combined with Analogue's gorgeous filters which the company calls "a museum-grade restoration of analogue gaming's most beautiful display technology", the 3D truly cements itself as the best way to play N64 on a modern TV.

There were a couple of moments where cartridges needed a second insertion to register properly, and of course, I found myself blowing cartridges (despite the fact that's not recommended). In the box Analogue provides some foam pads to help clean the pins of your N64 cartridges, which is a lovely addition in case you're having compatibility issues.

(Image credit: Future)

Image quality on the 3D really shines, but again, if you're expecting to see an N64 game with modern graphics, you'll be disappointed.

Polygon edges look cleaner, the scaling is smooth, and the whole image feels more stable than the original hardware ever managed. My Samsung S90D OLED made colours pop without turning everything into neon, and brightness levels were handled well enough that nothing felt washed out or overly crushed.

Like I mentioned above, Analogue includes a handful of optional filters. Adding light scanlines gave Mario 64 a nostalgic softness, while GoldenEye 007 benefited from a cleaner look without anything layered over the top. You can also adjust aspect ratio, remove overscan, and tweak settings depending on the game.

This is as good as N64 games are ever going to look without completely remaking them, but the hardware can’t hide the fact that some textures are muddy and some 3D models are… well... terrible. That said, the 3D does make these games look sharper, more consistent, and more pleasant to revisit.

(Image credit: Future)

Analogue has done an excellent job with compatibility, with the company claiming 100% compatibility for the first time ever. In my testing, everything worked flawlessly, although I don't have the most extensive N64 catalog. Mario 64, Mario Party 3, GoldenEye 007 and WCW/NWO Revenge all worked exactly as I remembered them, quirks and all.

I've seen posts online from other reviewers stating EverDrive support varies depending on model, and it's very unlikely that Analogue will officially endorse flash carts. So if you plan to use a single cartridge for all your games, then I suggest doing your homework before buying a 3D.

(Image credit: Future)

After using the 3D for a few weeks, I'm surprised by my experience. As someone who loves retro gaming and really appreciates what the company does for game preservation, I find this product way harder to recommend than, say, the Analogue Pocket or the Modretro Chromatic, for example. That might be because of my own personal nostalgia for the Game Boy era, but I think it's more to do with the fact that the N64 has aged very poorly compared to even older games like those found on the SNES.

The Analogue 3D is a remarkable piece of hardware, but the N64 library itself hasn’t aged well. These games are fun, iconic, and historically important, but the jump from 2D to 3D was messy, and it shows. Textures are blurry, controls can feel floaty, and frame rates dip more than you might remember.

If you don’t have nostalgia for these games, the Analogue 3D won’t magically convert you. It's very much a time machine for people who grew up in the late 90s and still feel emotional watching the boot logo appear on screen.

If that’s you, the console is magic. If not, a SNES or GameCube might be a better retro investment, and I think sticking to the N64 library on Nintendo Switch Online would probably meet your needs.

Should you buy the Analogue 3DBuy it if...

You want to relive your N64 childhood
If you loved the Nintendo 64 as a child, there will be something magical in reliving the experience via the Analogue 3D. This console truly captures the magic of the N64, faults and all.

You own a large N64 cartridge library
If you've still got all of your old N64 cartridges, then the 3D will give you hours and hours of joy. Some of the greatest games of all time reside on the console, although even the best of them, like Ocarina of Time, have been remastered to provide a better experience on more modern hardware.

You want an N64 for the holidays
I really hope Analogue makes the 3D available for purchase before the end of the Holiday Season, because the N64 thrives as a multiplayer console to be enjoyed with friends and family. If you want to rekindle the magic of playing video games on Christmas morning in the '90s, then pick up a 3D.

Don't buy it if...

You don't own N64 cartridges
If you're thinking of starting an N64 cartridge collection, then ignore this point. But if you don't own any games already, the 3D will quickly become a far more expensive purchase. Some of the most iconic games can be found for relatively cheap, but others, like Conker's Bad Fur Day, can fetch a hefty price tag.

You never played the N64
The N64 was the first true jump into 3D gaming, and it shows. It's quite endearing to see how developers experimented with 3D, but most games have aged pretty badly, and I think someone who doesn't have the nostalgia for the console would quickly become bored with the offering.

Also consider...

If you’re still not entirely sold on the Analogue 3D then check out these excellent similar products for comparison and consideration.

Analogue 3D

Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo Switch OLED

Price

$249.99 / £190 / $AU385

$429.99 / £395.99 / $AU699.95

$349.99 / £309.99 / $AU539.95

Dimensions

1.9 x 9 x 7in / 49 x 230 x 180mm

10.7 x 4.5 x 0.6in / 272 x 114 x 15mm

4 x 9.5 x 0.5in / 10 x 2.4 x 1.4cm

Weight

29.5oz / 837g

18.8oz / 535g

14.88oz / 421.84g

Compatibility

Nintendo 64 cartridges

Nintendo Switch 2 / Nintendo Switch / Nintendo Switch Online (N64, SNES, etc)

Nintendo Switch / Nintendo Switch Online (N64, SNES, etc)

Connection type

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C, HDMI output

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C, HDMI output (in TV mode)

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C, HDMI output (in TV mode)

Battery life

N/A

2-5 hours

4.5 to 9 hours, depending on usage

Features

4k output, VRR, Lag free, zero signal degradation, NTSC & PAL Support, museum-quality filter accuracy to recreate CRT

8-inch OLED multi-touch display (1080p resolution), 256GB internal storage, improved stereo speakers, next-gen dock with 4K output and integrated LAN port, reinforced adjustable kickstand

7.0-inch OLED multi-touch screen (1280x720 resolution), 64GB internal storage, stereo speakers, enhanced dock with built-in LAN port, adjustable wide kickstand

Software

Analogue 3Dos, can play official Nintendo 64 cartidges

Runs all Nintendo Switch 2 games, access to Nintendo eShop and online services

Runs all Nintendo Switch games, access to Nintendo eShop and online services

Nintendo Switch OLED
If you're just looking to casually play N64 games on the go, the Nintendo Switch offers a range of games on its Nintendo Switch Online service. Add to that the extensive Nintendo Switch library and a gorgeous OLED display, and this might be the best middle ground for those looking for the perfect all-in-one gaming console.

For more information, check out our full Nintendo Switch OLED review.

Nintendo Switch 2
If you want to play GameCube games alongside N64, as well as experience the latest and greatest games from Nintendo, then the company's latest console, the Switch 2, should be at the top of your list. While it doesn't have an OLED screen in handheld, it looks gorgeous on a large TV.

For more information, check out our full Nintendo Switch 2 review.

How I tested the Analogue 3D

• Tested for 2 weeks
• Compared it directly to the experience on Nintendo Switch Online
• Tested across game types

I’ve used the Analogue 3D for the past few weeks, and it has become my main way to play Nintendo 64 games at home.

I’ve tested the console with all of my original cartridges, including Mario 64, Mario Party 3, GoldenEye 007 and WCW/NWO Revenge.

Every game was played on my Samsung S90D OLED TV, so I could properly judge the image quality and performance on a modern display. I tried all of Analogue's display filters as well as overclocking the hardware via the built-in menu.

Read more about how we test

First tested November 2025

Jabees 7Seven headphones: One minute review

The Jabees 7Seven swimming headphones pack some features you don’t even find on their contemporaries at Shokz for around half the price. For many, that’s plenty of reason to buy. The 7Sevens are light as a feather at 28g and packs an ample 32GB of MP3 storage, essential for underwater listening where Bluetooth connectivity is weaker. This storage space outdoes quite a few older bone conduction headphones sets that have retained their price over the years, and puts the 7sevens in the same league as the Nank Runner Diver2 Pro and H20 Audio Tri 2 Pro.

Multipoint connectivity and Bluetooth 6.0 are great quality-of-life upgrades we wouldn’t expect on cheap headphones, allowing you to link to multiple devices and switch between them seamlessly. This is nice to swap between the phone for running and commuting and laptop for work, and works well in practice. Phone calls with the built-in microphone are, unfortunately, a bit tinny: the recipient of my test calls could hear me fine outside on a rainy run, but even at max volume the other person’s voice wasn’t great.

