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With autumn on the way, and the promise of cooler weather ahead, it's a great time to refresh your kitchen so it's a cosier, more welcoming place on cold evenings. Shades of deep anthracite teamed with soft duck egg blue and natural wood create a look that's warm yet modern, and as TechRadar's Homes Editor, I've picked out a selection of IKEA cooking and storage solutions in these shades for an instant update. Giving your kitchen a lift for autumn doesn't have to be expensive, either; most of the items here are well under £10.

Storage items like cutlery caddies, drawer organisers, and knife racks are often overlooked, but are some of the easiest and cheapest ways to add a new accent colour to your kitchen. Also take a look at IKEA's ranges of coloured cutlery, which will bring that new shade to every meal and make your place settings look strikingly different.

Everyday pieces of cookware like baking bowls and spatulas are also great ways to update your kitchen without spending a fortune. Add a couple of new mugs and drinking glasses, and you'll have a fresh new look for under £20.

Mellow autumn shades

IKEA Ponnyfisk Mixing Bowl

IKEA Smäcker Cutlery Tray

IKEA Tångmärla 16-Piece Cutlery Set

IKEA Klippfisk Frying Pan

IKEA Tillagd 24-Piece Cutlery Set

IKEA Pjätteryd Picture - Dawn Haze

IKEA Nattbad Bluetooth Speaker

IKEA Pokal Glass

IKEA Tobisfisk Mug

IKEA Nätbarb Bowl

IKEA Ädelsten Pestle and Mortar

IKEA Upphetta Coffee / Tea Maker

IKEA Färgklar Deep Plate

IKEA Mottaga Paper Napkins

IKEA Betthaj Tin With Lid

IKEA Uppdatera Cutlery Caddy

IKEA Bakglad Rubber Spatula

IKEA Pålycke Clip-On Hook Rack

IKEA Skogstundra Vase

IKEA Uppdatera Knife Rack

IKEA Fodertråg Organiser

With autumn on the way, and the promise of cooler weather ahead, it's a great time to refresh your kitchen so it's a cosier, more welcoming place on cold evenings. Shades of deep anthracite teamed with soft duck egg blue and natural wood create a look that's warm yet modern, and as TechRadar's Homes Editor, I've picked out a selection of IKEA cooking and storage solutions in these shades for an instant update. Giving your kitchen a lift for autumn doesn't have to be expensive, either; most of the items here are well under £10.

Storage items like cutlery caddies, drawer organisers, and knife racks are often overlooked, but are some of the easiest and cheapest ways to add a new accent colour to your kitchen. Also take a look at IKEA's ranges of coloured cutlery, which will bring that new shade to every meal and make your place settings look strikingly different.

Everyday pieces of cookware like baking bowls and spatulas are also great ways to update your kitchen without spending a fortune. Add a couple of new mugs and drinking glasses, and you'll have a fresh new look for under £20.

Mellow autumn shades

IKEA Ponnyfisk Mixing Bowl

IKEA Smäcker Cutlery Tray

IKEA Tångmärla 16-Piece Cutlery Set

IKEA Klippfisk Frying Pan

IKEA Tillagd 24-Piece Cutlery Set

IKEA Pjätteryd Picture - Dawn Haze

IKEA Nattbad Bluetooth Speaker

IKEA Pokal Glass

IKEA Tobisfisk Mug

IKEA Nätbarb Bowl

IKEA Ädelsten Pestle and Mortar

IKEA Upphetta Coffee / Tea Maker

IKEA Färgklar Deep Plate

IKEA Mottaga Paper Napkins

IKEA Betthaj Tin With Lid

IKEA Uppdatera Cutlery Caddy

IKEA Bakglad Rubber Spatula

IKEA Pålycke Clip-On Hook Rack

IKEA Skogstundra Vase

IKEA Uppdatera Knife Rack

IKEA Fodertråg Organiser

• Epson survey finds 76% of students expect to be able to use AI in their learning
• Meanwhile, 81% of teachers believe students think AI can do spelling and maths for them
• Following the introduction of the EU AI Act, schools must have AI literacy training

Are students over-relying on artificial intelligence chatbots? That seems to be the opinion of teachers across Europe, where 80% of educators have expressed concern about the pace of AI entry into the classroom.

A survey of 3,360 people by Epson discovered over two-thirds (68%) of teachers feel that AI use in homework has a negative effect on learning. Conversely, over three quarters of students expect to be able to use AI, with almost 90% already using it once a week for school work.

This research is released as the EU’s AI Act commences enforcement, forcing schools in the European Union to ensure adequate training is provided for any AI tools in use.

Easy task completion

Epson Europe’s Educate to Empower 2026 Research surveyed 3,360 people across the EU, specifically France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Poland, as well as the UK. (There is no equivalent to the EU’s AI Act in the UK, although businesses providing services to companies within the EU must adhere to its regulations.)

“AI is developing at speed, and students expect to be able to use it. That means it needs to be managed effectively, with the right governance, guidelines and training in place," said Dr Sarah Henkelmann-Hillebrand, lead for education at Epson Europe.

With 76% of students expecting to be able to use AI and 87% already employing it in some way, the horse has bolted on blocking its use. Instead, the survey finds, the focus should be on teaching skills that cannot be short-circuited by AI.

Henkelmann-Hillebrand notes that “It’s also important to look at how AI can enhance the learning experience. By supporting students and teachers to co-create in immersive learning spaces, using technologies such as projection alongside AI, we can make learning more engaging and collaborative while helping students develop the skills they’ll need for a future dominated by AI.”

Teachers want more AI training

While student use of AI is cause for concern where it impacts their ability to learn and demonstrate comprehension, teachers have an additional challenge.

The survey’s findings also revealed that 82% of teachers want more training to oversee the use of AI by students. Additionally – and perhaps more significantly – 78% want training and guidance on how they can use the technology in their own work.

Could it make more sense for teachers to use AI to reduce their admin, than to permit AI use by students? If AI is taking over the classroom, it seems sensible to ensure teachers are fully equipped to encourage skills that AI cannot give students, such as analytical thinking, creativity, leadership, problem-solving, and other uniquely human traits.

• Epson survey finds 76% of students expect to be able to use AI in their learning
• Meanwhile, 81% of teachers believe students think AI can do spelling and maths for them
• Following the introduction of the EU AI Act, schools must have AI literacy training

Are students over-relying on artificial intelligence chatbots? That seems to be the opinion of teachers across Europe, where 80% of educators have expressed concern about the pace of AI entry into the classroom.

A survey of 3,360 people by Epson discovered over two-thirds (68%) of teachers feel that AI use in homework has a negative effect on learning. Conversely, over three quarters of students expect to be able to use AI, with almost 90% already using it once a week for school work.

This research is released as the EU’s AI Act commences enforcement, forcing schools in the European Union to ensure adequate training is provided for any AI tools in use.

Easy task completion

Epson Europe’s Educate to Empower 2026 Research surveyed 3,360 people across the EU, specifically France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Poland, as well as the UK. (There is no equivalent to the EU’s AI Act in the UK, although businesses providing services to companies within the EU must adhere to its regulations.)

“AI is developing at speed, and students expect to be able to use it. That means it needs to be managed effectively, with the right governance, guidelines and training in place," said Dr Sarah Henkelmann-Hillebrand, lead for education at Epson Europe.

With 76% of students expecting to be able to use AI and 87% already employing it in some way, the horse has bolted on blocking its use. Instead, the survey finds, the focus should be on teaching skills that cannot be short-circuited by AI.

Henkelmann-Hillebrand notes that “It’s also important to look at how AI can enhance the learning experience. By supporting students and teachers to co-create in immersive learning spaces, using technologies such as projection alongside AI, we can make learning more engaging and collaborative while helping students develop the skills they’ll need for a future dominated by AI.”

Teachers want more AI training

While student use of AI is cause for concern where it impacts their ability to learn and demonstrate comprehension, teachers have an additional challenge.

The survey’s findings also revealed that 82% of teachers want more training to oversee the use of AI by students. Additionally – and perhaps more significantly – 78% want training and guidance on how they can use the technology in their own work.

Could it make more sense for teachers to use AI to reduce their admin, than to permit AI use by students? If AI is taking over the classroom, it seems sensible to ensure teachers are fully equipped to encourage skills that AI cannot give students, such as analytical thinking, creativity, leadership, problem-solving, and other uniquely human traits.

• Epson survey finds 76% of students expect to be able to use AI in their learning
• Meanwhile, 81% of teachers believe students think AI can do spelling and maths for them
• Following the introduction of the EU AI Act, schools must have AI literacy training

Are students over-relying on artificial intelligence chatbots? That seems to be the opinion of teachers across Europe, where 80% of educators have expressed concern about the pace of AI entry into the classroom.

A survey of 3,360 people by Epson discovered over two-thirds (68%) of teachers feel that AI use in homework has a negative effect on learning. Conversely, over three quarters of students expect to be able to use AI, with almost 90% already using it once a week for school work.

This research is released as the EU’s AI Act commences enforcement, forcing schools in the European Union to ensure adequate training is provided for any AI tools in use.

Easy task completion

Epson Europe’s Educate to Empower 2026 Research surveyed 3,360 people across the EU, specifically France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Poland, as well as the UK. (There is no equivalent to the EU’s AI Act in the UK, although businesses providing services to companies within the EU must adhere to its regulations.)

“AI is developing at speed, and students expect to be able to use it. That means it needs to be managed effectively, with the right governance, guidelines and training in place," said Dr Sarah Henkelmann-Hillebrand, lead for education at Epson Europe.

With 76% of students expecting to be able to use AI and 87% already employing it in some way, the horse has bolted on blocking its use. Instead, the survey finds, the focus should be on teaching skills that cannot be short-circuited by AI.

Henkelmann-Hillebrand notes that “It’s also important to look at how AI can enhance the learning experience. By supporting students and teachers to co-create in immersive learning spaces, using technologies such as projection alongside AI, we can make learning more engaging and collaborative while helping students develop the skills they’ll need for a future dominated by AI.”

Teachers want more AI training

While student use of AI is cause for concern where it impacts their ability to learn and demonstrate comprehension, teachers have an additional challenge.

The survey’s findings also revealed that 82% of teachers want more training to oversee the use of AI by students. Additionally – and perhaps more significantly – 78% want training and guidance on how they can use the technology in their own work.

Could it make more sense for teachers to use AI to reduce their admin, than to permit AI use by students? If AI is taking over the classroom, it seems sensible to ensure teachers are fully equipped to encourage skills that AI cannot give students, such as analytical thinking, creativity, leadership, problem-solving, and other uniquely human traits.

GMKtec EVO-X3: 30-second review

The GMKtec EVO-X3 is a mini PC with a difference: firstly, it stands upright; the size is larger than most, the specs are impressive, and the price- well, that prices it out of most people's reach; however, this is a machine with an AMD Halo Strix processor.

The EVO-X3 features the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor; that’s the same as the EVO-X2 with 16 Zen 5 CPU cores, Radeon 8060S graphics, and a 50-TOPS XDNA 2 NPU. In this review, I’m looking at the machine with 128GB of LPDDR5X unified memory, enough to load and run local AI models; this ability is well beyond the capabilities of most other Mini PCs and even desktop PCs.

A quick look at the hardware makes it clear this is different, and for a machine with its specs, it’s still relatively compact, thanks to its slim, tower-like structure. It’s essentially been designed to stand upright to ensure plenty of airflow.

During testing, I ran local chat, reasoning, image recognition, image generation, transcription, and coding models on the EVO-X3. Smaller language models started responding almost immediately, while larger models provided more detailed reasoning and better-quality copy, essentially mirroring what you’d expect from cloud models.

You could also run these tasks with Wi-Fi disabled, so completely local and offline, with no need for credits or additional spend. This also meant all prompts, photographs, audio recordings, and project files stayed on your computer rather than being sent to a cloud service where you don't know what happens to them.

While the main focus here is the AI potential, I also ran the conventional benchmarks, and these are impressive. If you need a cutting-edge gaming PC and want to underplay the machine's potential, this is a great compact option, especially with the OcuLink connector.

However, refocusing on AI and unlocking the EVO-X3’s AI performance proved that some knowledge and experimentation are still needed; this isn’t quite an out-of-the-box, ready-to-run solution, although GMKtec has taken huge strides in that direction.

Local AI through the GMKtec Claw software environment was impressive. During testing, the Herdsman model manager recognised the NPU but reported that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 was unsupported by its current NPU runtime manifests, which I found odd since the software was pre-installed.

Installing Lemonade and its Ryzen AI runtime solved the problem. Compatible models then pushed NPU utilisation close to 100%, proving that the hardware was operating properly.

This leaves the EVO-X3 in an awkward position. It’s an exceptionally powerful local AI workstation, but it is not yet the polished, out-of-the-box AI machine that the marketing suggests. It will do everything advertised, but for you to get there, you must understand models, runtimes, servers, agents and external applications, or at least be prepared to learn.

Whether or not this deserves a spot on our guide to the best mini PC is, ultimately pretty subjective. At $3,799.99 for the current 128GB/2 TB configuration, this is a relatively cheap machine for experienced developers, and technically minded creative professionals will find it an extraordinarily useful tool if they’re willing to put in the time. If you’re less experienced, then hold out; a more streamlined and cheaper option will inevitably be available soon.

GMKtec EVO-X3: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From £3,029 / $3,799
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from GMKtec or Amazon

The GMKtec EVO-X3 is available in the US direct from GMKtec and on Amazon.com, with the base 128GB/2TB configuration priced at $3,800. However, you can save an extra $100 at GMKtec or 5% on Amazon with code GMKX3DP3.

In the UK, the EVO-X3 is priced at £3,030 from GMKtec. At the time of review, it's not currently on Amazon, but I'd expect it to arrive shortly.

The EVO-X3 comes with either a 2TB or 4TB SSD, with both versions featuring 128GB of onboard LPDDR5X-8000 memory.

• Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)GMKtec EVO-X3: Specs

CPU: AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 16 cores/32 threads, up to 5.1GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon 8060S, 40 compute units
NPU: AMD XDNA 2, 50 TOPS; up to 126 TOPS total AI performance
RAM: 128GB LPDDR5X-8000, non-upgradeable
Storage: 2TB or 4TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 SSD, two slots, up to 16TB total
Front Ports: USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps, USB 2.0, 3.5mm audio
Rear Ports: HDMI 2.1, USB4 40Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps, OCuLink PCIe 4.0 x4, 2.5GbE RJ-45
VESA Mount: Not specified
Dimensions: 13.90 by 7.32 by 1.61in (353 x 186 x 41mm)
Weight: 5.07lb (2.3kg)
Power: 230W external power adapter, 19.5V/11.8A
Operating System: Windows 11 Pro, with Ubuntu and Linux support

GMKtec EVO-X3: Design

The EVO-X3 design is far removed from the usual square mini-PC, and instead goes for a tall, narrow metal enclosure with vents on either side that help draw cool air through the system to help maintain maximum performance.

While it’s tall, the footprint because of this is relatively small, meaning it can sit neatly next to your monitor. Standing at 353 x 186 x 41mm without its stand, it looks more like an oversized external graphics card than a conventional desktop computer; the small stand that’s included is held in place with two screws and adds stability to the vertical stance.

While the unit is slim, it does have a good weight at 2.3kg, so while you could transport this very easily, this is one designed to stay in situ.

The full-metal CNC-machined casing looks great once you get used to the slightly different design, and with the grey finish with green detailing, the aesthetics are all well balanced. Compared with the small boxy Mini PCs, this definitely looks and feels like a professional workstation, as the pricing suggests.

Taking a closer look at the cooling and the slim tower design enables air to be pulled in through the single vent plate on the top/side of the machine and output through the two vent panels on the base/side. Checking inside the casing, there are three heat pipes and multiple cooling fans that all help to keep the powerful components cool.

Through the test, I was impressed by just how well and how quietly these fans were and left on auto; while you can hear them, they’re never overbearing. Through the interface, you also have the ability to adjust the mode, from Silent 45W to Balanced 85W and Performance 140W.

One of my biggest surprises when it comes to the design is the port allocation, or lack of it. The front provides one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, one USB-A 2.0 port and a 3.5mm audio connection. Considering the EVO-X3’s intended creative and professional audience, another high-speed USB connection or front-mounted USB-C port would have been handy.

The rear is slightly better equipped, with HDMI 2.1, 40Gbps USB4, 10Gbps USB-A, 2.5Gb Ethernet and an OCuLink connection. I would have preferred a little more, as connecting to a hub of some type is essential if you have further accessories.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The most interesting addition here is the OCuLink that enables you to add an external desktop graphics card via a more direct PCIe connection than a typical Thunderbolt or USB4 enclosure. Hot plugging isn't supported, so you must shut down the computer before attaching or removing an external GPU.

Wireless connectivity options are all pretty standard with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4; then there’s also the wired 2.5Gb Ethernet. This is slightly lacking, and I would have expected a 5GbE or 10GbE at the least.

However, the lack of ports aside, the big story here is AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 that combines a 16-core, 32-thread Zen 5 CPU with Radeon 8060S integrated graphics. The GPU includes 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units, while the XDNA 2 NPU contributes up to 50 TOPS of dedicated AI processing.

Other machines with this CPU, such as the EVO-X2, they feature only 64GB of RAM and no Oculink connection, both of which, as I discovered, really are essential if you want to make the most of running local AI.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)GMKtec EVO-X3: Features

At the heart of the EVO-X3 is AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395, part of the AI power family Strix Halo. This chipset offers a combined 16-core, 32-thread Zen 5 CPU alongside Radeon 8060S graphics and an XDNA 2 NPU all within a single processor package, which is why it can fit into this small form Mini PC.

The CPU can be boosted to 5.1GHz and is supported by 16MB of L2 cache and 64MB of L3 cache. Alongside it, graphics processing is supplied by the Radeon 8060S, which provides 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units operating at up to 2,900MHz.

What is impressive here is that the performance of this integrated GPU has, in tests, beaten many dedicated GPUs. As GPU power is central to creative work, gaming and local generative AI, this power will be a huge benefit to the majority of Creative Apps that I use.

Alongside the CPU and GPU is the XDNA 2 NPU that provides up to 50 TOPS of dedicated AI processing, which brings the combined processor performance to up to 126 TOPS. The NPU essentially handles supported AI workloads better than running everything through the CPU or GPU. Again, surprisingly, some of the AI Apps used in the test fell back to the CPU and GPU rather than making use of the NPU and the speeds with and without made a big difference.

If you’re looking through this and thinking this all sounds very familiar, then it is essentially a very similar configuration to the EVO-X2, which is again equipped with the the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, Radeon 8060S graphics and a 50-TOPS NPU. The EVO-X3 adds the new chassis design to maximise the new cooling system, OCuLink connection, 128GB of standard memory capacity and a pre-installed AI environment to make getting started easier.

My review sample of the EVO-X3 features 128GB of onboard LPDDR5X memory running at 8,000MT/s. This memory is soldered and cannot be upgraded, but up to 96GB can be allocated as graphics memory. That large shared-memory pool is useful for local AI because it enables the integrated Radeon GPU to load models that would exceed the dedicated VRAM capacity of most graphics cards.

Storage options are either 2TB, as in my review sample, or 4TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. It includes two internal M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, which enable you to install up to two 8TB drives, with a maximum internal capacity of 16TB. Having downloaded and installed several models, tools and applications through the test, I would definitely install a minimum of an additional 4TB.

One of the big upgrades over the EVO-X2 is the rear OCuLink connection. This provides a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface for an external desktop graphics card; you do, of course, need an eGPU enclosure as well, and then this gives you the ability to add an Nvidia or AMD GPU for rendering, gaming, as well as those AI workloads. OCuLink does not support hot plugging, so if you do use one, the machine needs to be powered down before the port is installed. I don’t at present have an OcuLink enclosure, so I haven’t tested the boost that this will give to performance.

On the back there’s also the USB4 connection, but only one, and it enables data transfers at up to 40Gbps, DisplayPort video output at up to 4K 60Hz and USB Power Delivery input at up to 100W. If I were to use this machine long-term, then I would connect a hub to maximise connections, especially for creative use, as just one USB-C is limiting.

Display output is limited to two screens, which can be connected through HDMI 2.1 and USB4. The HDMI connection supports higher-resolution displays, while the USB4 port provides DisplayPort output up to 4K at 60Hz.

Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and 2.5Gb Ethernet. The front has two 5Gbps USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a 3.5mm combined audio socket, and the power button. Around the back are 40Gbps USB4, 10Gbps USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1, OCuLink, 2.5Gb Ethernet and the main DC power input.

The absence of a front USB-C port or card reader is disappointing for such an expensive creative workstation. This is especially noticeable because the cheaper EVO-X2 includes both front USB4 and an SD card reader.

I was also pleased to see three performance profiles provide a choice between power consumption, heat and processing speed. Silent mode operates at 54W, Balanced mode increases this to 85W, and Performance mode allows sustained operation at up to 120W, with short peaks of up to 140W.

Three heat pipes, two fans, and intelligent fan control handle cooling by pulling air through the vent on the top/side and pushing it out through the bottom/side. This cooling remains relatively quiet throughout the testing and is designed to maintain the processor’s performance during heavy AI use, as well as video rendering and development workflows.

As you would expect, Windows 11 Pro is preinstalled, with support for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions. GMKtec also supplies its Claw local-AI environment, which is promoted as offering one-click model and agent deployment and was well implemented; there’s also Herdsman and installers for LM Studio and Ollama, giving you a good choice of Local AI management.

Claw is well integrated with EVO-X3 as it brings together local models, cloud services and AI agents without requiring you to assemble the entire software environment. The associated Herdsman model manager detected the NPU but reported that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 was unsupported by its current runtime manifests. The underlying hardware worked once Lemonade and its Ryzen AI runtime were installed, but that workaround goes against GMKtec’s claim that local AI is ready to use without coding or setup.

The EVO-X3 has an exceptional feature set for local AI with the 128GB unified-memory capacity, integrated graphics, NPU, dual SSD slots and OCuLink connection enabling both flexibility and power. The issue is that most of this is already present in the substantially cheaper EVO-X2, making the X3’s £3,029.99 price seem a little steep.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

GMKtec EVO-X3: Performance

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Benchmark scores

Crystal Disk Mark Read: 7045.28
Crystal Disk Mark Write: 6182.82
Geekbench CPU Multi: 9469
Geekbench CPU Single: 2619
Geekbench GPU: 25645
PC Mark Overall: 6855
Cinebench CPU Multi (Threads): N/a
Cinebench CPU Single (Threads): N/a
Fire Strike Overall: 7429
Fire Strike Graphics: 8551
Fire Strike Physics: 11509
Fire Strike Combined: 2953
Time Spy Overall: 3631
Time Spy Graphics: 3473
Time Spy CPU: 4897
Wild Life Overall: 24312
Steel Nomad Overall: N/a
Windows Experience Overall: 8.7

Getting started with the EVO-X3 is much like any other mini PC: plug in, screw the stand into the base and power on. You then have the Windows 11 Pro setup to run through, and as ever, GMKtec has covered the LAN port with a warning not to connect until the full setup process has been completed.

Once installed, I instantly noted the speed of the system; this was as fast and responsive as they come, and powering down and starting up from cold takes just 18 seconds from power being pushed to the home screen and the machine being ready to use.

As I started to load the applications for the benchmarks, the machine was fast and responsive, really as you’d expect for a machine at this price, and I was happy to see that this was at least in line, if not faster, than my workstation. Opening Premiere Pro, Lightroom and Photoshop all worked seamlessly, with the only real issue being the lack of ports for connection at the back.

When it came to the usual software and benchmarking tests, I ploughed through with almost all hitting record speeds and values when compared with any Mini PC or Laptop that I’ve reviewed in the past. An example is the Geekbench score, which aligned with many of the high-performance Mini PC’s and laptops, with a score of 2,956, but then the multi-core result of 19,401 far exceeded anything else.

Pushing the rendering benchmarks to give an idea of how it would perform for 3D content and video, the Cinebench R23 produced 33,295 points in the multi-core test and 2,034 points using a single core again; this is almost double anything else that I have seen.

Due to the positioning of the machine in the market, you would expect decent graphics performance, but due to an AI rather than games and creative perspective, and sure enough, the graphics performance was superb as I settled into some gaming. The Radeon 8060S hit scores of 101,583 in Geekbench GPU, while 3DMark Fire Strike returned an overall score of 25,721.

The EVO-X3 scored consistently high results through the 3DMark benchmarks, with most doubling the results that I have seen from other high-performance Mini PC. This performance not only translated to the test but also to gaming, as I settled back to play Cyber Punk 2097.