Music fared much better. Regardless of whether it was streamed via Bluetooth or loaded onto the headphones via the MP3 storage feature, quality was good, especially considering these are cheap bone conduction headphones. The transistors do vibrate at higher volumes during bassy tracks, which is especially noticeable above-ground on runs and in the office. However, in the water during swims, the vibrations are greatly reduced.

(Image credit: Future)

Controls are simple and intuitive, with volume up and down also allowing you to skip tracks as usual. Everything else is handled by the multifunction power button with a variety of long and short presses, and it’s generally easily remembered, although I kept the manual to refer back to.

Generally speaking, the Jabees 7Seven headphones offer good quality that bely their price, but there are still some niggles here and there that have been ironed out in more expensive offerings. The fit around the ears isn’t adjustable: instead, the 7Sevens are packaged with a “secure fit loop”, a little piece of elastic common in bone conduction headsets that are supposed to tighten the band around the head. The battery only covers five hours of playback time, so they’ll need to be quite frequently charged. And then there are the high vibrations from the transistors at full volume and slight call quality issues.

However, none of these annoyances are enough to reduce the 7Seven’s status as a value-for-money alternative to the likes of Shokz and H20. It’s got some great features, stores a ton of music, and that five-hour playback will be enough for several pool sessions and a run. They won’t last all the way through an ironman event, but if you’re into that, you’re probably opting for the more expensive headphones anyway.

Jabees 7Seven headphones: Price and availability

• $59.99 / £47.99 / AU$99
• Cheaper than most high-quality swimming headphones
• Same 32GB storage as more expensive brands

The Jabees 7Seven bone conduction headphones are available for $59.99 / £47.99 / AU$99, and bundle deals on multiple headphones can be found on the Jabees’ website. Considering some of their competitors are double, sometimes triple the price, you’re getting a lot for your buck with 32GB storage

Jabees 7Seven headphones: Scorecard

(Image credit: Future)

Category

Comment

Score

Value

For the price, they are terrific.

4.5/5

Design

Some more attention to the fit and transistor vibration would have been nice-to-haves.

3.5/5

Features

Multipoint connectivity, Bluetooth 6.0, 32GB storage. No notes.

5/5

Performance

Good in the water and on runs, although a couple of niggles.

3.5/5

Jabees 7Seven headphones: Should I buy?Buy it if...

You’re on a budget

At under $60 / £50 / AU$100, these headphones are great value.

You’ve got a big music library

32GB is a lot of space for MP3 storage.

You’re a regular swimmer

As opposed to dedicated runners, these headphones are great for mixed disciplines.

Don't buy it if...

You do long multi-sport events

Five hours of battery isn’t enough for long days on the trail.

You don’t own your own music

Without a library of MP3s to listen to in the pool, these headphones become less attractive.

Also consider

Shokz OpenRun

The best cheap bone conduction headphones for running.

Read our full Shokz OpenRun review

Shokz Openswim Pro

More expensive than the 7Sevens, but the best swimming headphones you can buy.

Read our full Shokz Openswim Pro review

How I tested

I tested the Jabees 7Seven underwater and on various runs. I drained the battery down, tested onboard MP3s and Bluetooth streaming alike, and adjusted the fit using the included secure fit loop.

The first thing that struck me in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl – recently released on PlayStation 5 – wasn't the claws of a mutated creature or a bandit's hail of bullets, but the first-person shooter's stunning visual presentation.

Incredibly atmospheric, brimming with absorbing details, and endlessly immersive, GSC Game World's passion project immediately places you in a brutal, believable post-apocalyptic world capable of conjuring a lifetime of nightmares.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5 Pro
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, PC
Release date: November 20, 2025 (PS5)

Of course, if you laced up the boots of the titular wasteland wanderer and braved the game's unforgiving open-world when the Ukrainian developer released it on Xbox platforms and PC a year ago, you're well aware of Stalker 2's adept ability to transport you to its fictional take on the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – the tragic site of 1986's Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster.

That said, while its original release was technically advanced and artistically brilliant, it was also brought down by numerous bugs, graphical and performance glitches, and other annoyances that often made it more frustrating than fun.

Following 12 months of fixes, patches, and additional polish, however, most of those issues have been squashed like an irradiated insect, making the title's PS5 launch leaps and bounds better than what some Xbox and PC players suffered through.

PlayStation 5-powered post-apocalypse

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

Given that the existing versions of the game also benefit from these same updates and improvements, it's worth noting that Stalker 2 is now in a much better place regardless of what platform you're playing on. Still, thanks to several PS5 – and, especially, PS5 Pro-specific upgrades and features – this latest trip to the Zone is easily the best yet.

For starters, the PS5 version offers both performance (targeting 2K resolution at 60 FPS) and quality modes (targeting 4K resolution at 30 FPS), while the PS5 Pro bumps the former even further, with performance aiming for 4K at 60 FPS. During my testing, playing primarily in performance mode on the PS5 Pro, I enjoyed a consistently fast, fluid experience. Both platforms also crank the immersion with a number of DualSense features, from adaptive trigger and haptic feedback support to clever integration of the controller's built-in speaker and touchpad.

PS5 Pro players also enjoy some additional bells and whistles, including more realistic shadows, lighting, reflections, and volumetric effects that push the graphical presentation to the platform's horsepower-pushing limits. More than mere back-of-the-box bullet points, these PS5 and PS5 Pro improvements combine to deliver tangible, experience-enhancing details and touches that truly make the forbidden Zone come to life…and death.

The DualSense delivers

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

Prominent displays of the PS5's extra power, like the rumble of a patrolling helicopter being felt through the DualSense – even as the pilots' communications crackle through the controller's speaker – will immediately have you questioning how you played Stalker 2 without Sony's proprietary tech in your hands.

It's truly the best implementation of the DualSense I've experienced since Astro Bot pleased my palms last fall.

But it's often far subtler moments, like unexpectedly wading into a radioactive puddle, that'll have you scooping your jaw from the floor. First, you'll likely spy the incredibly realistic reflections of the surrounding environment on the water, then notice your own shadow staring back at you.

Dare to delve further into the potentially deadly pool, and you'll see it ripple in time with your every footstep. But your cautious movements aren't the only ones stirring up the murky water, as hovering insects create tiny circles on its surface, while falling leaves cause a gentle lilting effect. Short of the DualSense spraying an actual mist in your face, I can't imagine how such moments could be more tangible.

While the culmination of these lulling effects could almost fool you into thinking you're playing a health spa simulator, the rampaging, mutated boar that's about to skewer you with its splintered tusks will quickly snap you back to reality. Stalker 2 is as brutal as it is beautiful, so you'll want to resist pausing too long to soak in its cinema-rivalling presentation.

Expectation-subverting shooter

(Image credit: GSC)

While the game is generally billed as a first-person shooter, it's focused as much on unforgiving, survival horror gameplay as it is clip-emptying action. In fact, its steep difficulty – even on its "normal" setting – makes other post-apocalyptic action games feel like a picnic.

On top of standard survival elements, such as scarce ammo and resources, limited inventory space, and the constant, foreboding sense that your next breath could be your last, Stalker 2 tasks you with managing a number of other hazards. In addition to monitoring your health and stamina, you'll need to keep a close eye on thirst and hunger levels, as well as bleed damage following any encounter that's gone south.

Of course, given that the game takes place in an open world that woke up on the wrong side of a nuclear disaster, there's also the persistent threat of falling victim to radiation poisoning. But not to worry, as the rapid, tension-ratcheting ping of your radiation detector – frantically emitting from the DualSense – will let you know when you're about to become the Zone's next pile of ash. Whether or not you react to the warning fast enough to save your skin is another story.

Best bit

(Image credit: GSC Game World)

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl consistently stacks the odds against you, frequently putting you face-to-face with mutated creatures, deadly anomalies, and evil-doing humans that are rarely happy to see you. There's nothing more rewarding than surviving a seemingly unbeatable encounter by the skin of your teeth… then looting the poor saps that tried to end you.