My review sample came with the 2TB NVMe SSD, and the transfer rates were slightly below what I expected but are consistent for a PCIe 4.0 slot, with read and write speeds of 4,912.96 MB/s and 4,648.62 MB/s.

Rounding out the standard tests, I checked out PCMark and wasn’t surprised to see a high score of 9,857, while the Windows Experience result was 9.5, again one of the highest I’ve recorded this year.
GMKtec EVO-X3 review: AI software

The EVO-X3 is sold as a ready-to-go machine with local AI models installed and one-click agent deployment through its Claw software environment. Claw uses Herdsman as the gateway to the AI models, so you start Herdsman and then open Claw, and the rest is quite straightforward for chat, image generation and countless other Agents that can be downloaded and installed.

Using this approach simplifies everything, and as I downloaded SuperPowers Agent, software workflow, Paper Research, Office Copilot, slidewright and a few others, I quickly built myself a decent set of tools for day-to-day AI use. The models you use can be downloaded in Herdsman and then used in GMKClaw. Depending on the complexity of the model you use and whether you switch Thinking on or off, the speed of the AI model you have selected varies.

What I like about this is that once you have models loaded, the application then downloads the additional tools that it needs to run. This is obviously online, with the AI processing done offline. Initially, the results were hit and miss, with the simple prompt, “A photo of a Labrador on a beach”, creating an abstract; once it had a few more prompts and details, the final results started to look better. The point here is that the more you use it, the better it gets.

While I also wanted to test the offline AI ability, what I also realised quickly was that I needed to run examples of everything I wanted to do; it needed to download and upgrade the models and tools that it had to hand.

Through the menu at the top of the screen, you can toggle between the different AI models, with Auto selected as default. This auto mode switches between the cloud and local to generate the images, but I noted that the NPU throughout stayed silent, registering 0% in Task Manager.

While the performance of the models was good both online, offline and hybrid, this wasn’t the potential that I was hoping for from this machine. I then went down another route and installed Lemonade and a series of Apps to give me greater control.

Installing Lemonade provided a way forward. After downloading its Ryzen AI NPU runtime and compatible models, Windows Task Manager showed the NPU operating at near-full potential, and a quick test in chat showed just how fast this machine's AI could be.

Lemonade provided what I had hoped for from Claw, with the clearest interface for testing local models; the GMKTecClaw integration is good but not yet mature enough to reach its full potential. Lemonade also displays time to first token, token-generation speed, memory use and processor activity, while making it relatively easy to switch between NPU, hybrid and GGUF models.

However, the setup process does require large model downloads and multiple tools and other additions to be downloaded. It’s also worth highlighting that downloading several models simultaneously resulted in HTTP 429 rate-limit messages from Hugging Face. Some completed downloads also encountered temporary file-locking problems, so for the complete set that I ran in this test, I downloaded over a few days, trying one task and then returning for more models for images, text, speech, and more.

Once Lemonade and its Ryzen AI runtime were installed, the EVO-X3’s NPU performance was impressive. I started out with the relatively lightweight Qwen-2.5-1.5B-Instruct-NPU model, which responded in around a second per response. Checking the stats, it recorded a time to first token of 0.61 seconds and generated 25.1 tokens per second. RAM usage reached 16.7GB, while CPU utilisation remained at only 4.8%.

This made it a good model for quick questions, summaries and relatively straightforward writing tasks.

Moving to Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct-NPU resulted in slower responses, as expected from a more complex model, but provided a useful step up in capability. The Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct-Hybrid model was again fast, and when asked to generate the opening of an imaginary book, it began responding in about a second, with Lemonade showing 523 input tokens, 393 output tokens, and a time to first token of 0.47 seconds.

I then loaded the larger gpt-oss-20b-NPU, more brain and more thinking, so everything took longer to consider when it came to the responses but produced noticeably better copy. It did, however, become slightly preoccupied with satisfying the requested word count and took quite some time rewriting the 100 words. That test processed 825 input tokens and generated 1,500 output tokens. Time to first token was 1.67 seconds, while RAM use reached 25.6GB and CPU remained at 5.9%.

These tests show why model selection matters. The smallest model delivered the fastest chatbot for general use, while larger models slowed speed for improved reasoning and writing quality. All processing was run locally, disconnected from the internet.

The next step was to plan a project, or, to be more accurate, all the things that I had to get done today. I wanted a plan and a spreadsheet that I could open on my phone and also print out if needed. I used DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-7B-NPU to organise the workday and plan an entire website project, covering content gathering, site structure, visual design, and implementation.

After asking several questions to clarify the project requirements, the model produced a detailed, methodical plan with useful software suggestions.

The website-planning conversation used 4,118 input tokens and generated 490 output tokens. Time to first token was 3.38 seconds, with RAM use reaching 19GB and CPU utilisation at 5.2%.

Generating the plan was straightforward, but turning it into a downloadable CSV proved difficult in the basic chat interface. While the model could create correctly formatted CSV text, it couldn’t save it as a downloadable file. Copying and pasting the information worked, but this highlighted the difference between a chat model and an agent with access to files and tools, which is where I started to discover additional tools needed to be used; with coding later, Visual Studio Code and the Continue extension were invaluable.

Essentially, the chat model can provide instructions and generate content, while an agent needs permission to create files, organise folders, run applications and modify a project directly, and everything needs connecting, which can take time initially, but after it’s done, the potential is exactly what you expect.

Image recognition is something that I’m really interested in, and training a model to help organise thousands of files literally. To start this off, I loaded a photograph into Gemma-3-4b-it-GGUF and asked it to describe the person shown, which was me.

The model correctly recognised that the subject was male and produced a reasonably accurate description of my appearance and clothing. It processed 267 input tokens and generated 147 output tokens. Time to first token was considerably slower at 22.65 seconds. The process used 17.2GB of RAM, while CPU utilisation remained at approximately 4.6%.

When I ran the UL Procyon AI Computer Vision benchmark, it returned a score of 1,171, which highlights this machine's potential on this front.

Through this part of the test, I looked at using local AI to organise an archive containing thousands of photographs. Gemma suggested several workable approaches, requiring Python scripts and external utilities rather than simply selecting a folder and pressing a button. Again, if you have more complex tasks, then these are possible but do require you to set up the resources required.

As part of this test, I installed ExifTool and ImageMagick, which provided the underlying ability to read metadata, organise files, and produce contact sheets, but connecting these tools to an agent required more configuration.

The EVO-X3 was powerful enough for the job. The difficulty was connecting the model to the required tools and granting it the ability to examine, classify and move files safely. This requires your knowledge and skill and is one of the features that is possible but is not ready out of the box.

Video organisation presents the same problem. Switching models provides different abilities, but no single supplied application will automatically understand, catalogue, and reorganise a large photo or video archive.

Local image generation produced surprisingly good results. I wrote several detailed prompts and used them to create original images.

The generated pictures followed the descriptions closely and, while each took approximately two minutes and 30 seconds to render, the resulting quality was more than acceptable for experimentation, visualisation and concept development.

During one test, Lemonade displayed 17 input tokens, 509 output tokens and a 0.25-second initial response. RAM usage reached 18.1GB, while CPU utilisation was 6.9%.

The token figures are less useful than the total rendering time because image generation differs considerably from language-model inference. However, the test showed that the EVO-X3 can produce useful generative imagery without a discrete GPU or cloud-based service.

I couldn't complete a comparable video-generation test. This would have required another specialist model and a separate workflow, such as ComfyUI, which would have extended the setup beyond the applications already installed.

Another of my major uses recently of AI agents is transcription. The UGREEN IDX6011 features a simple, ready-to-go app, and this machine looks to offer the same. To get started, I loaded a 46-minute podcast about 3D printing into Whisper-Large-v3-Turbo. The interface let me select the audio file but didn't provide a prompt field, preferring to just get on with it. As processing progressed, Windows Task Manager showed repeated spikes in NPU activity, showing that the dedicated accelerator was being used.

The processed transcription appeared after about five minutes and was really accurate. The speed and accuracy of this transcription are outstanding, and I’ll look in the near future to see if time codes can easily be added, which will help with editing. Again, all local and not cloud intervention.

AI code creation is one of the big areas of AI, and having used this machine for a month, I can see why. It’s not quite as straightforward as design me this site, and then it will. You need to provide it with the guidance, but as long as you do that, you can essentially bash together a site relatively quickly.

I still couldn’t get it to perform quite as well as some of my other workflows from Figma to GitHub and Cloudflare Pages, but still the workflow was quick and pretty solid when using the Qwen2.5-Coder-7B-Instruct model and connecting it through Visual Studio Code using the Continue extension.

As I created a site, the NPU utilisation reached 99% as the model generated the website structure and files. Further prompts could then add content, adjust the design, and fix issues. There was quite a bit of initial setup, and the end results needed an aesthetic polish, but for an hour's work I had a fully functional static site that could be updated quickly.

This test highlighted how a practical local-AI workflow, along with extensions and applications, can be used together to get the results that you want. Lemonade or Herdsman loads and serves the model, such as Qwen, providing the coding capability; Visual Studio Code then supplies the workspace and Continue enables the model to interact with the project.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

GMKtec EVO-X3: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The GMKtec EVO-X3 is a mini PC workstation and one that has been fine tuned to run local AI properly. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, Radeon 8060S graphics and 128GB of unified memory are provide the speed that's required and while more advanced models do push the system and slow things down,at least you get to use it without incurring cost.

Side by side the localised models aren't as powerful as the cloud based, but still what you're able to do is impressive and if you invest the time to develop your own AI workflows the end result will be AI agents in this local machine that can help with your workflows.

The bundled software is impressive, although there are some glitches at present that do slow the processing, however, a switch to another AI management option quickly unlocks speed and greater potential.

Out of the box this is one of the most impressive AI machine that really can run decent size local models. If you're willing to put in the time to discover how everything interlinks then this is a formidable machine with huge potential.

Should I buy the GMKtec EVO-X3?

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Value

Exceptional hardware, but extremely expensive 

4

Design

Solid construction, compact footprint and superb quiet cooling

4.5

Features

128GB unified-memory capacity, USB4 and OCuLink 

4.5

Performance

Outstanding CPU, graphics and local-AI capability once configured

4.5

Overall

Superb workstation hardware held back by setup complexity

4

Buy it if...

You need to run substantial AI models locally.

The combination of Radeon graphics, a 50-TOPS NPU, and a large unified-memory pool enables models to run without relying on cloud processing.

You work with sensitive material.

You can process photographs, audio, documents, and source code locally without uploading them to a third-party service.

Don't buy it if...

You expect an appliance-like AI experience.

The bundled model manager did not initially support the NPU, and accessing the hardware required Lemonade and separately downloaded models.

You only need a conventional mini PC

This level of processing, graphics, memory and AI performance is unnecessary for normal office work and occasional creative use.

For more professional-grade desktops, we've tested the best business computers.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have captured a strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The move threatens Saudi oil exports through a key commercial lane. And Saudi Arabia said it shut down a major oil pipeline as a precaution after it came under attack.

(Image credit: STR)

Apple's first foldable phone has arrived, and if you've decided the iPhone Duo is the handset for you, you'll want to get a case organized sharpish. The unique proportions mean not all of my favorite case-makers have their Duo cases sorted just yet — however, there are still plenty of excellent covers that are are available to buy (or pre-order).

For a phone this high-spec (and pricey), I'd definitely recommend spending a bit more and sticking to known brands for your case. Below you'll find recommendations for the US and for the UK, from Apple direct, as well as via trusted brands OtterBox, Spigen and Mous. I'll update this guide as more options become available, but if you have your Duo on its way now, you won't want to wait.

Foldables not your thing? Here are the best US iPhone 18 Pro cases and the best UK iPhone 18 Pro cases, for Apple's new flagship.

Apple iPhone Duo cases — US

In the UK? Hop to the UK case picks

Apple iPhone Duo Folio With Kickstand – Navy Blue

iPhone

Apple iPhone Duo Case – Sand

OtterBox Lumen Series Case, Clear

Spigen Air Fit Pro Case, Black

Spigen Tough Armor Pro Case, Metal Slate

Mous Super Thin Aramid Fibre case, Black

Spigen Tough Armor Pro Case, Black

OtterBox Defender Series Pro XT Case, Black

Spigen Slim Armor Pro S Case, Black

Apple iPhone Duo Case – Navy Blue

Apple iPhone Duo cases — UK

OtterBox Defender Series Pro XT Case, Black/clear

Apple iPhone Duo Case – Navy Blue

Apple iPhone duo folio With Kickstand – Taupe

Spigen Tough Armor Pro Case

Mous Super Thin Aramid Fibre case, Black

Spigen Slim Armor Pro S Case, Black

Spigen Nano Pop Case

OtterBox Lumen Series Case, Clear

Spigen Nano Pop Case

Apple's first foldable phone has arrived, and if you've decided the iPhone Duo is the handset for you, you'll want to get a case organized sharpish. The unique proportions mean not all of my favorite case-makers have their Duo cases sorted just yet — however, there are still plenty of excellent covers that are are available to buy (or pre-order).

For a phone this high-spec (and pricey), I'd definitely recommend spending a bit more and sticking to known brands for your case. Below you'll find recommendations for the US and for the UK, from Apple direct, as well as via trusted brands OtterBox, Spigen and Mous. I'll update this guide as more options become available, but if you have your Duo on its way now, you won't want to wait.

Foldables not your thing? Here are the best US iPhone 18 Pro cases and the best UK iPhone 18 Pro cases, for Apple's new flagship.

Apple iPhone Duo cases — US

In the UK? Hop to the UK case picks

Apple iPhone Duo Folio With Kickstand – Navy Blue

iPhone

Apple iPhone Duo Case – Sand

OtterBox Lumen Series Case, Clear

Spigen Air Fit Pro Case, Black

Spigen Tough Armor Pro Case, Metal Slate

Mous Super Thin Aramid Fibre case, Black

Spigen Tough Armor Pro Case, Black

OtterBox Defender Series Pro XT Case, Black

Spigen Slim Armor Pro S Case, Black

Apple iPhone Duo Case – Navy Blue

Apple iPhone Duo cases — UK

OtterBox Defender Series Pro XT Case, Black/clear

Apple iPhone Duo Case – Navy Blue

Apple iPhone duo folio With Kickstand – Taupe

Spigen Tough Armor Pro Case

Mous Super Thin Aramid Fibre case, Black

Spigen Slim Armor Pro S Case, Black

Spigen Nano Pop Case

OtterBox Lumen Series Case, Clear

Spigen Nano Pop Case

• Alien Deathstorm head of design Ben Fisher says the game's engineer protagonist "felt like a natural fit" in the game's environment and narrative
• He says Rebellion wanted to match an interesting character with "interesting mechanics" and landed on an engineer
• Producer Martin Willingham says "the motive was making the player feel immersed in the experience and exposed"

Rebellion has revealed the influences behind Alien Deathstorm and explained why it chose an engineer protagonist for its first-person survival horror game.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Gamescom, producer Martin Willingham and head of design Ben Fisher shared that the team was, of course, inspired by the iconic Alien movies, but also looked at the broader influence of "90s cassette futurism" to create "that gritty, grounded sci-fi atmosphere."

"A lot of the tone came from our own 2008 comic series as well," Fisher said. "That kind of broad, pulpy, accessible sci-fi storytelling."

When discussing the intention behind having Deathstorm's protagonist be a protagonist instead of a typical soldier, Willingham explained that the studio wanted to find an interesting character that matched "interesting mechanics," and an engineer "felt like a natural fit."

The perspective also enabled Rebellion to "explore the elements of the sandbox gameplay," and an engineer working to diagnose the problems within a dangerous environment surrounded by monsters worked well.

"So part of the motive was making the player feel immersed in the experience and exposed," Fisher said, "because if you're an engineer trying to survive in that situation, you're less trained than a space marine or something like that [or] some kind of future soldier.

"You're going to feel more at threat. So it amplifies that feeling of being isolated, doing the best in a difficult situation."

While that's one aspect, the developer also said that the other is the added "moments of anticipation" that come with the engineer role, like the build-up you get in a horror experience while trying to complete your objective.

"You've got to slow down and observe the space, so you're not just rushing to the next objective," he added. "You're actually getting immersed in the experience, and that means that when you start hearing the roar of a distant alien, that split of attention builds up a whole load of anticipation and a load of fear."

Alien Deathstorm launches in Spring 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

• Alien Deathstorm head of design Ben Fisher says the game's engineer protagonist "felt like a natural fit" in the game's environment and narrative
• He says Rebellion wanted to match an interesting character with "interesting mechanics" and landed on an engineer
• Producer Martin Willingham says "the motive was making the player feel immersed in the experience and exposed"

Rebellion has revealed the influences behind Alien Deathstorm and explained why it chose an engineer protagonist for its first-person survival horror game.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Gamescom, producer Martin Willingham and head of design Ben Fisher shared that the team was, of course, inspired by the iconic Alien movies, but also looked at the broader influence of "90s cassette futurism" to create "that gritty, grounded sci-fi atmosphere."

"A lot of the tone came from our own 2008 comic series as well," Fisher said. "That kind of broad, pulpy, accessible sci-fi storytelling."

When discussing the intention behind having Deathstorm's protagonist be a protagonist instead of a typical soldier, Willingham explained that the studio wanted to find an interesting character that matched "interesting mechanics," and an engineer "felt like a natural fit."

The perspective also enabled Rebellion to "explore the elements of the sandbox gameplay," and an engineer working to diagnose the problems within a dangerous environment surrounded by monsters worked well.

"So part of the motive was making the player feel immersed in the experience and exposed," Fisher said, "because if you're an engineer trying to survive in that situation, you're less trained than a space marine or something like that [or] some kind of future soldier.

"You're going to feel more at threat. So it amplifies that feeling of being isolated, doing the best in a difficult situation."

While that's one aspect, the developer also said that the other is the added "moments of anticipation" that come with the engineer role, like the build-up you get in a horror experience while trying to complete your objective.

"You've got to slow down and observe the space, so you're not just rushing to the next objective," he added. "You're actually getting immersed in the experience, and that means that when you start hearing the roar of a distant alien, that split of attention builds up a whole load of anticipation and a load of fear."

Alien Deathstorm launches in Spring 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

I’ve been a tech journalist and reviewer for about eight years, and in that time I’ve had most Apple Watch models on my wrist at one point or another. I’ve always loved how Apple’s wearable looks, and how it’s an extension of the iPhone in all the ways that matter, making it easy to triage notifications, check the weather, control music, and more.

It’s also been an ideal fitness companion since I began using one with the Series 0 back in 2015, but while my current Apple Watch Series 11 is a fantastic device, I’ve been testing alternatives — and there’s one thing many of them do that Apple Watch doesn’t… until now.

Apple Watch is finally getting the feature I’d buy a Fitbit for

In case you missed it, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 will introduce a new ‘Readiness’ feature to watchOS.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because Google and Fitbit, Garmin, Whoop and others have been offering a similar feature for years. Google’s Daily Readiness Score acts as a sort of fulcrum between all captured metrics, including heart rate, sleep, exercise, rest, and much more. It takes all of those data points and turns them into a single, easy-to-parse number that shows how prepared your body is for the day ahead.

The idea is that if you’ve had a rough night of sleep, have had a lot of stress, or just haven’t been moving much, you’ll get a lower score, which suggests you’ll probably want to take it easy.

On the flip side, if you’re well-rested and have been smashing your workouts with energy to spare, you’ll get a higher score to help push you to keep it up.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been begging, on this very site and elsewhere, for Apple Watch to take a leaf out of Fitbit’s book. The best Apple Watches excel at making fitness tracking easy and accessible to all, and this felt like the biggest missing piece of the puzzle after years of very welcome improvements.

How does it work?

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple went to great lengths to highlight that the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 offer the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable (which presumably includes the best smart rings, too). A big part of this is a revamp to the underlying sensor technology that Apple Watch uses, with the new hardware checking for heart rate readings 60 times more frequently than last year’s models, as well as 24 times as many HRV readings at night.

Because there’s a lot more data to work with, Apple’s algorithms and the S11 chip are able to more accurately determine your readiness score. It also ties into the Vitals app, which arrived with watchOS11, to allow you to more easily spot patterns and trends in health data, and understand how your body is responding to exercise and daily life.

So, will I put my money where my mouth is? It’s hard to say. I moved from the original Apple Watch Ultra to an Apple Watch Series 11 last year, and absolutely love my current wearable. That makes it hard to justify the upgrade, as much as I’ve been banging the drum for this feature for almost a decade. Maybe next year…

I’ve been a tech journalist and reviewer for about eight years, and in that time I’ve had most Apple Watch models on my wrist at one point or another. I’ve always loved how Apple’s wearable looks, and how it’s an extension of the iPhone in all the ways that matter, making it easy to triage notifications, check the weather, control music, and more.

It’s also been an ideal fitness companion since I began using one with the Series 0 back in 2015, but while my current Apple Watch Series 11 is a fantastic device, I’ve been testing alternatives — and there’s one thing many of them do that Apple Watch doesn’t… until now.

Apple Watch is finally getting the feature I’d buy a Fitbit for

In case you missed it, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 will introduce a new ‘Readiness’ feature to watchOS.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because Google and Fitbit, Garmin, Whoop and others have been offering a similar feature for years. Google’s Daily Readiness Score acts as a sort of fulcrum between all captured metrics, including heart rate, sleep, exercise, rest, and much more. It takes all of those data points and turns them into a single, easy-to-parse number that shows how prepared your body is for the day ahead.

The idea is that if you’ve had a rough night of sleep, have had a lot of stress, or just haven’t been moving much, you’ll get a lower score, which suggests you’ll probably want to take it easy.

On the flip side, if you’re well-rested and have been smashing your workouts with energy to spare, you’ll get a higher score to help push you to keep it up.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been begging, on this very site and elsewhere, for Apple Watch to take a leaf out of Fitbit’s book. The best Apple Watches excel at making fitness tracking easy and accessible to all, and this felt like the biggest missing piece of the puzzle after years of very welcome improvements.

How does it work?

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple went to great lengths to highlight that the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 offer the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable (which presumably includes the best smart rings, too). A big part of this is a revamp to the underlying sensor technology that Apple Watch uses, with the new hardware checking for heart rate readings 60 times more frequently than last year’s models, as well as 24 times as many HRV readings at night.

Because there’s a lot more data to work with, Apple’s algorithms and the S11 chip are able to more accurately determine your readiness score. It also ties into the Vitals app, which arrived with watchOS11, to allow you to more easily spot patterns and trends in health data, and understand how your body is responding to exercise and daily life.

So, will I put my money where my mouth is? It’s hard to say. I moved from the original Apple Watch Ultra to an Apple Watch Series 11 last year, and absolutely love my current wearable. That makes it hard to justify the upgrade, as much as I’ve been banging the drum for this feature for almost a decade. Maybe next year…

• RAND report claims the civilian space contractor workforce in the US can not support rebuilding lost satellites within 12 to 24 months of a war with either Russia or China
• The benchmark timeline is based on RAND's own assumptions and calculations surrounding a protracted war with either regional superpower
• The report highlights labor gaps that are as dire as 19:1 in certain cases when it comes to engineering replacements

A new report has warned the United States might struggle to replace satellites lost in a space war because it lacks the requisite workers.

The report, "Breaking Glass, Missing Hands", was sponsored by the Vice Chief of Space Operations and conducted by RAND Project AIR FORCE, the Department of the Air Force's own federally funded research center, as part of a fiscal 2024 project titled "In Emergency, Break Glass."

It does not, however, focus on the Department of the Air Force's internal workforce or Space Force civilian employees; instead, it highlights shortfalls in the civilian sector.

An overly ambitious reconstruction timeline?

RAND's report identifies shortfalls in three groups: engineers with bachelor's degrees or higher, skilled touch labor (technicians and assemblers), and advanced-degree specialists in electro-optical sensing and radiation hardening.

None of these are easy to replace or replicate in a short period, but one must consider that the 12- to 24-month target is one RAND has self-assessed in an industry that can take as much as a decade to replace satellites on average.

RAND notes that no such formal requirement exists, adding that the creation of the Space Force in 2019 could be read as a tacit acknowledgment of near-term dependence on space.

The people the report is most worried about, interestingly, are cleanroom technicians, welders, and solderers, not scientists, because of the labor shortages in play that already come to roughly nineteen jobs for one qualified individual.

This is further exacerbated by RAND essentially trying to set a somewhat aggressive standard that the Pentagon has yet to define formally. It also cited security clearance delays as a hiring bottleneck, with initial Secret investigations averaging more than 87 days in fiscal 2024 and Top Secret cases running close to six months.

Interestingly, RAND notes that in a conflict where the adversary can destroy systems faster than the United States can launch replacements, building exact replicas with known vulnerabilities may accomplish little, especially in a protracted war.