Toss in the fact that the massive map's absolutely brimming with all manner of mutated wildlife, human adversaries, and anomalies that can suddenly turn your seemingly normal surroundings into a death trap devoid of any scientific explanation, and, well, Stalker 2 will never be mistaken for another shooter that makes you feel like a world-saving space marine or super-soldier.

When a perfect storm of these aforementioned threats gets the best of you, the game can even feel a bit unfair and, if you haven't saved in a minute, border on frustrating. On the plus side, a number of rewarding gameplay loops – from upgrading your weapons and gear to progressing the story and piecing together the Zone's puzzle-like mysteries – should keep you engaged, even as the harsh world repeatedly throws you to the figurative – and sometimes literal – wolves.

But these elements, too, bring their own set of stressors. A strict durability system means weapons and gear can break down, while saddling yourself with too many items can lead to your Stalker becoming overencumbered. So even when you’re not under immediate threat, the game isn’t about to let you take a breather.

While Stalker 2 isn't for the faint of heart, its refreshing mix of survival-focused first-person action and an incredibly atmospheric, nerve-fraying open-world allows it to stand out from the post-apocalyptic fragger pack. Its unique take on the genre is further elevated by the PS5's ability to deliver the prettiest, most immersive version of the game yet. If its buggy launch last year kept you from breaching the borders of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, now's a great time to strap on the gas mask and give it a go.

Should you play Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl PS5?Play it if...

You've been waiting for the best version of the game
In addition to the PS5 and PS5 Pro versions of the game benefiting from a year's worth of bug-squashing patches and game-enhancing updates, they also feature noticeably improved graphics and performance. On top of that, the game makes some of the best use of the DualSense the tech has ever seen.

You like your first-person shooters with a bit more meat on them
Stalker 2 is not a run-and-gun, linear shooter, but a survival-focused fragger that drops you in a punishing open-world you could lose 100 hours in. It has much more in common with a sprawling RPG or a survival horror game than an FPS campaign, like you'd find in Call of Duty.

You wanted to play last year, but were put off by the buggy launch
Regardless of all the PS5 perks that come with this latest release of Stalker 2, the game has been continuously updated and patched for the last year. All versions of the game have benefited from these fixes, making it the perfect time to brave the Zone on any platform.

Don't play it if...

You prefer a more directed, fast-paced first-person shooter
Stalker 2 isn't a guided, story-driven game filled with boss encounters and set pieces. While it has a critical narrative path, it's more of a meandering, exploration-rewarding experience that largely allows you to forge your own path at your own pace.

You're not craving a steep challenge
Filled with brutal foes and even harsher environments, Stalker 2 is far from a power fantasy, but rather a deeply challenging, survival-focused game that's most rewarding when you just barely survive encounters by the skin of your teeth.

Accessibility features

Stalker 2 contains a number of standard accessibility features, allowing users to adjust settings like subtitle size and subtitle background opacity. It also includes color blind modes, Protanopia, Deuteranopia, and Tritanopia, as well as the ability to toggle user interface elements, such as object markers, threat indicators, crosshair color, and mission notifications.

An Immersive Mode also allows you to disable the entire HUD for a more cinematic experience. Rookie, Stalker, Veteran, and Master difficulty settings are available to support a variety of skill levels, while an Expedition Mode lets you pair any of those settings with a more rigid save system.

How I reviewed Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl

I spent nearly 50 hours in Stalker 2, splitting my time between main missions, side quests, optional activities, and free-roaming exploration. Having previously played 40 or so hours of the game's Xbox Series X version, I reviewed the PlayStation release on a PS5 Pro. I tested both quality and performance modes and, while I didn't notice a significant difference between the two, I spent the majority of my time in the latter.

I played on a TCL 4K TV, with HDR enabled. I listened to the game through my television's built-in stereo speakers, rather than headphones or earbuds (as I normally would), so I could appreciate the full suite of DualSense features, which includes a good deal of audio effects delivered through the controller's speakers.

First reviewed November 2025

Garmin Vivoactive 6: One minute review

The Garmin Vivoactive 6 is a great fitness watch, which isn’t something I was necessarily expecting from Garmin’s slimmer, more budget-friendly offering. It’s stuffed with features such as PacePro, Garmin’s virtual pacing system for runners, which generally belong on more expensive, more specialist watches like Garmin’s Forerunner series.

Still, the Vivoactive series is a lifestyle watch for active people. It shares a lot of DNA with Garmin’s other lifestyle watch, the Venu 4, but it’s cheaper and made from less premium materials. If the Venu 4 is like an Apple Watch, the Vivoactive 6 is more like an Apple Watch SE: there have been some compromises made to lower the price, but it’s still a really effective, comfortable activity watch I enjoyed wearing.

Like the Apple Watch SE 3, the Garmin Vivoactive 6 is very light, weighing in at just 36g with a band, and slim at just 10.9mm thick. This means it’s comfortable for all-day wear, and you can go from the gym to the office and even to bed and basically forget about wearing it. It slipped easily under my shirt cuff during daywear when other Garmin watches would bulge. Any sleep tracker has to be comfortable to wear throughout the night, and this was the case with the Vivoactive more so than the Venu, which is a milimeter or so thicker and much heavier due to its metal construction.

Smart wake alarm, a new feature for Garmin, was long missing from its lineup, and I was pleased yet surprised to see it in the Vivoactive line. It wakes you up with haptic vibrations at the lightest point in your sleep cycle, within a 30-minute window. Having tried it for a few days, I found it a much more pleasant way to wake up than my usual alarm, and I feel anecdotally less groggy in the mornings.

I enjoyed the Auto Activity Start feature too, which I set to start recording after one minute of road running. It really contributes to a seamless, super-light smartwatch experience when you don’t have to toggle around to get to the running settings – just run. It’s a nice-to-have, but it adds to the overall ‘virtual assistant’ experience many smartwatches are now striving for, to anticipate your needs without you having to wade through menus. I do wish the Vivoactive 6 had a microphone and voice assistant, but I can accept shortcomings at this price point.

It’s not necessarily the watch I’d recommend to adventurers or serious runners due to missing features from other Garmin watches, and it’s packing the older Elevate V4 heart rate sensor, which is functional but not as accurate as the upgraded Elevate V5, and my tests against the Polar H10 heart rate monitor corroborate that. But it’s a great fitness tool and the best cheap Garmin watch of 2025.

Garmin Vivoactive 6: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• $299.99 / £279.99 / AU$549
• Affordably priced compared to other Garmins
• Comparable to most smartwatches from Apple and Samsung

The Garmin Vivoactive 6 retails at $299.99 / £279.99 / AU$549, although can be found on sale for slightly less.

That's very comparable with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Watch8 and Google Pixel Watch 4, and slightly more expensive than the Apple Watch SE 3. Although it's perhaps leaning more towards fitness enthusiasts than those all-rounder watches, I'd say this is a great price for the amount of features on offer.

Garmin Vivoactive 6: Scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

Cheap and most certainly cheerful, stuffed with premium features for the price.

5/5

Design

Two buttons and a touchscreen, nice and light, with a redesigned UI.

4/5

Features

Tons if you like your fitness, but lacking some modern smartwatch amenities like a microphone.

4/5

Performance

Accurate enough, comfortable to wear and lasts ages. I do wish it was packing Garmin’s more accurate HR monitor though.

4/5

Garmin Vivoactive 6: Should I buy?

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

You want an Apple Watch SE alternative

The Garmin Vivoactive 6 is an excellent value package, with an AMOLED screen and loads of training tools.

You’re a runner

PacePro, automatic run tracking, and Garmin’s advanced suite of fitness and recovery tools make it a comprehensive run tracker ideal for most people.

You struggle with comfort

Bulky, heavy watches are difficult to wear at night. The Vivoactive 6 is practically invisible on-wrist, and ideal for slimmer wrists.

Don't buy it if...

You want an adventure watch

The Garmin Instinct 3 is a little bit more expensive and packs lots of outdoor-focused navigation features.

Accuracy is everything

If you need the latest Elevate V5 heart rate sensor for pinpoint precision rather than an estimate, go for the Venu 4.