It also offers a startlingly small remedy for what it paints as a significant problem: RAND's recommendations cost an estimated $4 million a year for scholarships and internships, $1 million a year for outreach and recruitment, and a one-off $800,000 feasibility study on retraining workers from adjacent industries.

This is a minuscule amount compared to the roughly $32 billion the US Space Force is expected to have in play for Fiscal 2027, clocking in at just 0.016 percent of that figure, and 0.003 percent of the $185 billion earmarked for the Golden Dome project.

A war might not be required to exacerbate the issue, however; the White House's space transportation policy released in August targets more than 1,000 launches and reentries by 2030, up from roughly 200 a year today. A wartime surge without the requisite employees in training or in reserve could only further complicate those goals.

• RAND report claims the civilian space contractor workforce in the US can not support rebuilding lost satellites within 12 to 24 months of a war with either Russia or China
• The benchmark timeline is based on RAND's own assumptions and calculations surrounding a protracted war with either regional superpower
• The report highlights labor gaps that are as dire as 19:1 in certain cases when it comes to engineering replacements

A new report has warned the United States might struggle to replace satellites lost in a space war because it lacks the requisite workers.

The report, "Breaking Glass, Missing Hands", was sponsored by the Vice Chief of Space Operations and conducted by RAND Project AIR FORCE, the Department of the Air Force's own federally funded research center, as part of a fiscal 2024 project titled "In Emergency, Break Glass."

It does not, however, focus on the Department of the Air Force's internal workforce or Space Force civilian employees; instead, it highlights shortfalls in the civilian sector.

An overly ambitious reconstruction timeline?

RAND's report identifies shortfalls in three groups: engineers with bachelor's degrees or higher, skilled touch labor (technicians and assemblers), and advanced-degree specialists in electro-optical sensing and radiation hardening.

None of these are easy to replace or replicate in a short period, but one must consider that the 12- to 24-month target is one RAND has self-assessed in an industry that can take as much as a decade to replace satellites on average.

RAND notes that no such formal requirement exists, adding that the creation of the Space Force in 2019 could be read as a tacit acknowledgment of near-term dependence on space.

The people the report is most worried about, interestingly, are cleanroom technicians, welders, and solderers, not scientists, because of the labor shortages in play that already come to roughly nineteen jobs for one qualified individual.

This is further exacerbated by RAND essentially trying to set a somewhat aggressive standard that the Pentagon has yet to define formally. It also cited security clearance delays as a hiring bottleneck, with initial Secret investigations averaging more than 87 days in fiscal 2024 and Top Secret cases running close to six months.

Interestingly, RAND notes that in a conflict where the adversary can destroy systems faster than the United States can launch replacements, building exact replicas with known vulnerabilities may accomplish little, especially in a protracted war.

It also offers a startlingly small remedy for what it paints as a significant problem: RAND's recommendations cost an estimated $4 million a year for scholarships and internships, $1 million a year for outreach and recruitment, and a one-off $800,000 feasibility study on retraining workers from adjacent industries.

This is a minuscule amount compared to the roughly $32 billion the US Space Force is expected to have in play for Fiscal 2027, clocking in at just 0.016 percent of that figure, and 0.003 percent of the $185 billion earmarked for the Golden Dome project.

A war might not be required to exacerbate the issue, however; the White House's space transportation policy released in August targets more than 1,000 launches and reentries by 2030, up from roughly 200 a year today. A wartime surge without the requisite employees in training or in reserve could only further complicate those goals.

Valerion VisionMaster Max: One-minute review

The Valerion VisionMaster Max is an interesting amalgamation. While it sits in the footprint that has become popular with many home theater projectors aimed at the masses, it brings high-end capabilities found in far fewer models. This makes it a powerhouse in the space with flexible optics, making it easy to get a pristine 4K picture in the position and at the size you want.

With its RGB laser light source, the VisionMaster Max offers bright and stunningly colorful visuals. But more impressive than that is its ability to deliver them alongside a deep black floor — something a lot of projectors struggle with. Of the compact projectors I’ve tested, the VisionMaster has come closer than any to rivaling the Sony Bravia Projector 7’s black levels, which were virtually perfect in a dark home theater.

This sets the VisionMaster Max up nicely for success. Combining its display prowess with a solid streaming platform in Google TV and plenty of connections for additional home theater gear make it all that much stronger, helping it stand alongside many of the best projectors.

What holds it back is the same thing that hinders many high-end theater devices: its price. At $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999, it’s a lofty option next to rivals like the Hisense C2 Ultra and Xgimi Horizon 20 Max, both of which undercut it by thousands. Its black level may be hard to touch, but these other models are otherwise very competitive.

With the VisionMaster Max at full price, I’d direct most people to Xgimi. But if there’s ever a sizable discount on it and some bonus bundled items (like the Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system), it could be worth your while, especially if you like a deep, dark cinema environment.

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Price and release date

• Release date: October 2025
• Price: $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 

The Valerion VisionMaster Max first got teased well before its arrival at IFA 2024 and became part of a crowdfunding campaign shortly after. It was over a year after the announcement before it actually landed.

Now that it’s here, it comes with a $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 price tag. That puts it into competition with basically every projector we’ve tested. In the time between announcement and launch, the projector space has heated up considerably, and there are some new models on the horizon that could also make its high-end specs look a little more commonplace.

Though the price is on the high side, at the time of writing, Valerion is offering the VisionMaster Max with some extra accessories included that add considerably to the value. These include projector screens, a Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system, and an external lens that can increase the projector’s throw distance. We’ve also spotted a slightly discounted price from some third-party retailers.

(Image credit: Future)Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Specs

Screen sizes supported

40 to 300 inches

Brightness (specified)

3,500 Lumens

Optical technology

3 Laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

Connections

2x USB-A, 1x 3.5mm audio out, 1x S/PDIF, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (eARC), 1x Gigabit Ethernet

Dimensions

7.3 x 10.2 x 9.2 inches / 185.4 x 259.1 x 233.9mm

Weight

15.4 pounds / 6.99kg

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Design & features

• Wide range of optical adjustments alongside effective automatic adjustments
• Full-featured system with broad support for different formats
• Stylish design

All of Valerion’s projectors share a near identical DNA, so it’s unsurprising to see that the VisionMaster Max has only subtle differences compared to the VisionMaster Pro 2 I tested earlier this year.

The VisionMaster Max is a compact projector measuring only a little over 10 inches in its biggest dimension. It packs all of its hardware into an elegant box with a glossy front and metallic ribs that wrap around the top and sides of the projector. It even has a cover to hide all the ports in the back when not in use for that extra touch of elegance.

The rear includes a good selection of ports with two high-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports and an HDMI 2.0 port that can handle eARC audio transmission. A 3.5mm jack and S/PDIF port can also handle audio output, giving you plenty of options. There are also two USB-A ports (one with USB 3.0 speeds) for powering accessories or connecting local media. A Gigabit ethernet port rounds out the selection here, offering fast networking speeds, though the Wi-Fi 6E can also provide plenty of bandwidth for streaming wirelessly.

(Image credit: Future)

The front of the VisionMaster Max is where we see the most difference. It has a large, unobstructed glass cover for its projection lenses. This ties into the extra optical adjustments it allows. The lens supports both motorized zoom, letting it shift from a 0.9:1 to a 1.5:1 throw ratio, and offers a +/- 105% vertical lens shift, helping ensure a perfectly fitted image from more location. The projector even has a system for attaching an external lens that lets it shift out as far as a 2.0:1 throw ratio.

The base of the projector includes three legs for adjusting its angle and tilt, though it also has mounting screw points to let you set it up with ceiling mounts or tripods. Valerion has a metal gimbal stand that works as well, giving it similar flexibility to projectors like the Hisense C2 Ultra or JMGO N1S Ultimate.

You get a fully integrated system with the VisionMaster Max. It includes Google TV and a 24W stereo sound system. The Google TV platform is also run on a quicker processor than most projectors offer, making it far more responsive to use.

Beyond the basics, the VisionMaster Max proves fairly feature-rich. It supports automatic image adjustments to make setup quick. The automatic adjustments can handle optical zoom, keystone, focus, and screen fit, and it proved quite adept in my testing, even when the original projection was all over the place (though manual, optical adjustments can still help ensure you're getting the best picture quality by avoiding digital cropping).

The projector supports high-quality formats and can display HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content, and it can pass through DTS:X and Dolby Atmos audio. It supports 24 and 48 fps content as well as a variety of 3D formats. It also is geared up for gaming with low-latency 4K/60Hz support as well as 1080p/120Hz and 1080p/240Hz modes for even faster response.

(Image credit: Future)

One downside of Valerion’s design for the VisionMaster Max is that it packs far brighter projection into the same footprint as its dimmer siblings. That means it has to work harder at cooling. At full brightness, its fans are constantly running. While they’re not obnoxiously loud or shrill, especially in a large room, they’re still adding a bit of noise.

The VisionMaster Max’s remote is a good one, but could have done more to make more of its features quickly accessible. It provides basic Google TV navigation as well as a quick toggle for autofocus and input selection. At the bottom of the remote, it has four pairs of buttons that include four streaming app shortcuts, volume controls, a mute button, and a menu button.

Unfortunately, these aren’t arranged in a way where you can simply feel out the button you want to press in the dark. Though the remote does light up some of its controls for visibility in the dark, it only illuminates a few of the basic navigation ones, not the full legend.

(Image credit: Future)

• Design & features score: 4.5/5

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Picture quality & performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Stunning color alongside serious brightness and impressive black levels
• Sharp 4K picture and faster 1080p option

With a $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 price tag and plenty of new projectors hitting the market with brightness to rival it, the VisionMaster Max had a high bar to clear. Fortunately, it is absolutely brilliant. It provides its 4K projection with solid edge-to-edge clarity.

I’ve seen RGB-laser projection systems one after another, and they always impress with their extremely wide color gamut. The VisionMaster Max brings that capability alongside high enough brightness levels to use in all sorts of settings.

For casual viewing, I often found the VisionMaster Max’s 3,500 ISO Lumens (a specification which bore out in testing) plenty for all sorts of content without needing to close the blinds or even turn off my living room lights. More often, I found I would dim the projector or adjust its iris to lower the brightness when viewing in a dark room.

(Image credit: Future)

The VisionMaster Max pairs those high highs with low lows. A lot of projectors struggle to keep their black levels deep, but this one excels. Its black levels are among the deepest I’ve seen, with only Sony’s $9,999 / £6,999 / AU$13,999 Bravia Projector 7 having been deeper in my recent testing.

While faint light is visible during very dark scenes, brighter scenes see the black pixels of letter boxes fade away entirely. Like the Bravia Projector 7, the black levels are deep enough that you’ll want to consider light absorbing materials elsewhere in your viewing space to avoid light reflecting back onto the projected image and sullying the darkness.

All this combines to make for a wonderful picture. The bright sands of Arrakis dazzle in Dune while all of the detail in the shadows remains. And the colorful world of Pandora in Avatar never looks more splendid than when it’s beaming out of a RGB laser projection system.

Admittedly, the VisionMaster Max can produce over-saturated images in some of its color profiles, and it will suffer from the soap opera effect on occasion. But both of these issues are easily tamped down with Filmmaker Mode or custom picture settings.

(Image credit: Future)

The DLP rainbow effect is present on the VisionMaster Max, but about as subtle as I’ve seen from any DLP projector. And that’s before enabling the projector’s special anti-rainbow effect setting, which helps at the cost of a little extra whining noise from the projector.

Going beyond cinema, the VisionMaster Max also happily knocks it out of the park for gaming. Its gaming profile is responsive at 4K/60, but the projector can also swap over to 1080p/240Hz, where it proves stunningly responsive. I blasted my way around levels in Hollow Knight with excellent fluidity that helped me keep pace with the combat.

Naturally, the speakers aren’t quite a match for the projection. But in a small room, they offer punchy audio that’s plenty loud enough to drown out the fan noise. They don’t sound too boxed in, and when it’s called for, they can really boom. Still, they’re better paired with an external audio system, and if you happen to pair it with a Hisense audio system like the HT-Saturn, it can support additional features as if it were a Hisense projector itself.

• Picture quality & performance score: 4.5/5

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

When it was first announced, the VisionMaster Max had seemed like it would be an unmatched entrant into the market with only extremely high-end projectors ready to rival it on image quality without managing to offer the more friendly and compact design it offered. Models like the Hisense C2 Ultra and JMGO N1S Ultimate could compete somewhat on features, but don’t quite keep up with the VisionMaster Max’s image quality and more flexible optics.

But the market has just shifted with the introduction of the Xgimi Horizon 20 lineup — a far more formidable alternative that’s way cheaper, competitively bright, and featuring a newer DLP chip that can offer VRR for gaming. It also offers advanced optics offering flexible projection.

Still, the fact that Valerion’s projector is arriving so late to the party without some of the new features hurts its value a bit next to the new models landing now at much lower prices.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Valerion VisionMaster Max?

(Image credit: Future)Valerion VisionMaster Max Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design and features

The VisionMaster Max does a great job of integrating everything you need into a compact and elegant unit. It offers good connectivity, a solid streaming platform, and viable audio in a pinch. It’s also got great optical adjustments that are rare from projectors with its design.

4.5/5

Picture quality and performance

The picture beaming out of the VisionMaster Max is stunning. It gets the rich color of RGB laser projection alongside simply excellent black levels that most of its rivals can’t match. Plus, it can drop down to 1080p/240Hz for ultra-fluid gaming.

4.5/5

Value

The VisionMaster Max undercuts some high-end systems like Sony’s Bravia Projector 7 to score some big points. But its specs aren’t quite as competitive against a new batch of ultra-bright projectors hitting the market with VRR-capable chips and much lower price tags.

3.5/5

Buy it if...

Contrast is a big deal to you
The VisionMaster Max is an excellent projector for its visuals, and its contrast is perhaps one of the key assets it has over its competition. Darker black levels help hide letterboxes, digital image adjustments like keystoning, and ultimately help make the rest of the visuals pop.

You want a projector that’s pretty good at everything
The Valerion VisionMaster Max is good in the daytime and stunning at night. It’s great at gaming. It has good audio and supports great options for external sound. It’s even a strong streamer thanks to its fast internals. You won’t face much compromise here.

You can still afford a sound system on top of it
You’re getting a truly excellent visual experience from the VisionMaster Max, but its audio won’t keep up. For a great home theater, an external speaker system is a must here. (Though it’s worth checking to see if Valerion is bundling the Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system when you’re shopping)

Don't buy it if...

You’re mostly after gaming
New projectors supporting VRR are right on the horizon, and they’re offering competitive brightness and lower prices. It’s worth holding off to see how they perform before doling out for the VisionMaster Max if you plan to do a ton of gaming.

You’re not going to darken the room often
The VisionMaster Max works decently in a lit room, but its best performance shows only in the dark. If you’re not planning on blacking out your viewing area on the regular, you’ll be just about as well served with a cheaper alternative that doesn’t have the impressive black floor of the VisionMaster Max.

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Also considerComparison: projectors

Valerion VisionMaster Max

Sony Bravia Projector 7

Xgimi Horizon 20 Max

Price

$4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999

$9,999 / £6,999 / AU$13,999

$2,999 / £2,599 / AU$5,999

Screen sizes supported

40 to 300 inches

90 to 130 inches

40 to 300 inches

Brightness (specified)

3,500 lumens

2,400 lumens

5,700 ISO lumens

HDR support

HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision

HDR10, HLG

Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, IMAX Enhanced

Optical technology

3 Laser DLP

Laser SXRD

Triple laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

N/A

N/A

Connections

2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (with eARC), 1x optical, 1x 3.5mm

2x HDMI 2.1

2x HDMI (x1 eARC), 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, 1x 3.5mm, 1x optical audio out

Sony Bravia Projector 7
Here’s what we had to say in our full Sony Bravia Projector 7 review:

“The Bravia Projector 7 commands a high price, but it does so with a jaw-dropping image. Its color could be richer, but I’ve never seen such impressive black levels from a projector. The picture here is so good, you’ll need to tailor your theater around it to maximize performance; otherwise, you’ll be wasting your money.”

Xgimi Horizon 20 Max
If the Valerion VisionMaster Max is too expensive, this is the cheaper alternative I think gets closest in performance. Here’s what we had to say in our full Xgimi Horizon 20 Max review:

“The Xgimi Horizon 20 Max is a brilliant 4K portable projector. It delivers high brightness, strong contrast and bold colors, along with solid built-in sound, responsive gaming performance and tons of useful setup features. The picture requires some adjustment, but the payoff is worth it.”

How I tested the Valerion VisionMaster Max

(Image credit: Future)

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

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

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

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

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

Valerion VisionMaster Max: One-minute review

The Valerion VisionMaster Max is an interesting amalgamation. While it sits in the footprint that has become popular with many home theater projectors aimed at the masses, it brings high-end capabilities found in far fewer models. This makes it a powerhouse in the space with flexible optics, making it easy to get a pristine 4K picture in the position and at the size you want.

With its RGB laser light source, the VisionMaster Max offers bright and stunningly colorful visuals. But more impressive than that is its ability to deliver them alongside a deep black floor — something a lot of projectors struggle with. Of the compact projectors I’ve tested, the VisionMaster has come closer than any to rivaling the Sony Bravia Projector 7’s black levels, which were virtually perfect in a dark home theater.

This sets the VisionMaster Max up nicely for success. Combining its display prowess with a solid streaming platform in Google TV and plenty of connections for additional home theater gear make it all that much stronger, helping it stand alongside many of the best projectors.

What holds it back is the same thing that hinders many high-end theater devices: its price. At $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999, it’s a lofty option next to rivals like the Hisense C2 Ultra and Xgimi Horizon 20 Max, both of which undercut it by thousands. Its black level may be hard to touch, but these other models are otherwise very competitive.

With the VisionMaster Max at full price, I’d direct most people to Xgimi. But if there’s ever a sizable discount on it and some bonus bundled items (like the Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system), it could be worth your while, especially if you like a deep, dark cinema environment.

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Price and release date

• Release date: October 2025
• Price: $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 

The Valerion VisionMaster Max first got teased well before its arrival at IFA 2024 and became part of a crowdfunding campaign shortly after. It was over a year after the announcement before it actually landed.

Now that it’s here, it comes with a $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 price tag. That puts it into competition with basically every projector we’ve tested. In the time between announcement and launch, the projector space has heated up considerably, and there are some new models on the horizon that could also make its high-end specs look a little more commonplace.

Though the price is on the high side, at the time of writing, Valerion is offering the VisionMaster Max with some extra accessories included that add considerably to the value. These include projector screens, a Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system, and an external lens that can increase the projector’s throw distance. We’ve also spotted a slightly discounted price from some third-party retailers.

(Image credit: Future)Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Specs

Screen sizes supported

40 to 300 inches

Brightness (specified)

3,500 Lumens

Optical technology

3 Laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

Connections

2x USB-A, 1x 3.5mm audio out, 1x S/PDIF, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (eARC), 1x Gigabit Ethernet

Dimensions

7.3 x 10.2 x 9.2 inches / 185.4 x 259.1 x 233.9mm

Weight

15.4 pounds / 6.99kg

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Design & features

• Wide range of optical adjustments alongside effective automatic adjustments
• Full-featured system with broad support for different formats
• Stylish design

All of Valerion’s projectors share a near identical DNA, so it’s unsurprising to see that the VisionMaster Max has only subtle differences compared to the VisionMaster Pro 2 I tested earlier this year.

The VisionMaster Max is a compact projector measuring only a little over 10 inches in its biggest dimension. It packs all of its hardware into an elegant box with a glossy front and metallic ribs that wrap around the top and sides of the projector. It even has a cover to hide all the ports in the back when not in use for that extra touch of elegance.

The rear includes a good selection of ports with two high-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports and an HDMI 2.0 port that can handle eARC audio transmission. A 3.5mm jack and S/PDIF port can also handle audio output, giving you plenty of options. There are also two USB-A ports (one with USB 3.0 speeds) for powering accessories or connecting local media. A Gigabit ethernet port rounds out the selection here, offering fast networking speeds, though the Wi-Fi 6E can also provide plenty of bandwidth for streaming wirelessly.

(Image credit: Future)

The front of the VisionMaster Max is where we see the most difference. It has a large, unobstructed glass cover for its projection lenses. This ties into the extra optical adjustments it allows. The lens supports both motorized zoom, letting it shift from a 0.9:1 to a 1.5:1 throw ratio, and offers a +/- 105% vertical lens shift, helping ensure a perfectly fitted image from more location. The projector even has a system for attaching an external lens that lets it shift out as far as a 2.0:1 throw ratio.

The base of the projector includes three legs for adjusting its angle and tilt, though it also has mounting screw points to let you set it up with ceiling mounts or tripods. Valerion has a metal gimbal stand that works as well, giving it similar flexibility to projectors like the Hisense C2 Ultra or JMGO N1S Ultimate.

You get a fully integrated system with the VisionMaster Max. It includes Google TV and a 24W stereo sound system. The Google TV platform is also run on a quicker processor than most projectors offer, making it far more responsive to use.

Beyond the basics, the VisionMaster Max proves fairly feature-rich. It supports automatic image adjustments to make setup quick. The automatic adjustments can handle optical zoom, keystone, focus, and screen fit, and it proved quite adept in my testing, even when the original projection was all over the place (though manual, optical adjustments can still help ensure you're getting the best picture quality by avoiding digital cropping).

The projector supports high-quality formats and can display HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content, and it can pass through DTS:X and Dolby Atmos audio. It supports 24 and 48 fps content as well as a variety of 3D formats. It also is geared up for gaming with low-latency 4K/60Hz support as well as 1080p/120Hz and 1080p/240Hz modes for even faster response.

(Image credit: Future)

One downside of Valerion’s design for the VisionMaster Max is that it packs far brighter projection into the same footprint as its dimmer siblings. That means it has to work harder at cooling. At full brightness, its fans are constantly running. While they’re not obnoxiously loud or shrill, especially in a large room, they’re still adding a bit of noise.

The VisionMaster Max’s remote is a good one, but could have done more to make more of its features quickly accessible. It provides basic Google TV navigation as well as a quick toggle for autofocus and input selection. At the bottom of the remote, it has four pairs of buttons that include four streaming app shortcuts, volume controls, a mute button, and a menu button.

Unfortunately, these aren’t arranged in a way where you can simply feel out the button you want to press in the dark. Though the remote does light up some of its controls for visibility in the dark, it only illuminates a few of the basic navigation ones, not the full legend.

(Image credit: Future)

• Design & features score: 4.5/5

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Picture quality & performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Stunning color alongside serious brightness and impressive black levels
• Sharp 4K picture and faster 1080p option

With a $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 price tag and plenty of new projectors hitting the market with brightness to rival it, the VisionMaster Max had a high bar to clear. Fortunately, it is absolutely brilliant. It provides its 4K projection with solid edge-to-edge clarity.

I’ve seen RGB-laser projection systems one after another, and they always impress with their extremely wide color gamut. The VisionMaster Max brings that capability alongside high enough brightness levels to use in all sorts of settings.

For casual viewing, I often found the VisionMaster Max’s 3,500 ISO Lumens (a specification which bore out in testing) plenty for all sorts of content without needing to close the blinds or even turn off my living room lights. More often, I found I would dim the projector or adjust its iris to lower the brightness when viewing in a dark room.

(Image credit: Future)

The VisionMaster Max pairs those high highs with low lows. A lot of projectors struggle to keep their black levels deep, but this one excels. Its black levels are among the deepest I’ve seen, with only Sony’s $9,999 / £6,999 / AU$13,999 Bravia Projector 7 having been deeper in my recent testing.

While faint light is visible during very dark scenes, brighter scenes see the black pixels of letter boxes fade away entirely. Like the Bravia Projector 7, the black levels are deep enough that you’ll want to consider light absorbing materials elsewhere in your viewing space to avoid light reflecting back onto the projected image and sullying the darkness.

All this combines to make for a wonderful picture. The bright sands of Arrakis dazzle in Dune while all of the detail in the shadows remains. And the colorful world of Pandora in Avatar never looks more splendid than when it’s beaming out of a RGB laser projection system.

Admittedly, the VisionMaster Max can produce over-saturated images in some of its color profiles, and it will suffer from the soap opera effect on occasion. But both of these issues are easily tamped down with Filmmaker Mode or custom picture settings.

(Image credit: Future)

The DLP rainbow effect is present on the VisionMaster Max, but about as subtle as I’ve seen from any DLP projector. And that’s before enabling the projector’s special anti-rainbow effect setting, which helps at the cost of a little extra whining noise from the projector.