Also consider

Garmin Forerunner 570

The best Garmin watch for runners: it’s more expensive, but ideal if you love pounding the pavement.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 570 review

Apple Watch SE 3

The best Apple Watch for most people, with some smartwatch features the Vivoactive 6 is missing.

Read our full Apple Watch SE 3 reviewView Deal

How I tested

I wore the Garmin Vivoactive 6 for 10 days, performing different kinds of workouts, sleeping with it on, and draining the battery down. I tested its various functions, including the new Smart Wake alarm, and tested its Elevate V4 heart rate sensor against a Polar H10 chest-mounted heart rate monitor.

First reviewed: November 2025

Sony Xperia 1 VII: Two-minute review

The Xperia 1 VII is Sony’s top Android phone. It’s simultaneously refreshing among its peers and too conservative to be considered all that interesting or dynamic.

It’s very similar to its predecessor, the Sony Xperia 1 VI, but stands out as one of the few higher-end phones with a headphone jack and microSD expandable storage. These are not expensive features, but do partially come to define the Xperia 1 VII’s appeal against its rivals.

The other side of the phone is a bit more problematic. Aside from using what was at launch the latest, most powerful, Qualcomm chipset, the Xperia 1 series is falling behind in a few areas.

Charging speed, battery capacity, camera slickness, and video modes nowadays feel a little regressive in this class, and some of these areas are more limited than they were in some earlier generations of the Sony Xperia 1 VII’s family.

This would not matter so much were the Sony Xperia 1 VII not extremely expensive, but it costs more than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is the more dynamic phone.

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Starts at £1,399 (roughly $1,870 / AU$2,885)
• Launched in June 2025

The Sony Xperia 1 VII was released in June 2025, following an announcement in May.

It costs £1,399 or 1,499 euros, equivalent to around $1,870 / AU$2,885 in a direct currency conversion at the time of writing, but with no current availability in those regions. This is for the model reviewed, which has 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. There is also a 512GB model in some parts of the world, but this isn't available in the UK.

In any case, that price puts the Sony Xperia 1 VII among the most expensive Android phones to date, short of unusual models encrusted with jewels or gold bling.

• Value score: 2 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: specs

Here's a full specs list for the Sony Xperia 1 VII, so you can see what it has going for it at a glance:

Sony Xperia 1 VII specs

Dimensions:

162 x 74 x 8.2mm

Weight:

197g

Screen:

6.5-inch 19.5:9 FHD+ (1080 x 2340) 120Hz LTPO OLED

Chipset:

Snapdragon 8 Elite

RAM:

12GB

Storage:

256GB

OS:

Android 15

Primary camera:

48MP, f/1.9, 24mm

Ultra-wide camera:

48MP, f/2.0, 16mm

Telephoto camera:

12MP, f/2.3-f/3.5, 3.5x-7.1x zoom (85-170mm)

Front camera:

12MP, f/2.0, 24mm

Audio:

Stereo speakers

Battery:

5,000mAh

Charging:

30W wired, 15W wireless

Colors:

Moss Green, Orchid Purple, Slate Black

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• Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen protection
• Familiar Sony 'monolith' design
• 3.5mm headphone jack

Phones these days are often accused of being boring, and in many ways the Sony Xperia 1 VII is also guilty of that. It looks virtually identical to its predecessor, and is part of a design family tree so long it could shame some monarchical dynasties.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII is a metal and glass brick that offers very little in the way of visible outer progress in tech or style. But that’s kind of the point with this series.

Sony offers lots of the bits other manufacturers have long since discarded in the noble pursuit of copying Apple. For example, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a headphone jack, which I love as someone who actually bought a pair of wired in-ear monitors during testing.

It also has space for a microSD card in its SIM tray, and there’s no notch or punch-hole in the screen, just larger-than-most display borders. And it has a two-stage shutter button for the camera too. I’m not much of a fan of the latter these days, but Sony can make treading water seem valuable because it offers so much that other flagship phones just don’t have anymore.

Most of the build bullet points are largely beyond reproach too. The Sony Xperia 1 VII is a full metal and glass phone, with Corning’s tough Gorilla Glass Victus 2 up front, and aluminum sides. Its rear panel is 'just' Victus rather than its successor, which has better drop resistance, but this still provides a respectable amount of protection.

The back is also textured, with a series of embossed dots, apparent when you look real close. It’s very fingerprint-resistant, and simply gives the Sony Xperia 1 VII a different feel than that of flat glossy glass.

(Image credit: Future)

It is basically an identical feel to the Sony Xperia VI, though, especially as the two generations also have a sort-of corrugated effect to the frame.

The rectangular shape makes the Sony Xperia 1 VII feel tough, the sort of phone you could use as a bludgeoning weapon. But in previous generations I’ve found it less than ideal for the finish’s longevity. Eventually the paint will wear off the sharp corners of the frame, showing up as bright, raw aluminum highlights. A couple of weeks in, that wear is already visible on the Sony Xperia 1 VII's camera lens housing.

You can fix that with a case, of course, but the Sony Xperia 1 VII does not include one.

Like other phones in this series, the Xperia 1 VII also has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor rather than an in-screen one. It doesn’t feel as instantaneous as some, and I find it annoyingly picky. As soon as I’ve done a little exercise, just a bit of sweat will cause my finger not to be recognized.

The speaker array deserves a note too. There are front-mounted stereo speakers, with the fairly full-sounding audio I’ve come to expect of top-tier phones. It may not be the loudest stereo pair among flagship phones, but I’ve happily spent many (many) hours listening to podcasts using nothing more than these speakers.

Water resistance is excellent too, as is typical for Sony. The Xperia 1 VII is rated for IP65 and IP68, for protection from immersion in fresh water and being subjected to jets of the stuff. This finish may be easy to scrape, but the phone is difficult to drown.

• Design score: 3 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: display

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• Bright screen makes good use of HDR
• Lower resolution than older Xperia flagships
• Colorful and contrasty

This Sony series used to employ some pretty wild display panels, with ultra-tall shapes and ultra-high resolutions. But the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a far more ordinary 1080p screen that measures 6.5 inches across.

There’s no notch, it’s a totally flat panel, and this is a 120Hz OLED screen with OLED staple deep color and flawless contrast.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII’s default color mode has strong saturation, but there’s also a Creator mode that lowers saturation for a more measured appearance. This also kicks in as standard in apps that try to take over the color presentation of the screen, which is great.

It means your photos end up looking as they will on other well-calibrated screens, rather than severely oversaturated.

There’s nothing too special going on here, but the Sony Xperia 1 VII's screen is at least very bright. Legibility in strong direct sunlight is good, and the high peak brightness makes the most of the latest movements in HDR.

And I’m not just talking about HDR video. You’ll notice in Instagram that sometimes the highlights of the picture are brighter than the app’s white border. That’s HDR for you, and it can look great. It’s used when you look at your own photos in the gallery too, most notably bringing out the bright highlights in clouds in a very eye-catching manner.

Let’s not get carried away, though. Phones are currently on an upwards peak brightness trend thanks to the underlying OLED panel tech developing fairly rapidly in the background. Even fairly affordable phones have ridiculously high peak brightness claims — like the 3,000-nit Nothing Phone 3a.

• Display score: 3.5 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

• High-quality primary camera
• Could feel more responsive and quick
• Zoom is fun to use but disappoints on image quality in 2025

You’d think phones like the Sony Xperia 1 VII would have the best phone cameras in the world. A division of Sony, after all, does make almost all of the camera sensors used by the best phones.

Yet despite that the Sony Xperia 1 VII doesn't quite match the best rivals here, not in all respects anyway. While the Sony Xperia 1 VII has mostly top-tier hardware, the experience of actually using the camera doesn’t have the standard-setting gloss and slickness you might expect.

For example, the shutter doesn’t always feel instantaneous, and there’s sometimes a fractional wait between captures as you shoot single stills. The best-feeling phone cameras appear to operate as fast as your finger will go. The Sony Xperia 1 VII isn’t quite there.

Its preview image isn’t the best either. For example, Samsung provides a solid estimation of what a photo will look like before you even take it, including the effects of its HDR processing. The Sony Xperia 1 VII will sometimes show blown highlights in the preview view, even if it pretty much always fixes those highlights by the time the image hits your gallery.