Going beyond cinema, the VisionMaster Max also happily knocks it out of the park for gaming. Its gaming profile is responsive at 4K/60, but the projector can also swap over to 1080p/240Hz, where it proves stunningly responsive. I blasted my way around levels in Hollow Knight with excellent fluidity that helped me keep pace with the combat.

Naturally, the speakers aren’t quite a match for the projection. But in a small room, they offer punchy audio that’s plenty loud enough to drown out the fan noise. They don’t sound too boxed in, and when it’s called for, they can really boom. Still, they’re better paired with an external audio system, and if you happen to pair it with a Hisense audio system like the HT-Saturn, it can support additional features as if it were a Hisense projector itself.

• Picture quality & performance score: 4.5/5

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

When it was first announced, the VisionMaster Max had seemed like it would be an unmatched entrant into the market with only extremely high-end projectors ready to rival it on image quality without managing to offer the more friendly and compact design it offered. Models like the Hisense C2 Ultra and JMGO N1S Ultimate could compete somewhat on features, but don’t quite keep up with the VisionMaster Max’s image quality and more flexible optics.

But the market has just shifted with the introduction of the Xgimi Horizon 20 lineup — a far more formidable alternative that’s way cheaper, competitively bright, and featuring a newer DLP chip that can offer VRR for gaming. It also offers advanced optics offering flexible projection.

Still, the fact that Valerion’s projector is arriving so late to the party without some of the new features hurts its value a bit next to the new models landing now at much lower prices.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Valerion VisionMaster Max?

(Image credit: Future)Valerion VisionMaster Max Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design and features

The VisionMaster Max does a great job of integrating everything you need into a compact and elegant unit. It offers good connectivity, a solid streaming platform, and viable audio in a pinch. It’s also got great optical adjustments that are rare from projectors with its design.

4.5/5

Picture quality and performance

The picture beaming out of the VisionMaster Max is stunning. It gets the rich color of RGB laser projection alongside simply excellent black levels that most of its rivals can’t match. Plus, it can drop down to 1080p/240Hz for ultra-fluid gaming.

4.5/5

Value

The VisionMaster Max undercuts some high-end systems like Sony’s Bravia Projector 7 to score some big points. But its specs aren’t quite as competitive against a new batch of ultra-bright projectors hitting the market with VRR-capable chips and much lower price tags.

3.5/5

Buy it if...

Contrast is a big deal to you
The VisionMaster Max is an excellent projector for its visuals, and its contrast is perhaps one of the key assets it has over its competition. Darker black levels help hide letterboxes, digital image adjustments like keystoning, and ultimately help make the rest of the visuals pop.

You want a projector that’s pretty good at everything
The Valerion VisionMaster Max is good in the daytime and stunning at night. It’s great at gaming. It has good audio and supports great options for external sound. It’s even a strong streamer thanks to its fast internals. You won’t face much compromise here.

You can still afford a sound system on top of it
You’re getting a truly excellent visual experience from the VisionMaster Max, but its audio won’t keep up. For a great home theater, an external speaker system is a must here. (Though it’s worth checking to see if Valerion is bundling the Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system when you’re shopping)

Don't buy it if...

You’re mostly after gaming
New projectors supporting VRR are right on the horizon, and they’re offering competitive brightness and lower prices. It’s worth holding off to see how they perform before doling out for the VisionMaster Max if you plan to do a ton of gaming.

You’re not going to darken the room often
The VisionMaster Max works decently in a lit room, but its best performance shows only in the dark. If you’re not planning on blacking out your viewing area on the regular, you’ll be just about as well served with a cheaper alternative that doesn’t have the impressive black floor of the VisionMaster Max.

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Also considerComparison: projectors

Valerion VisionMaster Max

Sony Bravia Projector 7

Xgimi Horizon 20 Max

Price

$4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999

$9,999 / £6,999 / AU$13,999

$2,999 / £2,599 / AU$5,999

Screen sizes supported

40 to 300 inches

90 to 130 inches

40 to 300 inches

Brightness (specified)

3,500 lumens

2,400 lumens

5,700 ISO lumens

HDR support

HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision

HDR10, HLG

Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, IMAX Enhanced

Optical technology

3 Laser DLP

Laser SXRD

Triple laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

N/A

N/A

Connections

2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (with eARC), 1x optical, 1x 3.5mm

2x HDMI 2.1

2x HDMI (x1 eARC), 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, 1x 3.5mm, 1x optical audio out

Sony Bravia Projector 7
Here’s what we had to say in our full Sony Bravia Projector 7 review:

“The Bravia Projector 7 commands a high price, but it does so with a jaw-dropping image. Its color could be richer, but I’ve never seen such impressive black levels from a projector. The picture here is so good, you’ll need to tailor your theater around it to maximize performance; otherwise, you’ll be wasting your money.”

Xgimi Horizon 20 Max
If the Valerion VisionMaster Max is too expensive, this is the cheaper alternative I think gets closest in performance. Here’s what we had to say in our full Xgimi Horizon 20 Max review:

“The Xgimi Horizon 20 Max is a brilliant 4K portable projector. It delivers high brightness, strong contrast and bold colors, along with solid built-in sound, responsive gaming performance and tons of useful setup features. The picture requires some adjustment, but the payoff is worth it.”

How I tested the Valerion VisionMaster Max

(Image credit: Future)

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

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

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

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

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

• Ford CEO hits back at US government's China claims
• Ford’s new Fathom electric pick-up uses technology licensed from CATL
• The affordable Fathom is part of Ford’s new Universal EV platform

Ford has hit back at criticisms from US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the automaker is becoming overly reliant on Chinese car companies, with Chief Executive Jim Farley telling The Wall Street Journal that these are “basic misunderstandings, mistruths, whatever words you want to use.”

The global automaker, which is winding up production of its current F-150 Lightning, is preparing a smaller, more affordable electric pick-up for the masses.

Dubbed Fathom, it will start at $28,350 (around £20,970 / AU$39,540) before destination fees and is the result of work by Ford’s “skunkworks” team, which was assembled to find ways to innovate in the EV space while keeping costs down and competing with increasingly capable Chinese electric vehicles.

However, the Transportation Secretary accused Ford of “actively intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed enterprises,” including a plant that licenses technology from Chinese battery giant CATL, according to the WSJ.

Ford announced in 2023 that it would begin manufacturing its own lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries at the newly formed BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall.

(Image credit: Ford)

The company subsequently confirmed that the plant would use technology and expertise licensed from China-based CATL, but Ford would own and operate the facility and assemble the batteries in the US.

Production of the LFP battery cells destined for Ford’s affordable electric pick-up is now ramping up, with Ford saying it is on track to ship batteries in 2026. Farley is adamant that the arrangement does not amount to handing control of Ford’s future to China.

“We’re not enabling the Chinese to come here,” Farley told the WSJ. “Actually, you could argue the opposite is the case.”

In a statement published by Ford HQ on its media site, the company said that it is the "most American automaker".

"We produce more vehicles in the US, employ more hourly manufacturing workers and export more vehicles from the US than any other automaker", it added.

Despite a retirement in its current form, the F-150 Lightning itself isn't being killed off entirely, either. Ford says production of the current version will end this year, with a next-generation F-150 Lightning EREV planned to offer more than 700 miles of combined range using a battery and gasoline-powered generator.

Analysis: All hopes rest on Fathom

(Image credit: Ford)

Ford’s CEO has called the creation of its new Universal EV platform, which it hopes will underpin a whole host of new EVs, the company’s “Model T moment,” stating that the platform will help bring electric trucks and vehicles to customers at a more affordable price.

Full details of the Fathom are still to be revealed, but we do know that it will cost less than $30,000 before destination charges when it goes on sale, with a starting MSRP of $28,350 (about £20,970 / AU$39,540). It will use one of Ford’s new LFP battery packs and feature a NACS charging port.

It will also pack bidirectional charging, allowing owners to power tools and other accessories from the batteries, and every Fathom will have the hardware required for Ford’s next-generation BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system.

Four doors, five passengers, a generous rear bed and a front trunk for extra storage will all come as standard, while Ford is targeting a midsize footprint with more passenger space than a Toyota RAV4.

Ford hopes that its electric trucks will finally hit home with a mass-market audience, thanks to the technology on offer and extremely competitive pricing.

Although it will count the Jeff Bezos-backed Slate truck as a key competitor, that pick-up is priced from less than $25,000 (about £18,490 / AU$34,870) before destination charges.

• Ford CEO hits back at US government's China claims
• Ford’s new Fathom electric pick-up uses technology licensed from CATL
• The affordable Fathom is part of Ford’s new Universal EV platform

Ford has hit back at criticisms from US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the automaker is becoming overly reliant on Chinese car companies, with Chief Executive Jim Farley telling The Wall Street Journal that these are “basic misunderstandings, mistruths, whatever words you want to use.”

The global automaker, which is winding up production of its current F-150 Lightning, is preparing a smaller, more affordable electric pick-up for the masses.

Dubbed Fathom, it will start at $28,350 (around £20,970 / AU$39,540) before destination fees and is the result of work by Ford’s “skunkworks” team, which was assembled to find ways to innovate in the EV space while keeping costs down and competing with increasingly capable Chinese electric vehicles.

However, the Transportation Secretary accused Ford of “actively intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed enterprises,” including a plant that licenses technology from Chinese battery giant CATL, according to the WSJ.

Ford announced in 2023 that it would begin manufacturing its own lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries at the newly formed BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall.

(Image credit: Ford)

The company subsequently confirmed that the plant would use technology and expertise licensed from China-based CATL, but Ford would own and operate the facility and assemble the batteries in the US.

Production of the LFP battery cells destined for Ford’s affordable electric pick-up is now ramping up, with Ford saying it is on track to ship batteries in 2026. Farley is adamant that the arrangement does not amount to handing control of Ford’s future to China.

“We’re not enabling the Chinese to come here,” Farley told the WSJ. “Actually, you could argue the opposite is the case.”

In a statement published by Ford HQ on its media site, the company said that it is the "most American automaker".

"We produce more vehicles in the US, employ more hourly manufacturing workers and export more vehicles from the US than any other automaker", it added.

Despite a retirement in its current form, the F-150 Lightning itself isn't being killed off entirely, either. Ford says production of the current version will end this year, with a next-generation F-150 Lightning EREV planned to offer more than 700 miles of combined range using a battery and gasoline-powered generator.

Analysis: All hopes rest on Fathom

(Image credit: Ford)

Ford’s CEO has called the creation of its new Universal EV platform, which it hopes will underpin a whole host of new EVs, the company’s “Model T moment,” stating that the platform will help bring electric trucks and vehicles to customers at a more affordable price.

Full details of the Fathom are still to be revealed, but we do know that it will cost less than $30,000 before destination charges when it goes on sale, with a starting MSRP of $28,350 (about £20,970 / AU$39,540). It will use one of Ford’s new LFP battery packs and feature a NACS charging port.

It will also pack bidirectional charging, allowing owners to power tools and other accessories from the batteries, and every Fathom will have the hardware required for Ford’s next-generation BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system.

Four doors, five passengers, a generous rear bed and a front trunk for extra storage will all come as standard, while Ford is targeting a midsize footprint with more passenger space than a Toyota RAV4.

Ford hopes that its electric trucks will finally hit home with a mass-market audience, thanks to the technology on offer and extremely competitive pricing.

Although it will count the Jeff Bezos-backed Slate truck as a key competitor, that pick-up is priced from less than $25,000 (about £18,490 / AU$34,870) before destination charges.

Valerion VisionMaster Max: One-minute review

The Valerion VisionMaster Max is an interesting amalgamation. While it sits in the footprint that has become popular with many home theater projectors aimed at the masses, it brings high-end capabilities found in far fewer models. This makes it a powerhouse in the space with flexible optics, making it easy to get a pristine 4K picture in the position and at the size you want.

With its RGB laser light source, the VisionMaster Max offers bright and stunningly colorful visuals. But more impressive than that is its ability to deliver them alongside a deep black floor — something a lot of projectors struggle with. Of the compact projectors I’ve tested, the VisionMaster has come closer than any to rivaling the Sony Bravia Projector 7’s black levels, which were virtually perfect in a dark home theater.

This sets the VisionMaster Max up nicely for success. Combining its display prowess with a solid streaming platform in Google TV and plenty of connections for additional home theater gear make it all that much stronger, helping it stand alongside many of the best projectors.