As we’ve seen across the phone, much of the camera is pretty familiar compared to the last generation. The Sony Xperia 1 VII has a large-sensor 48MP primary camera and a still-unusual genuine optical zoom lens – virtually every other phone zoom has what’s known as a prime lens, where the view is fixed.

The ultra-wide gets a notable upgrade, though. Sensor resolution jumps from 12MP to 48MP, which could be good or bad depending on the sensor used. But this time it’s also a much larger sensor, jumping from 1/2.5-inch in the Xperia VI to 1/1.56-inch here. It’s one of the higher-spec ultra-wide cameras you’ll find.

Sure enough, the ultra-wide takes lovely pictures, giving the Xperia 1 VII an admirable sense of consistency between the wide and ultra-wide lenses. Colors aren’t oversaturated, instead appearing largely natural.

Are these two lenses actually equals? It’s not even close, and that becomes clear at night. The Sony Xperia 1 VII can only take (barely) passable low-light shots with the ultra-wide, lacking the dynamic range and detail of the main camera. Far-away brick work turns to mush, and it also seems the ultra-wide shots don’t get as much low-light processing either.

The main camera’s night shots are good, although Sony perhaps leans slightly less egregiously on computational photography to enhance dynamic range. This can mean photos look more natural than the norm, if also less impressive in some scenes.

(Image credit: Future)

The deficiencies of the zoom camera aren’t too hard to find either, even though having what amounts to 16mm-170mm framing versatility is amazing. This camera allows you to shoot at anywhere from 3.5x to 7.1x optical zoom, but when shooting at the further reaches of the zoom in particular, detail integrity and clarity are actually pretty poor considering we are looking at a non digitally-zoomed image.

It’s likely down to a conjunction of two factors that limit the quality of photos we’ll be able to get. There’s the lowly f/3.5 aperture – which is fine in a 'proper' camera but very poor in a mobile phone. And the sensor itself is small. That said, I’ve found that image quality issues can appear in any kind of lighting, from blazing sunshine to night.

That’s not to say the Sony Xperia 1 VII’s extreme zoom images are unusable. They can look good on the surface, but fall apart a bit when approached with a critical eye.

The zoom camera also has a kind of amazing macro mode, which is available at the 120cm focal length. You can focus at up to 4cm away from the camera. It’s enough to reveal the printed dots in a Magic the Gathering card, or the subpixels in a MacBook Air’s display. I’ve used it to identify tiny spiders, and get a closer look at ripening blackberries, but you need a steady hand as the depth of field is extremely shallow. Thankfully the Xperia 1 VII does have a focus peaking option to help out. This is where in-focus elements of the scene are highlighted.

But, stepping back once more, compared to the more conventional pericope designs in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Sony needs to up its game to compete.

For video, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has some solid skills, with some odd missing parts. It can capture 4K video at up to 120fps, and there’s a software-generated 'bokeh' blur video mode and an extra stabilized 'AI' mode.

However, where Sony used to be the master of slow-mo video, the Xperia 1 VII has no real notable skills here. Back when ultra-powered slow-mo modes became a show-off contest, there was often interpolation involved. But it was fun to play around with, and that’s largely absent here.

Around the front, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a 12MP selfie camera. It’s good, capable of rendering natural-looking skin tones, and has the detail to pick out pores, single facial hairs and so on – when you aren’t obliterating such details with filters.

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

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(Image credit: Future)Sony Xperia 1 VII review: performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Gradual thermal throttling attempts to manage heat
• A high-performing phone
• Still gets a little too warm on occasion

The Sony Xperia 1 VII has one of the best chipsets available to Android phones in 2025. This is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. It’s enormously powerful (though now beaten by the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5), and here it’s paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

This will be able to handle any game you throw its way and, the largely non-processor-related camera hitches aside, general performance is great. But that's as it should be, as we have every right to expect one of the best possible processors in the Sony Xperia 1 VII, given how much it costs.

When pressure is applied, Sony takes a highly progressive approach to thermal throttling in the Xperia 1 VII. Where some phones hang on for dear life until the internal temperature sensor reaches a certain level, here the performance scales with temperature in a more fine grain way, chipping down almost from the beginning of a gaming session or benchmark test.

After 20 minutes the Xperia 1 VII ends up at 55% of its peak performance. And as that test was performed on a hot day during the summer, I also slung the phone in a fridge to see what happened with the same test. Once again, there was that very gradual loss of power, ending up with 78.8% of its max after 20 minutes.

I have also noticed that the Xperia 1 VII gets hot on occasion, which is predictably accompanied by faster power drain.

In any case, losing up to 45% of peak power may sound pretty bad, but it’s not uncommon to see up to a 55% loss in phones with these high power chipsets.

Some folks had major reliability issues with the Xperia 1 VII at launch, spurring a response from Sony itself. Thankfully, it’s been mostly smooth sailing day-to-day during testing, though.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: software

(Image credit: Future)

• Sticks to the AI basics
• Fewer Sony apps than some older phones
• Familiar Sony interface style

The Sony Xperia 1 VII runs Android 15 and has Sony’s long-standing custom interface on top. It comes with the promise of four years of operating system version updates and six years of security patches.

There’s nothing too surprising here. It has an app drawer, one that can be arranged either alphabetically or using your own layout. Choose the latter and you can also sort apps into folders.

The only interface niggles we’ve found are that the Wi-Fi switch wasn’t put in the feature toggle drop-down as standard, and that the standby behavior and lock screen layout means it’s easy to accidentally have podcasts or songs skip while the phone is in your pocket.

These are not problems without fixes, but they are annoying.

(Image credit: Future)

A while back, Sony went big on its own apps, including multiple camera apps for enthusiasts and the point ’n’ shoot crowd. It made a minor splash at the time, but all that has mostly been scaled back in favor of simplicity.

And, let’s be honest, having to maintain multiple apps for the same job has got to be a pain.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII gets a single camera app, a basic video editor, the Music Pro multi-track recorder app, and what Sony calls the Creators’ App. This is part social network, part a way to bring over the photos taken with your 'proper' Sony camera(s).

Sony’s concept here does kind of make sense, to bring together the other sides of Sony’s wider business to lend the Xperia 1 VII additional credibility. It desperately wants to make phones for creatives, but doesn’t really have a hope in hell of bringing many of them over to its stable, especially as there are alternatives to all of these apps floating around, ones with more workflow-boosting features.

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This phone also does not have an app pre-installed that lets you use the phone as an external monitor for Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras, despite that feature once being hailed as a photographer’s USP for buying a top-tier Xperia. I did install a Sony app that appeared to do that job, but it also appears to be largely brand-agnostic on the phone side, and I’m primarily a Fuji camera user anyway.

Sony has not gone heavy on AI software in the way other manufacturers have – which may be appealing or a turn-off depending on your tastes. It is here, though. Long-press the side power button and Google Gemini AI appears. There’s just not much in the way of Sony-made AI features, which is probably for the best given how at-risk they’d be of coming across as superfluous and try-hard.

• Software score: 3 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: battery

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• Bottom rung 'fast' charging
• One-day real-world battery life
• 5,000mAh capacity

The Sony Xperia 1 VII has a 5,000mAh battery, just like its predecessor. I have found that with my use it lasts a solid day and no more.

Is it worse than last year’s model? Perhaps not, or at least not hugely, but Sony has not caught up with one of the new meaningful developments in phone tech of late. This is the silicon-carbon battery, which allows for higher-capacity batteries in the same size of cell.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII lasts a full day with my kind of use, but rarely has much spare to keep it going overnight or into the next day. On a couple of occasions – usually when I’ve watched too much YouTube – it has needed an evening top-up too. And, as noted earlier, there have been moments when it has inexplicably got warmer than it should, indicative of excess power drain.

I think if you are able to get Sony’s claimed two-day use, you’re not using your phone intensively enough to justify one this pricey.

Charging speeds are not particularly impressive either, as 30W is the power ceiling. Sony does not include a power adapter with the phone, but plenty of non-Sony plugs will be able to charge it at max speed, over USB-PD.

A full charge from flat took 88 minutes, while it reached 50% in a much better-sounding 29 minutes. It’s not a real fast charger, and is now also beaten by Samsung – not a fast-charging pioneer either, but at least top phones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra support 45W charging.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII can be charged wirelessly too, but at up to a dismal 15W. Reverse wireless charging is in as well, though, which should come in handy if you have wireless earphones that support Qi charging.

• Battery score: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Sony Xperia 1 VII?Sony Xperia 1 VII score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The phone costs a fortune. And while it has the raw power expected at this level, and uses great materials, it’s not clear Sony has really done enough to justify asking for this.

2 / 5

Design

It’s that same old Sony design. Largely impeccable materials and great water resistance, but the brick-like shape creates areas that wear down quickly, and Sony doesn’t include a case.

3 / 5

Display

It’s bright and it has OLED color and contrast. But it’s also pretty ordinary considering the panels Sony used to employ. You don’t miss much, other than the sense you’re paying a lot for a screen like this.

3.5 / 5

Software

Sony offers us some creative apps we imagine most buyers will ignore, but the rest of the software is business as usual. Android 15 with a layer of Sony interface pasted on top, and no obvious AI obsession for better or worse.

3 / 5

Camera

A zero-fat camera array like this is what we want to see. And the phone can take beautiful pictures. It could be better on the slickness of the experience, though, and the zoom is falling behind rivals despite sounding great on paper.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is swiftly and progressively throttled in the phone to manage heat. A sensible move, if not one the techy gamers may love.

4 / 5

Battery

We’re in the process of seeing a big leap in phone battery capacities. But Sony isn’t there yet, and this phone doesn’t last more than a day in our experience. Fast charging needs to improve too.

3 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a phone with a headphone jack
Old-school in a great way, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a high-quality 3.5mm headphone jack, which has been a rarity in all but budget phones for years now.

You are a big Sony Alpha mirrorless camera fan
The phone has software to link up to your 'proper' camera’s photo library, and the screen is a great way to review photos.

You just love Sony’s style
Recognizable from way further than arm’s length to any phone geek, Sony’s phone design hasn’t changed much over the years, and fans may be glad of it.

Don't buy it if...

You want cutting-edge tech
While it has a high-end Snapdragon chipset, other areas of the device do not feel as though they are pushing at the edge of what’s possible in phone tech.

You want a deal
This is one of the most expensive Android phones in existence, and there’s a good argument that Sony doesn’t really justify the outlay fully.

You love fast charging
30W power supply support means the Xperia 1 VII takes almost 90 minutes to charge from flat, which seems a lot in 2025.

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: Also consider

Not sure about the Sony? Here are a few alternative options.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
There are plenty of more aggressive and competitively priced phones at this level. The perhaps most obvious one is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which has better zoom skills, costs less and has a larger screen. There’s no headphone jack, of course.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review

Google Pixel 9 Pro
The Google Pixel 9 Pro sticks with a smaller screen, costs loads less and still has a solid 5x camera zoom. It makes much more use of software AI, though whether that’s your bag or not depends on your proclivities.

Read out full Google Pixel 9 Pro review

Xiaomi 15 Ultra
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is an alternative you might not instantly think of. It uses more aggressive camera hardware, and has a larger, faster-charging battery. A more cutting-edge design also fits in a significantly larger screen even though the phone itself is only fractionally wider.

Read our full Xiaomi 15 Ultra review

Sony Xperia 1 VII

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Google Pixel 9 Pro

Xiaomi 15 Ultra

Price (at launch):

£1,399 (roughly $1,870 / AU$2,885)

$1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,149

$999 / £999 / AU$1,699

£1,299 (roughly $1,740 / AU$2,675)

Dimensions:

162 x 74 x 8.2mm

162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2mm

152.8 x 72 x 8.5mm

161.3 x 75.3 x 9.4mm

Weight:

197g

218g

199g

226g

Displays

6.5-inch OLED, 120Hz

6.9-inch AMOLED, 120Hz

6.3-inch OLED, 120Hz

6.73-inch AMOLED, 120Hz

Cameras

48MP main, 48MP ultra-wide, 12MP telephoto

200MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto, 50MP telephoto

50MP main, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto

50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 200MP telephoto, 50MP telephoto

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite

Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite for Galaxy

Google Tensor G4

Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite

How I tested the Sony Xperia 1 VII

• Review test period: several weeks
• Testing included: everyday use, photography, long days away from a charger, a weekend away
• Tools used: Geekbench 6, 3DMark

The Sony Xperia 1 VII was used as my primary phone for several weeks, to get the best idea of how it works. I took hundreds of photos with its cameras, and used it during a weekend away, with long days away from the charger.

Some benchmark performance testing was done too, in order to back up, or potentially challenge, observations I found from my everyday phone use. However, there were not any grand surprises to be found in those benchmarks anyway.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2025

Caira camera: one-minute reviewTechRadar AI Week 2025

(Image credit: Future)

This article is part of TechRadar's AI Week 2025. Covering the basics of artificial intelligence, we'll show you how to get the most from the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, alongside in-depth features, news, and the main talking points in the world of AI.

The Caira snaps onto your iPhone using MagSafe, turns your phone into the control hub, and sets out to merge mirrorless camera-quality with smartphone ease.

The hardware is the real deal: a Micro Four Thirds mount and (Sony) sensor, a CNC’d aluminium chassis. It accepts proper lenses from Panasonic, Olympus, Sigma, and Leica - so this isn’t a toy pretending to be a camera. Its in a similar mold to the open source Alice Camera – a previous project from the makers of Caira.

Inside, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip and Google’s Edge TPU AI processor run three flagship tricks: voice control, smart styles and generative editing.

With voice control you can say “take a photo” and Caira actually does. Smart Styles are six tasteful AI-trained color profiles that make your footage look deliberate. Generative Editing – the headline feature – uses natural language prompts to restyle photos instantly, no laptop required.

(Image credit: Rashid Ahmad)

Yes, the real party trick is Google’s ‘Nano Banana’ generative AI – which sounds like a smoothie but is actually a powerful on-device editor. You can tell the camera to “turn this daylight shot into night” or “make my blazer burgundy,” and it’ll do it in seconds. It’s astonishing. It’s the first time I’ve seen Lightroom sulk because it’s now redundant.

The result is a camera designed to skip the “import - edit - export - scream” routine. Some will say that skipping that part also skips the soul of photography. I’m not one of them. I’m in favor of anything that lets you spend more time shooting and less time staring at a progress bar – I’ll leave the hand-wringing to other creators.

But before you start packing your MacBook away forever, that magical AI is only available if you pay $7 a month for the ‘Caira Pro’ plan (about £6 / AU$11). Because nothing screams modern camera like a monthly sub.

However, for every tinfoil hat wearing critic out there screaming for the days of old and terrified of AI, go back to shooting on film and paying $35 a month for every roll you develop. My Lightroom subscription costs a lot more than Caira Pro, and I will use it a lot less.

Caira camera: price and availability

• Priced at $995 (£760 / AU$1,500 approx)
• Available to early crowdfunding backers for $695 (£529 / AU$1,070 approx)
• First deliveries expected from January 2026

(Image credit: Rashid Ahmad)

Caira is available through Camera Intelligence's Kickstarter campaign, which runs from November 4 to November 30. As always, back crowdfunding campaigns at your own risk!

The campaign lists the camera (body only) price for $995 (around £760 / AU$1,500), while optimistic Super Early Bird backers can bag one for $695 (about £529 / AU$1,070).

According to its makers, the Caira delivery window is January to February 2026, (assuming no global crises intervene).

To get the most out of Caira's AI skills, you'll want the Caira pro subscription, which costs $7 per month. Backers get six months free, nine if funding hits its goals.