What holds it back is the same thing that hinders many high-end theater devices: its price. At $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999, it’s a lofty option next to rivals like the Hisense C2 Ultra and Xgimi Horizon 20 Max, both of which undercut it by thousands. Its black level may be hard to touch, but these other models are otherwise very competitive.

With the VisionMaster Max at full price, I’d direct most people to Xgimi. But if there’s ever a sizable discount on it and some bonus bundled items (like the Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system), it could be worth your while, especially if you like a deep, dark cinema environment.

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Price and release date

• Release date: October 2025
• Price: $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 

The Valerion VisionMaster Max first got teased well before its arrival at IFA 2024 and became part of a crowdfunding campaign shortly after. It was over a year after the announcement before it actually landed.

Now that it’s here, it comes with a $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 price tag. That puts it into competition with basically every projector we’ve tested. In the time between announcement and launch, the projector space has heated up considerably, and there are some new models on the horizon that could also make its high-end specs look a little more commonplace.

Though the price is on the high side, at the time of writing, Valerion is offering the VisionMaster Max with some extra accessories included that add considerably to the value. These include projector screens, a Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system, and an external lens that can increase the projector’s throw distance. We’ve also spotted a slightly discounted price from some third-party retailers.

(Image credit: Future)Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Specs

Screen sizes supported

40 to 300 inches

Brightness (specified)

3,500 Lumens

Optical technology

3 Laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

Connections

2x USB-A, 1x 3.5mm audio out, 1x S/PDIF, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (eARC), 1x Gigabit Ethernet

Dimensions

7.3 x 10.2 x 9.2 inches / 185.4 x 259.1 x 233.9mm

Weight

15.4 pounds / 6.99kg

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Design & features

• Wide range of optical adjustments alongside effective automatic adjustments
• Full-featured system with broad support for different formats
• Stylish design

All of Valerion’s projectors share a near identical DNA, so it’s unsurprising to see that the VisionMaster Max has only subtle differences compared to the VisionMaster Pro 2 I tested earlier this year.

The VisionMaster Max is a compact projector measuring only a little over 10 inches in its biggest dimension. It packs all of its hardware into an elegant box with a glossy front and metallic ribs that wrap around the top and sides of the projector. It even has a cover to hide all the ports in the back when not in use for that extra touch of elegance.

The rear includes a good selection of ports with two high-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports and an HDMI 2.0 port that can handle eARC audio transmission. A 3.5mm jack and S/PDIF port can also handle audio output, giving you plenty of options. There are also two USB-A ports (one with USB 3.0 speeds) for powering accessories or connecting local media. A Gigabit ethernet port rounds out the selection here, offering fast networking speeds, though the Wi-Fi 6E can also provide plenty of bandwidth for streaming wirelessly.

(Image credit: Future)

The front of the VisionMaster Max is where we see the most difference. It has a large, unobstructed glass cover for its projection lenses. This ties into the extra optical adjustments it allows. The lens supports both motorized zoom, letting it shift from a 0.9:1 to a 1.5:1 throw ratio, and offers a +/- 105% vertical lens shift, helping ensure a perfectly fitted image from more location. The projector even has a system for attaching an external lens that lets it shift out as far as a 2.0:1 throw ratio.

The base of the projector includes three legs for adjusting its angle and tilt, though it also has mounting screw points to let you set it up with ceiling mounts or tripods. Valerion has a metal gimbal stand that works as well, giving it similar flexibility to projectors like the Hisense C2 Ultra or JMGO N1S Ultimate.

You get a fully integrated system with the VisionMaster Max. It includes Google TV and a 24W stereo sound system. The Google TV platform is also run on a quicker processor than most projectors offer, making it far more responsive to use.

Beyond the basics, the VisionMaster Max proves fairly feature-rich. It supports automatic image adjustments to make setup quick. The automatic adjustments can handle optical zoom, keystone, focus, and screen fit, and it proved quite adept in my testing, even when the original projection was all over the place (though manual, optical adjustments can still help ensure you're getting the best picture quality by avoiding digital cropping).

The projector supports high-quality formats and can display HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content, and it can pass through DTS:X and Dolby Atmos audio. It supports 24 and 48 fps content as well as a variety of 3D formats. It also is geared up for gaming with low-latency 4K/60Hz support as well as 1080p/120Hz and 1080p/240Hz modes for even faster response.

(Image credit: Future)

One downside of Valerion’s design for the VisionMaster Max is that it packs far brighter projection into the same footprint as its dimmer siblings. That means it has to work harder at cooling. At full brightness, its fans are constantly running. While they’re not obnoxiously loud or shrill, especially in a large room, they’re still adding a bit of noise.

The VisionMaster Max’s remote is a good one, but could have done more to make more of its features quickly accessible. It provides basic Google TV navigation as well as a quick toggle for autofocus and input selection. At the bottom of the remote, it has four pairs of buttons that include four streaming app shortcuts, volume controls, a mute button, and a menu button.

Unfortunately, these aren’t arranged in a way where you can simply feel out the button you want to press in the dark. Though the remote does light up some of its controls for visibility in the dark, it only illuminates a few of the basic navigation ones, not the full legend.

(Image credit: Future)

• Design & features score: 4.5/5

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Picture quality & performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Stunning color alongside serious brightness and impressive black levels
• Sharp 4K picture and faster 1080p option

With a $4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999 price tag and plenty of new projectors hitting the market with brightness to rival it, the VisionMaster Max had a high bar to clear. Fortunately, it is absolutely brilliant. It provides its 4K projection with solid edge-to-edge clarity.

I’ve seen RGB-laser projection systems one after another, and they always impress with their extremely wide color gamut. The VisionMaster Max brings that capability alongside high enough brightness levels to use in all sorts of settings.

For casual viewing, I often found the VisionMaster Max’s 3,500 ISO Lumens (a specification which bore out in testing) plenty for all sorts of content without needing to close the blinds or even turn off my living room lights. More often, I found I would dim the projector or adjust its iris to lower the brightness when viewing in a dark room.

(Image credit: Future)

The VisionMaster Max pairs those high highs with low lows. A lot of projectors struggle to keep their black levels deep, but this one excels. Its black levels are among the deepest I’ve seen, with only Sony’s $9,999 / £6,999 / AU$13,999 Bravia Projector 7 having been deeper in my recent testing.

While faint light is visible during very dark scenes, brighter scenes see the black pixels of letter boxes fade away entirely. Like the Bravia Projector 7, the black levels are deep enough that you’ll want to consider light absorbing materials elsewhere in your viewing space to avoid light reflecting back onto the projected image and sullying the darkness.

All this combines to make for a wonderful picture. The bright sands of Arrakis dazzle in Dune while all of the detail in the shadows remains. And the colorful world of Pandora in Avatar never looks more splendid than when it’s beaming out of a RGB laser projection system.

Admittedly, the VisionMaster Max can produce over-saturated images in some of its color profiles, and it will suffer from the soap opera effect on occasion. But both of these issues are easily tamped down with Filmmaker Mode or custom picture settings.

(Image credit: Future)

The DLP rainbow effect is present on the VisionMaster Max, but about as subtle as I’ve seen from any DLP projector. And that’s before enabling the projector’s special anti-rainbow effect setting, which helps at the cost of a little extra whining noise from the projector.

Going beyond cinema, the VisionMaster Max also happily knocks it out of the park for gaming. Its gaming profile is responsive at 4K/60, but the projector can also swap over to 1080p/240Hz, where it proves stunningly responsive. I blasted my way around levels in Hollow Knight with excellent fluidity that helped me keep pace with the combat.

Naturally, the speakers aren’t quite a match for the projection. But in a small room, they offer punchy audio that’s plenty loud enough to drown out the fan noise. They don’t sound too boxed in, and when it’s called for, they can really boom. Still, they’re better paired with an external audio system, and if you happen to pair it with a Hisense audio system like the HT-Saturn, it can support additional features as if it were a Hisense projector itself.

• Picture quality & performance score: 4.5/5

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

When it was first announced, the VisionMaster Max had seemed like it would be an unmatched entrant into the market with only extremely high-end projectors ready to rival it on image quality without managing to offer the more friendly and compact design it offered. Models like the Hisense C2 Ultra and JMGO N1S Ultimate could compete somewhat on features, but don’t quite keep up with the VisionMaster Max’s image quality and more flexible optics.

But the market has just shifted with the introduction of the Xgimi Horizon 20 lineup — a far more formidable alternative that’s way cheaper, competitively bright, and featuring a newer DLP chip that can offer VRR for gaming. It also offers advanced optics offering flexible projection.

Still, the fact that Valerion’s projector is arriving so late to the party without some of the new features hurts its value a bit next to the new models landing now at much lower prices.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Valerion VisionMaster Max?

(Image credit: Future)Valerion VisionMaster Max Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design and features

The VisionMaster Max does a great job of integrating everything you need into a compact and elegant unit. It offers good connectivity, a solid streaming platform, and viable audio in a pinch. It’s also got great optical adjustments that are rare from projectors with its design.

4.5/5

Picture quality and performance

The picture beaming out of the VisionMaster Max is stunning. It gets the rich color of RGB laser projection alongside simply excellent black levels that most of its rivals can’t match. Plus, it can drop down to 1080p/240Hz for ultra-fluid gaming.

4.5/5

Value

The VisionMaster Max undercuts some high-end systems like Sony’s Bravia Projector 7 to score some big points. But its specs aren’t quite as competitive against a new batch of ultra-bright projectors hitting the market with VRR-capable chips and much lower price tags.

3.5/5

Buy it if...

Contrast is a big deal to you
The VisionMaster Max is an excellent projector for its visuals, and its contrast is perhaps one of the key assets it has over its competition. Darker black levels help hide letterboxes, digital image adjustments like keystoning, and ultimately help make the rest of the visuals pop.

You want a projector that’s pretty good at everything
The Valerion VisionMaster Max is good in the daytime and stunning at night. It’s great at gaming. It has good audio and supports great options for external sound. It’s even a strong streamer thanks to its fast internals. You won’t face much compromise here.

You can still afford a sound system on top of it
You’re getting a truly excellent visual experience from the VisionMaster Max, but its audio won’t keep up. For a great home theater, an external speaker system is a must here. (Though it’s worth checking to see if Valerion is bundling the Thunderbeat 4.1.2 wireless sound system when you’re shopping)

Don't buy it if...

You’re mostly after gaming
New projectors supporting VRR are right on the horizon, and they’re offering competitive brightness and lower prices. It’s worth holding off to see how they perform before doling out for the VisionMaster Max if you plan to do a ton of gaming.

You’re not going to darken the room often
The VisionMaster Max works decently in a lit room, but its best performance shows only in the dark. If you’re not planning on blacking out your viewing area on the regular, you’ll be just about as well served with a cheaper alternative that doesn’t have the impressive black floor of the VisionMaster Max.

Valerion VisionMaster Max review: Also considerComparison: projectors

Valerion VisionMaster Max

Sony Bravia Projector 7

Xgimi Horizon 20 Max

Price

$4,999 / £4,349 / AU$5,999

$9,999 / £6,999 / AU$13,999

$2,999 / £2,599 / AU$5,999

Screen sizes supported

40 to 300 inches

90 to 130 inches

40 to 300 inches

Brightness (specified)

3,500 lumens

2,400 lumens

5,700 ISO lumens

HDR support

HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision

HDR10, HLG

Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, IMAX Enhanced

Optical technology

3 Laser DLP

Laser SXRD

Triple laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

N/A

N/A

Connections

2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (with eARC), 1x optical, 1x 3.5mm

2x HDMI 2.1

2x HDMI (x1 eARC), 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, 1x 3.5mm, 1x optical audio out

Sony Bravia Projector 7
Here’s what we had to say in our full Sony Bravia Projector 7 review:

“The Bravia Projector 7 commands a high price, but it does so with a jaw-dropping image. Its color could be richer, but I’ve never seen such impressive black levels from a projector. The picture here is so good, you’ll need to tailor your theater around it to maximize performance; otherwise, you’ll be wasting your money.”

Xgimi Horizon 20 Max
If the Valerion VisionMaster Max is too expensive, this is the cheaper alternative I think gets closest in performance. Here’s what we had to say in our full Xgimi Horizon 20 Max review:

“The Xgimi Horizon 20 Max is a brilliant 4K portable projector. It delivers high brightness, strong contrast and bold colors, along with solid built-in sound, responsive gaming performance and tons of useful setup features. The picture requires some adjustment, but the payoff is worth it.”

How I tested the Valerion VisionMaster Max

(Image credit: Future)

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

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

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

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

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read TechRadar's review guarantee