Caira camera specsCaira camera specs

Sensor:

11MP Micro Four Thirds, quad-bayer HDR and dual ISO

Mount:

Micro Four Thirds

Processor:

Qualcomm Snapdragon with 8 - core CPU, GPU, DSP

AI Chip:

Google Edge TPU

Video:

4K 30fps & 1080p 60fps

Battery:

5,000 mAh

Storage:

Internal 64GB + SSD External storage via USB-C, straight onto Apple photos

Connectivity:

iPhone MagSafe connector, WiFi

Dimensions:

112.5mm (W) x 85mm (H) x 21.5mm (D). Handle depth is 42.5mm

Weight:

10.2oz / 290g (w/out lens)

Caira camera: Design

• No screen – you MagSafe your iPhone instead
• Premium CNC-milled aluminum body
• 64GB internal memory

Caira alongside the Alice Camera, designed by the same makers (Image credit: Rashid Ahmad)

Imagine if Leica built a GoPro after a long lunch - that’s the Caira. There's Sigma BF vibes, too. A sleek, screen-less slab of CNC-milled metal that looks premium and feels it too.

The design strips away almost all buttons, because the company says creators are “overwhelmed by controls.” Fair. Now you’ll be overwhelmed by menus instead.

The MFT mount opens a vast lens ecosystem, from affordable pancakes to glass that costs more than your phone. And the 5,000 mAh battery means you can actually use it all day.

Best of all, there are no memory cards. You shoot, and the files appear in your iPhone’s Photos app almost instantly. It’s dangerously convenient.

Cair camera: Performance

• 11MP Four Thirds sensor with dual base ISO
• Basic video specs – 4K video up to 30fps
• Really effective Nano Banana voice control and generative edits

The Caira behaves like two products; a legitimate camera, and an unashamed AI experiment.

The camera hardware delivers – the 11MP Sony sensor combined with proper MFT glass (I used several of my Lumix lenses, including the 12-60mm f/2.8-4 lens) is an obvious leap from a smartphone, particularly in low light. Depth, sharpness, and texture all feel natural. The AI-tuned colour profile leans a little toward “Instagram - ready,” but never offensively so.

Caira's Smart Styles are surprisingly tasteful presets, that make you look more competent than you are. You can get a feel in the examples in the gallery below.

Image 1 of 3

An original photo taken with Caira (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)Image 2 of 3

Turn the dress black (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)Image 3 of 3

About 20 seconds later, the new image appears. (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)

The Caira's show piece is its AI features. Voice Control is genuinely handy when both hands are busy, or sticky with espresso, but Generative Editing is the main event.

Prompts like “make it nighttime” or “change his navy blazer to burgundy” return results in seconds – clean, convincing, a bit spooky.

Generative Editing is the feature that flattens the learning curve and streamlines the creative workflow. It’s powerful, fast, and feels like magic.

To its credit, the company has guardrails in place: no altering skin tone or facial features. I tried. It refused, nicely.

The Caira is a bold step. It’s a bet that the next generation of creators values AI-powered speed and flexibility as much as – or perhaps more than – traditional photographic purity. And based on what I’ve seen, it’s a bet they just might win.

Image 1 of 2

The original photo, using one of the more vibrant color profiles Caira has (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)Image 2 of 2

Now with the generative prompt 'turn the dress black', which returned results way quicker than an outfit change. (Image credit: Future / Rashid Ahmad)

The Caira feels like a product born out of collective exhaustion. Someone, somewhere, finally admitted that no one actually enjoys editing - they just enjoy pretending they do. It’s bold, a little absurd, and far more capable than it has any right to be.

It won’t replace your main camera, and it won’t replace your phone either - but it might just replace your willpower to open Lightroom ever again.

It’s the perfect tool for those of us who still like the idea of photography - the ritual, the gear, the illusion of artistry - but who secretly just want the photo to look brilliant the moment we take it.

And truthfully? That’s probably the entire modern photographer.

Should you buy the Caira camera?Buy it if...

You want a seamless shoot and edit experience, through your smartphone

Other cameras add way too many steps to the shoot - upload - edit - share process. Caira simplifies the whole process.

You want powerful edits in seconds, without the need for expensive editing software

Caira churns out the sorts of edits that used to take way more time with pricey software, and it does so directly on your phone.

Don't buy it if...

You want high-resolution photos

Just 11MP is pretty low by today's standards.

You're unsure about crowdfunding campaigns

To be fair, Caira's makers delivered with a previous project, the Alice Camera, but back at your own risk (or wait).

Caira accepts Micro Four Thirds lenses, like these two Lumix ones (Image credit: Rashid Ahmad)How I tested the Caira camera

• I tested Caira for two weeks
• I paired it with Lumix lenses, including the 12–60mm f/2.8-4 lens
• I connected my iPhone and made use of the various Nano Banana features

Camera Intelligence sent me one of just 50 pre-production units for a two week trial. I used it mostly to photograph things that didn’t deserve this much computing power.

It locks to the iPhone via MagSafe and connects over Wi-Fi through the Caira iOS app. Setup takes seconds, and then you’re in. I paired it with a Lumix 12–60mm f/2.8-4 – a brilliant lens that I immediately wasted on photographing coffee cups, pool balls, and other cameras.

• First reviewed November 2025

If you’d told me a year ago that a bizarre GameCube spinoff would receive a sequel on Nintendo’s follow-up to the Switch, I’m not sure I’d believe you. That’s right, Kirby Air Riders – a racing game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai's Sora Ltd. – is finally here on Nintendo Switch 2, a whole 22 years after its predecessor entered the fray.

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: November 20, 2025

Although Kirby Air Riders feels like a surprise release so early in the Nintendo Switch 2’s life, I’m actually delighted to see it glide onto the console. It's essentially a fusion of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, combining intense races with chaotic combat. But can it live up to the quality we’ve come to expect from those two legendary series?

Well, I’ve played solo, raced online, and even battled it out in local multiplayer. I’ve also spent hours on the game’s single-player campaign, customizing my machines and unlocking new characters. So, can this oddball racer outpace some of the best Nintendo Switch 2 games? I’ve got a lot of thoughts – largely positive ones, thankfully. But I won’t make you wait any longer…here are my final thoughts on the whirlwind gaming experience that is Kirby Air Riders.

Smash on wheels

(Image credit: Nintendo)

From the very second I fired up Kirby Air Riders on my Nintendo Switch 2, I could only think of one thing: Super Smash Bros.

Sure, Masahiro Sakurai is the creator of Kirby, but he also birthed this legendary fighting game series, which has its influence deeply infused into Kirby Air Riders’ DNA. Every single aspect – from the music, through to the menus and the unhinged gameplay – has Sakurai’s fingerprints all over it. But that’s not a bad thing.

Best bit

(Image credit: Nintendo)

I adored defeating enemies until I had enough juice to unleash Bandana Waddle Dee’s mighty spike attack special. Slashing my rival riders left, right, and center felt supremely satisfying. Sorry King Dedede, the crown is mine.

For anyone who played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the UI will feel like an old friend. The look of different options, sound design when making selections, and simple layout of menus is almost identical to what you’d find in that game. It's easy to use, fun to interact with, and a visual treat.

It's a similar story on the music front, too. The jazzy, catchy menu theme feels very Smash-like, and the broad, varied selection of tracks, which includes everything from grandiose orchestral arrangements through to funk-infused head boppers, is seriously intoxicating.

Even if you jump into a race in the Air Ride mode, you may feel as if the game’s aesthetic feels noticeably close to Sakurai’s previous work. The character models and quirky animations, zany design of the machines – which are the vehicles you use to race on – and vibrant, color-filled environments hammer home that this game is essentially Smash on wheels. And I love that.

Keeping it simple?

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Now let’s get into the meat of things and talk about gameplay. On the face of it, Kirby Air Riders is outrageously simple – especially compared to some of the best racing games. Your machine will automatically accelerate, and all you have to do is steer and hold down the B button to drift and obtain power-ups, like Fighter or Cutter abilities. Sure, the Y button allows each rider to occasionally use a special move, and you can waggle the left stick to do a spin attack, but that covers the vast majority of things.

Although the controls are incredibly easy to learn – especially thanks to a concise Lessons mode – it genuinely takes time to master them and understand how to get the upper hand over tricky opponents.

Drifting will considerably slow you, and requires more precision than you’d need in Mario Kart World. And in the main racing mode – Air Ride – you’ll need to tail opponents to get a boost before attacking. Speaking of, you’ll need to hold B to use a lot of power-ups, which will, in turn, slow you down. Sometimes, trading off speed can feel very rewarding, whereas other times, you’ll wish you left King Dedede alone (for once) and just kept powering ahead. Poor penguin. The need to consider trade-offs during high-speed races adds a nice dollop of challenge, and feels intelligently thought out – I applaud how the developers fostered a balanced approach in this regard.

On top of this, you’ll need to ensure that your character and machine loadout are suited to your playstyle. Personally, I liked having a solid amount of control on tight corners, and also enjoyed using a vehicle with enough lift to soar across corners. I didn’t want to be too light, though, so I found myself combining Bandana Waddle Dee (who should have been in Smash Ultimate) with the Vampire Star.

On the subject of characters, it did surprise me how varied and large the roster was, considering the limitations of a Kirby-only cast. There’s a fun set of riders from right across the series’ rich history as well as color variants, which I had a wonderful time sifting through. The number of machines is admirable, too, so there’s plenty of experimentation available to the player.

One area that I felt could be improved, though, was the course selection. The tracks themselves are solid. Some, like Waveflow Waters and Crystalline Fissure, felt like real visual spectacles and had me entranced in the on-screen action. However, I did wish that there were a few more alternate routes to explore, and the fact that there are just 18 courses – nine of which are retro inclusions – may end up feeling repetitive in the long run.

(Image credit: Nintendo)Let the chaos commence

I’ve mainly spoken about Air Ride so far, which I’ve had great fun with overall. Timing the perfect drift, battering my opponents, and gliding past them on the finish line is very rewarding, and I can see myself coming back for a number of races against friends in the coming weeks and months.

But what made a lot of people fall in love with 2003’s Kirby Air Ride was the City Trial mode. Here, you have to collect a range of items to boost your machine – think speed, defense, and HP increases – before clashing against rivals in a brief minigame.

City Trial is back, and this time it's even crazier. I found myself constantly switching machines, mashing up CPUs, and even fighting event bosses to get some juicy power-ups. I have to admit, this mode is good fun, especially when playing multiplayer. I trialled this mode against other gaming journalists at Nintendo’s UK HQ, and it really did bring out my competitive streak – the scrappy, intense nature of the mode is certainly enticing.

Still, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that City Trial is kinda lop-sided. I would spend five minutes powering up my machine, raring to crush my adversaries. But then, in a matter of seconds, the showdown minigame would be over. One example is a target game, where you glide into a numbered panel to score points. You get two attempts at scoring points, and then it's game over. This felt highly anticlimactic, and a significant portion of the minigames finished up too swiftly for my liking.

It should also be noted that I often found my character to be totally out of control after the first few minutes of powering up. This was pretty funny for the most part, and I did have a giggle while careening into my foes with next to no control. Having said that, this could leave me feeling a little City Trial’d out after a couple of rounds – the chaos is exciting, but perhaps meant to be enjoyed in bursts.

Luckily, there were a few other modes to try out when I was done with City Trials and Air Ride. There’s Top Ride, which is a birds-eye view racing mode that uses smaller, more basic courses. The more limited nature of Top Ride meant that I wasn’t returning to it much, but the concept is executed well.

Perhaps more interestingly, there’s a solo campaign with an actual story, called Road Trip – it's almost reminiscent of the Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In Road Trip, you’ll continuously float down a road and get to pick from a variety of mini games to boost your level and progress the narrative. Typically, you can select one of three minigames, which keeps things decently varied.

Every now and then, you’ll engage in boss fights and get to view cutscenes about a lifeform named Zorah, which crash-lands onto the planet Popstar. The story didn’t really grip me or make me want to ride solo for hours on end, but it's a decent lil’ extra to break things up a bit. I’ll mainly stick to playing the Air Ride of City Trial modes online – either ranked or in quick play – if I don’t have friends around to play with, though.

(Image credit: Nintendo)Coming to the finish line

Even though I wasn’t completely bowled over by Road Trip, I still found plenty of value in playing on my own. That’s largely thanks to a checklist system, which runs across the Air Ride, Top Ride, City Trial, and Road Trip modes. As you achieve different objectives, you’ll unlock new characters, machines, and customizable pieces.

And this leads me to something that I really loved about my time with Kirby Air Riders – the sheer amount of personalization on offer. You can customize machines with stickers, attachments, and patterns, personalize your license, which other players can view online, and even tailor controls to your own liking.

The possibilities feel endless, and the volume of unlockables made me really want to complete challenges on the checklist. That feeling I got when completing a technically difficult objective was exhilarating and was a particular highlight of my Air Riders experience.

So, in the end, I really did find a lot of things to love about Kirby Air Riders. Sure, it may not have the variety of Mario Kart or be quite as addictive as Super Smash Bros., but it merges its sources of inspiration pretty effectively. Visually, this game is great – colors really pop and frame rate is pretty consistent despite some insane on-screen action. It matches that with a bombastic soundtrack and playful cast of characters, which adds a whole lot of personality to the Air Riders experience.

Yes, the short minigames in City Trial could feel a touch anticlimactic, but the mode did still offer some truly chaotic laugh-out-loud moments. Meanwhile, the standard Air Ride mode was a blast to play online, and gradually mastering the game’s simple yet surprisingly deep mechanics was a real joy. All in all, Smash on wheels may not be perfect, but it certainly supplies the frenetic fun it promises.

Should you play Kirby Air Riders?

(Image credit: Nintendo)Play it if...

You’re a fan of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros.
If you enjoy these two chaotic Nintendo series, then I’m almost certain you’ll have some fun with Kirby Air Riders. Sure, it's a racer, but you’ll have to beat up your opponents in both the Air Ride and City Trial modes to get the edge. This title also has a fantastic, head-bopping soundtrack and exciting visual presentation, so you’re sure to find something to love here.

You’re the competitive type
There are so many ways to compete against friends, family, and strangers in Kirby Air Riders. There’s split-screen multiplayer for local matches, or online play – both ranked and casual – that you can get stuck in. Whether you want to get one over on your buddy or boost your ‘Global Win Power’ via ranked mode, there’s something for you.

Don't play it if...

You want an engaging single player mode
Although I had fun riding solo by completing checklist items and unlocking new content, I didn’t find the Road Trip mode to be massively engaging. The narrative is pretty simple, which is fine for a game like this, just make sure you temper your expectations if you’re seeking an engrossing solo adventure.

You’re expecting a Mario Kart-sized tracklist or character roster
There are 18 courses and around 20 characters to choose from in Kirby Air Riders. While I appreciate the limitations of an all-Kirby cast, I would’ve liked to have seen more maps to race on – especially as Mario Kart World has 32 different tracks. Maybe we’ll get more in the future, though.

Accessibility features

Kudos to everyone involved with accessibility on the Kirby Air Riders development team, because there really are a lot of options to discover here. There are visual options like the ability to adjust brightness or text size, apply different color filters, and adjust HUD.

But there’s also an extensive camera customization menu, which enables you to adapt the field of vision, camera distance, sensitivity, and more. You can even adjust the severity of visual effects or remap controls to your liking, making for a brilliantly customizable user experience.

How I reviewed Kirby Air Riders

(Image credit: Nintendo)

I spent more than 15 hours playing Kirby Air Riders solo and online via Nintendo Switch 2, during which time I exhausted every mode available. In order to play local multiplayer, I took a trip to Nintendo’s UK HQ, where I got a preview of the game and was able to duke it out against fellow gaming journalists and content creators.

Predominantly, I played Kirby Air Riders with my Nintendo Switch 2 docked, connected up to my Sky Glass Gen 2 television and Marshall Heston 120 soundbar. I also played in handheld mode, though, and while doing so, I listened to in-game audio with my Sony WH-1000XM6 wireless headphones.

More generally, I’ve been a Nintendo Switch 2 owner from launch and have been playing Nintendo games for the best part of two decades. Here at TechRadar, I’ve also reviewed a range of Nintendo Switch 2 titles, like the bizarre mouse control bonanza Drag x Drive, and the unforgettable adventure that is Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake.

First reviewed November 2025